It feels like only yesterday that the Reject HQ crew was sitting just a few feet from Leonard Nimoy as he flirted with Neil’s mother after a mind-blowing screening of Star Trek – a film that surprised everyone by being better than good. Now, we’re waiting to return to the stars. To go where so many audiences have gone before.
Unfortunately, that trip is still a ways off. Fortunately, screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were nice to enough to give SFX Magazine an interview where they give word on the project – and it might be word that fans of Khan and Klingons might not want to hear.
Instead of shoehorning in a villain, Kurtzman explains their methodology (or, at least, what their methodology isn’t):
“Starting at a premise of what you want to see and then working a story around it is not how we do it. You have to start with what is the right story. And that if you can say “That’s a story that Khan fits into,” that’s how you get to that. Not deciding on a menu list of items and then seeing if you can’t string them all together.”
Orci continued, speaking directly to the possibility of Klingons:
“Introducing a new villain in the sequel is tempting because we now have this incredible new sandbox to play in. On the other hand, some fans really want to see Klingons and it’s hard not to listen to that. The trick is not to do something that’s been seen before just because you think it will be a short cut to likeability.”
In my heretical lack of Star Trek fandom (I know what a Tribble is, so stop sending me hate mail), I have to applaud this sort of behavior. Let them play in the sandbox.
The remake and sequel world is what we’re living in right now, but that doesn’t mean it has to be torturous. There’s a real pull, especially on the studio end, to do what’s known and well-loved in order to pander to the audience’s wallet. Just like in politics, pandering barely ever makes for good policy, and in stories, it can be like adding an albatross around the neck of whomever is about to start climbing Everest. Few can make it to the top and even fewer can do it with style.
Stick to good story, and the fans will flock even if they won’t get to see the iconic baddies. Plus, how are you going to get Ricardo Montalban to reprise his role?
On a side note, the cover of FX teases the question of Shatner, so maybe we’ll be learning something exciting soon.
What do you think?
Source: Trek Movie
Related Topics: JJ Abrams
