Patrick Stewart reveals a fifth Star Trek: Next Generation film was planned

Actor Patrick Stewart has revealed that a fifth Star Trek film, based on the Next Generation characters, was planned. In the Star Trek film franchise four films involving the Next Generation characters were produced; Generations, First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis. However, Patrick Stewart - who played Jean-Luc Picard - has revealed in a recent interview with a fifth film was planned which would have been a proper "farewell" for the characters.

While we were filming Nemesis an idea was being developed by John Logan, the screenwriter of Nemesis, and Brent Spiner for a fifth and final movie. It was a very exciting idea for a screenplay. It would have been a real farewell to Next Generation, but it would have involved other historic aspects of Star Trek as well. I can't go into details because the project wasn't mine. When that didn't happen, the studio announced in its own inimitable way that we were suffering from franchise fatigue and that there was to be no more, and I am absolutely content with that. I remain very proud of the work that we did, very proud of the series and the movies, but I do not wish to return to it. - Patrick Stewart quoted on Blastr

The proposed fifth Next Generation filmed never happened though with the franchise going into limbo following the disappointing box office performance of 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. When Star Trek: Enterprise was cancelled in 2005 because of low ratings it was decided to rest the franchise before rebooting it. In 2009 that re-boot came in the form of a new Star Trek movie produced by J.J Abrams and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Roddenberry. The re-boot took the franchise back to the Academy days of the 'original series' characters such as Kirk and Spock. Amongst the cast of the film were Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and Leonard Nimroy.

http://www.atvnewsnetwork.co.uk/today/index.php/atv-today/4259-patrick-stewart-reveals-a-fifth-star-trek-next-generation-film-was-planned

Star Trek Ultimate Fan Pack

Those looking for a holiday gift for a Star Trek fan might want to consider the Star Trek Ultimate Fan Pack, which includes six Star Trek ships and the Scene It Star Trek DVD Game.

The set, available at Costco, features the game and six Hot Wheels reproductions of familiar Star Trek ships.

The Scene It Star Trek DVD Game includes puzzles, trivia questions and clips from all six televised series, including the Animated Series, as well as the first ten Star Trek movies.

The six Hot Wheels toy ships will be of interest to Star Trek fans. The ships include: a battle-damaged USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A (from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), the original USS Enterprise NCC-1701, a Klingon Bird of Prey (the HMS Bounty from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), the USS Saratoga NCC-1867, a USS Enterprise NX-01 (from Star Trek: Enterprise) and the Romulan mining ship Narada (from Star Trek XI).

The Star Trek Ultimate Fan Pack will retail for $80.00

http://www.trektoday.com/content/2010/10/star-trek-ultimate-fan-pack/

Will There Be Klingons? Director J.J. Abrams and Writers Talk Star Trek 2

J.J. Abrams' re-imagined Star Trek movie found fans in Trekkies and plebians alike. When it comes to Star Trek 2, everyone's waiting to see what the director and his team will come up with next.

Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman spoke to SFX Magazine about what's going on with the next installment. Abrams said, he wanted to "keep some of the mystery going," and he's a master at that: We're still wondering what happened in LOST. He offered this vague quote:

The universe that Roddenberry created was so vast. And so it's hard to say there's one particular thing that stands out as what the sequel must be. Which is on the one hand, a great opportunity. On the other hand it's the greatest challenge – where do you go? What do you focus on? But I'm incredibly excited about the prospects.

The one thing that the creators confirmed was that it wasn't going to take a super serious tone like The Dark Knight. It would be hard, considering that Simon Pegg is going to have a much larger role as confirmed by Orci. "The first one had dark elements, but was ultimately very warm. We'd hope to strike a similar balance [in the sequel]," Kurtzman said. Orici added:

Humor is part of the franchise and I think it's critical, certainly to the Bones-Spock relationship. It's definitely a big part of the Bones-Kirk relationship. So, I don't see any world where humor doesn't play a part.

It was Orci and Kurtzman who addressed the pressing issue on most people's minds: Will there be Klingons? Both didn't say much, but Kurtzman pointed out that a couple of the storylines they are considering could easily slip in Khan. Orci said the story would be picked depending on "what the characters need," but acknwledged that everyone is aware of what the fans want. Orci commented:

Introducing a new villain in the sequel is tempting because we now have this incredible new sandbox to play in. On the other hand, some fans really want to see Klingons and it's hard not to listen to that. The trick is not to do something that's been seen before just because you think it will be a short cut to likeability.

