'Star Trek Beyond' News, Spoilers: Simon Pegg, Director Justin Lin on Their Approach to Making Latest 'Star Trek' Film
The "Star Trek" universe is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and to mark the momentous occasion, it is set to welcome a new film, "Star Trek Beyond," into its fold.
Like its predecessor, "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), "Star Trek Beyond" is set in the Trek universe established by "Into Darkness" director J.J. Abrams. In "Beyond," "Star Trek" fans will find Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), McCoy (Karl Urban), and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew two years into their five-year exploratory mission.
According to Pegg, who served as one of the film's writers, by this point, the journey has begun to take its toll on the group.
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"They've come to rest at a Federation outpost, a sort of diplomatic hub," Pegg told Empire.
But the crew's brief stop turns chaotic when they come face-to-face with Krall, the new blue-faced villain played by "The Jungle Book" actor Idris Elba.
Speaking to Collider, Pegg, who reprises his role as Scotty in "Beyond," shared his thoughts on the privilege of working on a "Star Trek" film and discussed the writers' approach to crafting the "Star Trek Beyond" story.
"Being given the keys to the Star Trek universe was an extraordinary privilege," the actor said. "It was extremely important to me that we did it justice."
According to Pegg, while "Star Trek" means an awful lot to its fans, many of whom are incredibly well-versed on the "Star Trek" universe, it was important to the film's writers that "Beyond" also cater to those new to "Star Trek."
As the "Star Trek Beyond" star/writer told Collider, they wanted to be able to include elements that have never been seen in the "Star Trek" universe, while making sure that the new stuff don't come at the expense of what long-time fans love about the franchise.
"'Star Trek' is a very thoughtful story," Pegg explained. "It's a very intelligent, hopeful projection of our own futures, and that's something we have to hang on to."
"Beyond" director Justin Lin expressed the importance of creating a unique experience for the film, telling Empire that for the 50th anniversary, "I felt like it was important to really deconstruct the idea of 'Star Trek,' the idea of the Federation and why it's special."
"We'll really be poking at a lot of different things," he said.
"Star Trek Beyond" hits theaters July 22.
