14 DAY TRIAL // J.J. Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” is undeniably the biggest critical and commercial success of the year, both critics and fans agree, while also standing in a class all of its own as one of the most accomplished reboots of our times. As such, it’s no wonder fans want a sequel to it, a fact of which both director and the writers are aware of, for which reason they have already started meeting to talk about a follow-up, the LA Times Blogs informs.
Geoff Boucher met with director Abrams and writer Roberto Orci, who helped bring “Star Trek” back to life together with Alex Kurtzman, and managed to get them talking about their plans for a sequel to the blockbuster. As it turns out, fans of the longstanding franchise will be surprised to hear that “Star Trek” is getting updated – in more ways than one, as the story will tackle modern-day issues as well, like terrorism and politicized war.
Speaking of the themes the sequel would tackle, director Abrams revealed that it’s just now that the real challenge begins since what they had to do with the reboot was to reintroduce the characters to a younger audience and only that. Now, with a second film, they have to make the story stick and, because of it, the task is twice as difficult. Fans, of course, are an important element of the equation because the main purpose of the film will be not to disappoint them in any way – and, if it manages to win critics over at the same time, that much better, Abrams explained.
“The ambition for a sequel to ‘Star Trek’ is to make a movie that’s worthy of the audience and not just another movie, you know, just a second movie that feels tacked on. […] It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant. It also needs to tell it in a spectacular way that hides the machinery and in a primarily entertaining and hopefully moving story. There needs to be relevance, yes, and that doesn’t mean it should be pretentious. If there are simple truths – truths connected to what we live – that elevates any story – that’s true with any story.” director J.J. Abrams said.
Until now, producers have met twice to discuss the “Star Trek” sequel, Orci also confirmed. Nothing has yet been decided, but they’re already throwing ideas around and should make an announcement soon enough. “We got a lot of fan response from the first one and a considerable amount of critical response and one of the things we heard was, ‘Make sure the next one deals with modern-day issues.’ We’re trying to keep it as up-to-date and as reflective of what’s going on today as possible. So that’s one thing, to make it reflect the things that we are all dealing with today.” Orci added.