Will you tune out if J.J. Abrams doesn't include some of the classic characters like Khan or ask William Shatner to cameo?


Read more: http://techland.com/2010/09/13/will-there-be-klingons-j-j-abrams-roberto-orci-and-alex-kurtzman-talk-star-trek-2/#ixzz12DXoWq00

Worf from 'Star Trek' goes vegan

MOST-FAMOUS KLINGON: Michael Dorn.

While the original "Star Trek" came out before my time, the "Next Generation" spinoff remains a solid part of my television childhood memories. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Lt. Commander Data, Doctor Beverly Crusher, and a host of other characters all introduced me to the awesome world of "Star Trek". And of course, there was the hot-headed, but loyal Kilngon Lieutenant Worf.

While many of the other characters were easily recognizable outside of costume, the actor behind Worf — Michael Dorn — was hard to distinguish from his on-screen alien counterpart. The minute he opens his mouth, however, that familiar voice so central to Worf's character gives him away. In fact, he's so beloved to Trekkies that he has appeared in a total of 279 episodes of the "Star Trek" franchise — including five movies.

In a recent interview with KeepFitWithPhoebe.com, Dorn shared that after going vegan, he lost more than 40 pounds and feels fantastic.

“I have not missed meat at all,” said the actor. “The only thing I would even think about missing is hamburgers and French fries. You can still have French fries. But I’ve found that the vegetarian burger and the stuff that’s out there now is very good when you dress it up ... So I don’t miss it at all. It’s sort of like, it’s easy to make the transition because I feel so much better.”

Check out the rest of the video from one of my favorite Klingons below:

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/worf-from-star-trek-goes-vegan

Rare Nokia Star Trek Communicator stays as a prototype

Trekkies would definitely love to have a Communicator in their hands, living out the intergalactic lifestyle. Well, Nokia did come up with a Nokia Star Trek Communicator some time ago, but too bad for the masses, this has remained a prototype with no plans of pushing it to the final frontier of being an actual consumer device. Also known as the "Starfleet Communicator" by certain quarters, there are only 14 of these constructed by Nokia, where they were built to simulate the iconic voice communication devices of the original TV series. The hardware itself isn't that exciting since we're talking about a now ancient N76 with an external LCD display and a trifecta of lights on its front. Just in case you were wondering, yes, it is an actual working phone, but you can't call anyone on the other side of the galaxy.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/09/rare_nokia_star_trek_communicator_stays_as_a_prototype.html

'Star Trek' Actor William Shatner Boldly Talks a Little $#*!

William Shatner's new TV show may not be taking him to the final frontier, but the "Star Trek" actor is set to take the helm of an original comedy that premieres this week.

Shatner, 79, is the star of the new show "$#*! My Dad Says," which debuts Thursday (Sept. 23) on CBS.

The sitcom is based on the popular Twitter feed of author Justin Halpern who, after moving in with his parents, used the micro-blogging site to record his father's amusing, but often expletive-laden and politically incorrect, observations and advice.

Halpern's success on Twitter led to a book deal with Harper Collins. The book, titled "Sh*t My Dad Says" was published in May and quickly became a bestseller.

Shatner will star as Ed Goodson, the blunt and opinionated father of Henry, played by Jonathan Sadowski.

Shatner himself uses Twitter, posting updates under the name "WilliamShatner."

"It's a mystery to me what people will think," Shatner wrote in a recent post. "Can't wait to hear your thoughts!"

According to the show's official CBS website: "When Henry finds he can no longer afford to pay rent, Ed reveals a soft spot and invites Henry to move in with him. Henry agrees, knowing that the verbal assault will not abate and now there will be no escape. Describing their father/son relationship is tricky, but Ed will easily come up with a few choice words."

Among his myriad roles on the stage, television and silver screen, Shatner is probably best known for his portrayal of Capt. James T. Kirk in the original "Star Trek" TV series that ran from 1966 to 1969.

Shatner reprised the role in seven feature films in the 1980s and 90s. He has also penned numerous science fiction and autobiographical novels, directed films, starred in commercials and appeared in many other television shows as both actor and host.

