J.J. Abrams Says Star Trek 2 is About "Starting Over"; Zachary Quinto Talks Spock
Posted 08.10.11 by Ryan
Star Trek 2 is inching closer to reality.
Though Paramount Pictures erased the sequel's June 29, 2012 release date, which the studio imposed early last year without a script or commitment from director J.J. Abrams. Earlier this month, Abrams said that the time will allow him and screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof time to "get the important things figured out" first before launching into production. The writers admitted in May that they have a working 70-page outline, and Orci and Kurtzman hinted at a possible January production start. Abrams, however, told MTV that he recently met with the writers and will be able to announce something in the next month.
We had a big, endless meeting and I think we'll have something to talk about very soon. I think within the next month or so we'll be able to tell you what's going on and when and all that. We're working really hard and this is all to make sure that no one — cast, crew, mostly the audience — isn't disappointed by what we do. [The audience] is the only master we're serving.
While Abrams didn't give away any significant plot details, he did say that the thinking about Star Trek 2 isn't that it's a sequel, but that it will be more about "starting over" than the 2009 reboot.
The odd thing about the first one we did is it was already sort of a sequel in a weird way. It was a reboot, but not. I think the most important thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if anyone has seen the first one or not. It doesn't matter what the first one was, in a way. This has to be a movie that stands on its own. You can't just assume that everyone is going to love the characters because they are played by great actors, or they might have liked the first film. It's really about starting over and at the same time, you really want to make sure you hold onto things that worked in the first one, so it's the obvious stuff.
Whatever Abrams and the Star Trek 2 screenwriters come up with, actor Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in the reboot (or sequel or whatever Abrams wants to call it) recently told io9 (prior to Abrams' above comments) that he hopes that Spock's love life with Uhura (Zoe Saldana) will receive some attention.
I would imagine (this is just speculative), his planet's been destroyed, he feels a real imperative to rebuild his race. But he's in love with a human. There's probably some potential conflict in that dynamic, I would not be surprised, and I would be intrigued and excited by that if that were the case.
Quinto also thinks Spock will be busy helping out the Vulcan race, since their home planet took a beating in Star Trek.
He turned his back by choosing not to go to the Vulcan Science Academy, but his culture has always been a very important part of who he is. It's an integral part of his internal fabric. I think if he's wrestling with feelings of guilt for having sort of embraced his humanity, then an event like this is the great equalizer, it levels the playing field. I don't think he's going to spend too much time feeling guilty. I think he's going to spend a lot more time doing the logical thing. Which is to help repopulate, help support, and help rebuild the race of people.
Quinto also said he was "interested to see what the villain situation is." We couldn't agree more. Maybe we'll learn more in a month.