WARP SPEED AHEAD FOR THE RE-IMAGINED "STAR TREK"

An unbeatable cosmic duo: Mister Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) in the re-imagined STAR TREK. Images: PARAMOUNT.

Boldly going further than Man has been before would never be more interesting, or exciting, than in writer/film-maker J.J. Abrams re-imagined STAR TREK feature film from 2009 (showing on CHANNEL 4 HD in the UK tonight at 6pm (its terrestrial premiere)), a fast paced and complex time travel character drama/ action thrill ride hybrid that spectacularly put Gene Roddenberry's generation inspiring sci-fi series about the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Horatio Hornblower inspired hero character of Captain James T. Kirk (now played by the youthful Chris Pine), back on the map of success with not only fans of all ages of the original Classic Series, from which this new re-imagined character genesis movie was spawned, but also attracting millions of new followers and general cinema audiences around the world in the process-making it the most box office successful movie of the entire theatrical release series and putting warm profit smiles firmly onto the faces of PARAMOUNT Executives who had took a sizable risk of bringing the franchise back after it had seemingly stalled with audiences only a few scant years back-primarily due to the company's own greed in generating TREK series overkill on the small screen.

Trailers: Star Trek Movie 2009 (Trailer 1 / Trailer 2 / Trailer 3 / Tv spot) - YouTube

With a wait that seemed like forever, the lively and acclaimed new cast playing Kirk, Spock, Bones Uhura, Scotty et all will definitely back for filming the next TREK film Summer 2012, for release by at least Christmas 2013 (hopefully) and Abrams himself has finally ended months of speculation and worries by film fans by announcing that he too will be returning to direct the next movie, currently being crafted into a script by FRINGE/LOST's team of Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, all of whom are well aware that they have to create a new adventure with heart and depth that lives up to the primary reasons why their first movie was so successful in the first place. They also have to stay true to Gene Roddenberry's legacy as well - an original and very human exploration format that has endured for so long. Still under top secret creation, there's still no real indication of what the big idea/plot for the sequel will be (arch enemies the Klingons, whose appearance in the previous film were cut, were rumoured to appear but it now looks unlikely, as is a future cameo from William Shatner as an older version of the original Kirk) though it has been officially released info-wise that the randy Captain will get a love interest (a new re-imagining of his lost love, Dr. Carol Marcus (seen in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN), perhaps?). And will there be any truth to the rumours of the establishing of the new Vulcan, previously destroyed by nasty Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) in the last movie, playing a part in proceedings? We'll eventually find out...

On the colourful Bridge set of the Enterprise, populist film and TV series creator/writer/director J.J. Abrams goes through a scene with his stars.

To make up for the long wait between movies (sadly we never got to see a new film ready for the 45th Anniversary), the popular US comics publisher IDW, currently the home of all things TREK, have produced an original story that gives a new spin on the classic TREK episode "Where No man Has Gone Before' (the original William Shatner TREK pilot) and transferred it into this re-imagined TREK film Universe. The first issue, published a month ago, proved a critical success and was an immediate sell-out needing quick re-printing. Check out more info on the series here:
Star Trek New IDW Comic Series Debuts Tomorrow and Star Trek Orci, Johnson Talk Trek Comics, Movies And More

The movie poster for the most recent TREK movie.

A new sequel to the first movie book, by acclaimed sci-fi fantasy novelist and film/TV series novelisation adaptor Alan Dean Foster, previously delayed from release by US TREK publisher DEL REY, also looks set to materialize (sorry, couldn't resist it!) sooner rather than later...