This summer, Shatner hosted the William Shatner 20th Annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show to raise funds for various charities for children. He also auctioned off his Harley Davidson motorcycle and other personal items as part of a larger Star Trek-themed charity auction in Las Vegas in June.

http://www.space.com/entertainment/william-shatner-new-tv-show-100921.html

Nimoy, "The Conscience Of Star Trek" To Speak In Long Beach, CA. October 23rd.

Leonard Nimoy, once described by Gene Roddenberry as "the conscience of Star Trek", will be speaking for one night only at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA. Set for October 23rd at 8pm, the intimate talk will touch on the subjects of innovation, creativity and personal development. Plus a ton of Trek!

According to EverythingLongBeach.com, Leonard will speak on Star Trek, its origins, and how a new genre for television and movies was created. He'll also share his portrayal of the rational and emotionally suppressed Vulcan as part of a remarkable and diverse career that’s left an indelible imprint on American culture.

With his impending "retirement" this maybe one of the last chances to see Leonard in an environment such as this. Tickets for "An Evening With Leonard Nimoy are $65 for adults or $60 for seniors and can be purchased by calling (562) 985-7000.

http://www.subspacecomms.com/content/2010/09/21/nimoy-conscience-star-trek-speak-long-beach-ca-october-23rd

Rod Roddenberry Gives His Opinion on Enterprise Cancellation and J.J. Abrams Star Trek Movie

The latest issue of the online magazine Trekkie Central Magazine features a new interview with producer Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and here are few excerpts.

TCM: What were your initial thoughts when Enterprise was cancelled?

ER: TO be honest my initial thoughts were I didn't care to much. I gave it a chance, I watched the entire first season and I thought it was good, maybe not great but sort of a good Star Trek with a little bit of a rocky start. It had jumped too far ahead for me, in fact I thought the entire first season should be a build up to discovering the Klingons. So I kinda just wanted a slower more natural progression of this young civilization reaching into the depths of space, it just moved a little bit to fast for me.

I tuned into the second season for just a few episodes and was immediately turned off and I cant particularly remember why at this time but I remember it just didn't interest me, and you know how it is, the minute you miss a season or a number of episodes its hard to tune back in. I'd heard that seasons three and four were much better, thanks to Manny Coto, but I never really gave it another shot and even to this day I haven't given it another shot because I've gotta sit down and watch it all over again from one to four.

So my first thoughts were kind of I don't care but I did care that it was, you know, the end of Star Trek running as a TV series, now truthfully I never thought and I still don't think that its off the air permanently. It had a good run and I figure it needed a hiatus, the audience, the market and the TV waves had been saturated with Star Trek series after Star Trek series and I thought it might be a good idea for it to rest for five, ten or even fifteen years, and to be honest I still feel that way.

I think Star Trek will come back on TV whether its in a year or twenty years, its never going to die, the fans are gonna keep it alive and also CBS and Paramount are always going to see profit

to be made. So one day they well dig it back up and say well ‘hey lets make something out of this'. I do know that Star Trek will come back in one form or another on TV, I just don't know when and I don't know how good it will be (laughs). The last thing I want it to do is to become Star Wars, that doesn't deal with ethics, humanity, the human potential, we don't want science fiction that doesn't have a statement about the positive attributes of humanity as well as learning from our negative ones.

TCM: What did you think of the latest Star Trek Movie?

ER: Well to be honest I thought it was pretty good, umm yeah there are plenty of things that I would do differently, there were plenty of things my father would do differently and there were plenty of things that you out there reading this would do differently, but I thought it was pretty good. In fact I was very impressed that they stayed as true as they did to the Star Trek canon. Now I know there's a lot of naysayers out there that are upset because it went on a different timeline but I have to give them credit for at least doing that, you know they could have gone back and said ‘you know what we're gonna re-write history and were gonna do it our way'. I would have been very disappointed had they done that, but instead they branched off on to a new timeline which allowed all the original fans, the people who like the original stuff like me to still connect and believe in that timeline, that it does still exist but there's also a whole new generation and for those of us with open minds there's a whole other timeline that we can go down, you know I thought it was fairly intelligent and basically very respectful of the current fan world out there. The story was fine but what really made it were the characters, I mean the story was nothing really special it was good guy verses bad guy, planets going to get destroyed, we've kinda seen it before, but again done by JJ. its always unique. Where I have to give credit is to the characters, they did a great job of casting, I mean Spock was Spock, McCoy was McCoy, they all did a fantastic job on that and that really helped I think ease some of the pain, some of the fears and some of the expectations we might have had. It lived up to that expectation by really making sure the characters stayed true to the original series, so I thought they did a great job.

