SDCC: 'Uhura' says Trek 2 script halfway done

Zoe Saldana, who played the new Uhura in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie, said at Comic-Con on Friday that she believes the script for the sequel is already halfway done. Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, along with director Abrams, have been cagey about progress, but Saldana translated the Hollywood-speak.

"I do know that they are germinating a script," Saldana said in a group interview in San Diego, where she was promoting Avatar. "That's what they told us a month and a half ago, which actually means—in that kind of talk it means that they're probably halfway done with a script. They just can't present it to anybody. But they're very excited, and there is a lot of pressure, because now it's like, 'Oh, do you do The Wrath of Khan or do you do this or whatever?'"

When Star Trek reset canon with a time-travel story device, eradicating Vulcan among other twists, the possibility arose to revisit classic Trek missions from a new perspective. Saldana has encouraged the filmmakers to avoid succumbing to any outside influence.

"I honestly told Robert, Alex and J.J. to just do what they did first, which is just to trust themselves," Saldana said. "By not listening to anyone, not putting any pressures on themselves, they were able to create something very beautiful and free that we still grew attached to. If that formula worked for Star Trek, then it can certainly work for this next one."

Another key development in the new Trek was the beginning of a romantic relationship between Uhura and Spock (Zachary Quinto). That, Saldana is sure, will continue. "I am excited to see what they're going to do with their relationship in relation to what happened to Vulcan and what kind of responsibilities Spock is going to have in this next journey," she said. "Not only in his personal side but in terms of he's a race in extinction now."

Saldana said she expects to begin work on Star Trek 2 next year.
http://scifiwire.com/2009/07/sdcc-uhura-says-trek-2-sc.php