‘Star Trek’ 3: Film Will Include New Species And Take Place In Deep Space

The next installment in the Star Trek series — what everyone is calling Star Trek 3 at the moment — is about to move ahead. Last month, assumed director Bob Orci handed in the script for the latest Star Trek installment, and everyone at Paramount is very happy with it, according to Cinema Blend. Orci, an admitted Trekkie, also worked on the scripts for JJ Abrams’ first reboot of the famous fantasy series, along with its sequel, Into Darkness. Abrams worked on those scripts as well.

However, now that Abrams has turned to the Dark Side, assuming directorial duties for a certain other space saga, Orci is left holding the reigns for the latest Star Trek film.

Trekmovie.com is reporting that Paramount wants to release the next Star Trek film in 2016. That year is significant since it’s the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek television show. Following that schedule, the next film will closely follow the production schedule achieved with Star Trek: Into Darkness. That film started pre-production in September of 2011, started shooting in January of 2012, and hit theaters 2013.

Orci seems to be jumping the gun a bit; pre-production on the film is reportedly already underway. The film “technically” hasn’t been greenlit by Paramount, but Orci’s team has reportedly already started early effects tests, a little bit of “pre-viz” (mocking up scenes with bare bones animatics and CGI to see how they’ll play out in the final product), set and wardrobe designs, and casting discussions about possible new characters.

Plot-wise, no one has anything concrete at the moment concerning Star Trek 3, but Bob Orci has dropped plenty of hints as to what he wants and what he doesn’t want over the summer. We know that the film will take place during the Starship Enterprise’s five-year mission, the start of which was featured at the end of Star Trek: Into Darkness. Appearing on the Humans from Earth podcast in June, Bob stated that he wanted to get away from the Earth-tied adventures depicted in the first two films and focus on a plot that takes place entirely in deep space. Orci also spoke about whether or not he felt a need to bring back villains or races from either the Star Trek television series or films.

“I think, because this is an alternate universe, I think we can choose. So I don’t feel the pressure of having to revisit anyone or not. So, we’re lucky that way. But we also, as you say, have the ability to cherry-pick from what’s come before. So, it’ll depend on what serves the story best.”

TrekMovie goes one step further, reporting that the third Star Trek film will introduce fans to an entirely new alien species.

If all goes as planned, expect to see Star Trek: (insert whatever you think the title will be here) in May of 2016.

[image via Fanshare]