AirLockAlpha.com

As J.J. Abrams and his writing team iron out the fine details of "Star Trek," the proposed 11th feature in the Trek franchise, some are saying he got off easy since Paramount gave him a clean slate in which to possibly reboot the franchise.

But reimagining -- as it has been done with "Battlestar Galactica," "Casino Royale" and even "Batman Begins" -- isn't easy. In fact, despite 40 years of canon constraints, original "Star Trek XI" writer Erik Jendresen said it's easier to write in an existing universe.

"It would not have been easier for me," Jendresen told Airlock Alpha's Michael Hinman. "The whole delight and challenge of doing this, the reason I did it, was because I was bound and determined to write a tale that was completely faithful to the canon, and more importantly, to the spirit of Star Trek."

Jendresen has been promoting his new direct-to-DVD film from Raw Feed and Warner Bros. "Sublime," which is released Tuesday. But with his Star Trek idea, which he called "The Beginning," Jendresen looked to fill that gaping hole between the events of "Star Trek: Enterprise" and the first time Capt. James T. Kirk took the helm of the USS Enterprise in the original "Star Trek."

"In spite of the shortcomings in 'Enterprise' -- which were substantial -- the canon was rich enough to provide clues that make filling that gap in the tale challenging, yes, but possible to do," Jendresen said.

The Emmy-winning writer (from HBO's "Band of Brothers") was announced as the writer back in 2005 with plenty of fanfare. His storyline, which involved Kirk's great-grandfather, Tiberius Chase, was the center of a planned trilogy that was excitedly approved by then Paramount president Donald DeLine. However, weeks after the new Star Trek script was commissioned, DeLine was ousted and replaced with Gail Berman, and from there, Paramount decided to take an entirely different route in one of its most coveted franchises.

"Whenever there's a regime change at a studio, it's inevitable that projects in development under the auspices of an outgoing regime are tabled or shelved by the incoming regime," Jendresen said. "When they got this script, the whole concept, the creative choice had been made by DeLine in the previous regime, and invariably, there's a certain bias against anything that has been developed by someone else.

Despite popular belief (and what the former executive producer himself said), Star Trek torchbearer Rick Berman had absolutely nothing to do with "Star Trek: The Beginning," Jendresen said. By the time the script had been commissioned, Berman was attached by name only, and Berman's departure was not related to Jendresen's script.

"Part of the notion out there is that he's out [of Star Trek] because of this project. He had nothing to do with it," Jendresen said. "The notion that 'Star Trek: The Beginning' is what sunk Berman is really offensive."

Although Paramount went in a different direction with "Star Trek XI," Jendresen says he hopes his trilogy story gets released in some shape or form, even if it becomes part of the Trek novel lines.

"When you make a creative choice, when you create a universe or create a world and create these characters, you become attached to them," Jendresen said. "Of course it's disappointing [to have a story shelved], but from what I understand what Abrams is doing, ['Star Trek XI'] could be really satisfying. I'm looking forward to it."

"Sublime" is released direct to DVD Tuesday. He will join director Tony Krantz ("24," "Mulholland Dr.") in an exclusive candid interview about the film with Airlock Alpha and Rabid Doll Tuesday in time for the DVD release.

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