My only issue, my only gripe if you want to call it that is that at the end when Neros ship is being sucked into the wormhole type thing and being destroyed. I was happy Kirk said ‘hey we're willing to offer you assistance if you just as for it', and of course Nero says no I'd rather die. I didn't think it necessary that they fire all the photon torpedoes to "blow them out of the sky" that was a little bit

over kill for me and I know that it came from a vengeful Spock who'd just seen his planet destroyed but the true Roddenberry/Star Trek way is to do what they did, offer assistance but then show remorse for and pity for the loss of life regardless of what its done.

http://trekweb.com/articles/2010/09/21/Rod-Roddenberry-Gives-His-Opinion-on-Enterprise-Cancellation-and-JJ-Abrams-Star-Trek-Movie.shtml

Star Trek Enterprise pizza wheel

Trekkies love a good pizza. Who doesn’t? So if you are going to slice up a pizza, you may as well do it with the Enterprise. Set a course for the pepperoni frontier. This thing will slice your fresh pizza pie faster than phasers can slice through a Klingon warship.

The blade is made from laser-etched stainless steel, and the body is made from a durable zinc-alloy chromium plate. Mostly, it just looks awesome and you know it will impress your friends.

It’s available at ThinkGeek for $24.99.

http://www.slipperybrick.com/2010/09/star-trek-enterprise-pizza-wheel/

Nichelle Nichols | 'Star Trek' icon still has rank

Nichelle Nichols is a singer, dancer, actress and activist, but she's best known “Star Trek,” as the original Lt. Uhura, the fictional USS Enterprise's chief communications officer and the first African-American woman featured in a major TV show.

But her influence on space travel isn't confined to fictional galaxies. Nichols helped NASA recruit the first female and minority astronauts into the space shuttle program, including Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut. She serves on the board of governors of the National Space Society and on the advisory board of the International Space Camp.

In the 1970s, you worked with NASA to recruit women and minorities into the space shuttle program. What was that process like?

NASA didn't quite understand why women and people of color weren't responding to their recruitment call. I didn't understand why they didn't understand: that they had put out there how many recruitment drives they had conducted before that one and it had always remained an all-white, all-male astronaut corps. I promised NASA that I would bring in so many qualified women and people of color that they wouldn't know who to choose. I went to universities with strong science and engineering programs, I went to the Black Engineers' convention and they opened their arms. Women of all colors, African-Americans, Asians and our Spanish community were very skeptical. By the time I finished speaking with them, I brought in more than 3,800 qualified people of color and women to apply. Now, an integrated Space Shuttle corps is de rigueur .

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100927/FEATURES/309270002

Theater Review: Washington Shakespeare Company's evening of the Bard in Klingon

We all know about the defense and intelligence industries' explosive growth in recent years -- but sentry work outsourced to space aliens? That's a new phenomenon. Nevertheless, there they were on Saturday night, staking out sidewalks in Rosslyn: humanoids (or so it seemed) wearing red T-shirts distinctly marked "Klingon Security."

The lookouts were holding placards that pointed the way to the Rosslyn Spectrum, which was hosting a rare interplanetary cultural extravaganza: Washington Shakespeare Company's "By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon," featuring "Star Trek" alumnus George Takei.

Who could question the need for the extra sentinels outside the venue? In announcing the one-night-only benefit -- built around the language invented for the Klingon figures in the "Star Trek" franchise -- Washington Shakespeare essentially cried havoc and let slip the dogs of media frenzy. The event was covered by news outlets in Canada, England, India and Indonesia, as well as around the United States. Demand was such that, according to Executive Director Warren Arbogast, the company began selling less desirable seats it had originally intended to seal off.

"Tonight, all the galaxy's a stage!" proclaimed company member Joe Palka, the evening's master of ceremonies, kicking off the proceedings on a dais near a large red Klingon flag. There were brief remarks by Arbogast and Washington Shakespeare Artistic Director Christopher Henley -- each of whom appeared in mild shock over the attention their experiment had received. Arbogast displayed the rumpled restaurant napkin on which he and Henley had scribbled their original ideas for the event.

