It looks like the Star Trek franchise has been revived, even if there is not a single indication yet on how the upcoming "Star Trek XI" will be received by fans.
Paramount Pictures has ordered a script for yet another Star Trek movie from Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writing team behind the May 8 film, along with "Lost" producer Damon Lindelof, Variety reports.
Also coming along for the ride in a potential sequel is J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk, although right now both are only carrying executive producer credits and it's not clear whether Abrams will get behind the camera and direct again.
The move could put Star Trek back to a two-year turnaround time as Paramount is looking to have a 12th film out by Summer 2011.
"There's obviously a lot of hubris involved in signing on to write a sequel of a movie that hasn't even come out yet," Lindelof told the trade magazine. "But we're so excited about the first one that we wanted to proceed."
Many of the actors have signed three-picture deals with the Star Trek franchise, according to past published reports, so it seems unlikely there will be any need for any recasting, although it's not clear if Leonard Nimoy -- who reprised his role of Spock in the film -- would be back for more (in fact, it's very unlikely).
Paramount is expecting a script by the end of the year, but real work likely won't start until after fans get a look at "Star Trek XI" in a little more than a month.
"Obviously we discussed ideas, but we are waiting to see how audiences respond next month," Kurtzman said. "With a franchise rebirth, the first movie has to be about origin. But with a second, you have the opportunity to explore incredibly exciting things. We'll be ambitious about what we'll do."
"Star Trek XI" is the first Star Trek film to be released since "Star Trek: Nemesis" bombed at the box office in 2002. It's the longest stretch of time between Star Trek films, the previous being the gap between "Star Trek: Insurrection," which struggled at the box office, and "Nemesis," which were separated by four years. Previously, Trek films came in two- to three-year cycles.
Thanks to TrekMovie
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