The introductions paved the way for an amusing autobiographical talk by Washington Shakespeare board president Marc Okrand, who just happens to be the linguist recruited by Paramount Studios in the 1980s to invent the Klingon tongue. The bespectacled academic-turned-sci-fi-luminary gave a wry rundown of the syntax and exotic sound structure he'd concocted for the language. ("There's no "K" in Klingon, and that's that!" he insisted, illustrating the raspy, back-of-the-throat "kh"-type consonants he'd woven into the lingo instead). He good-humoredly recalled how various "Star Trek" actors and directors had inadvertently mauled his concepts over the years, forcing him to invent all sorts of baroque grammatical rules and double meanings for Klingon, a tongue he formalized in 1985's "Klingon Dictionary." (Later updated, it is now, of course, available in Kindle format.)

The evening really shifted into gear with the performances -- in Klingon and English -- of the Laertes-Hamlet duel scene from Shakespeare's most celebrated tragedy, as well as a passage of Beatrice-Benedick banter from "Much Ado About Nothing." (Those two works by the Bard have been translated in their entirety by the Klingon Language Institute, a Pennsylvania-based organization.) Four thuggish-looking Klingons, sporting gnarled foreheads and robed regalia and clutching spears and scimitars, looked on as the two "Hamlet" renditions were performed side by side -- a minute or two of the grating, guttural Klingon version, followed by a minute or two of the English one.

Riffing on the conceit that the Bard originally composed in Klingon ("You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon," a character famously pronounced in the film "Star Trek VI"), actors from the extraterrestrial version periodically broke character to tell the English-language actors that the transliterations were inaccurate. The four berobed Klingons pounded their spears now and then and roared softly in outrage -- or maybe enthusiasm. It was hard to tell.

Henley and actor Jay Hardee glided gracefully through the "Much Ado" material, followed by Okrand and Rachel Wyman barking out the exchange in Klingon. Finally, Takei stalked onstage and delivered a dignified but rather stiff and emotionless interpretation of Cassius's Act 1, Scene 2 speech to Brutus in "Julius Caesar." ("Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world/like a Colossus . . . .") Rounding out the proceedings was a question-and-answer session fielded by Henley, Okrand and Takei.

Thespians and Trekkies who missed the event need not despair: Arbogast announced that Washington Shakespeare's Bard-in-Klingon gamble will likely be featured in an upcoming BBC documentary on language. To that end, "By Any Other Name" (minus Takei) may be remounted next February for a camera crew.

What's with the insatiable appetite for classics in a concocted parlance? The fault, dear reader, is not in our stars, but in ourselves: that we are suckers for a gimmick.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/26/AR2010092602805.html

Abrams On Inspiration For Star Trek

J.J. Abrams may not make The Wrath of Khan Part II for the Star Trek sequel, but the original Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan was part of the inspiration for Star Trek XI.

Although one element of The Wrath of Khan particularly caught Abrams’ attention, Abrams can’t really think of anything else in the Trek universe that specifically inspires him when it comes to planning the sequel to 2009′s Star Trek XI.

Abrams was drawn to the chemistry between Kirk and his crew in The Wrath of Khan and he tried to recreate that chemistry for Star Trek XI. But that was really all he took away from the Trek universe. “It wasn’t that there was anything in particular that felt like this one thing that has to be in the sequel,” he said. “The universe Roddenberry created was so vast. And so it’s hard to say there’s one particular thing that stands out as what the sequel must be.”

This makes it a bit tougher when it comes to making a second movie. “Which is, on the one hand, a great opportunity, on the other hand, it’s the greatest challenge,” said Abrams. “Where do you go? What do you focus on? But I’m incredibly excited about the prospects.”

http://www.trektoday.com/content/2010/09/abrams-on-inspiration-for-star-trek/

Star Trek Stars Help The Fight Against Breast Cancer With Project Teddy Bear

Today we stumbled upon a great reason to bid on and buy your favorite Star Trek actor’s autograph and photo…to help cure breast cancer via Project Teddy Bear.

Project Teddy Bear was started by Lisa Spodak in 2004 as a way to raise money for her third Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. On her website she says, “I’d wait outside theaters, talk shows or other events for celebrities and explain to them that I was doing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and trying to raise $10,000. I’d ask them to sign a little tag that said “Thank You for Your Donation to The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer” and to pose for a picture with the stuffed Avon Breast Cancer Crusade bear. Then I’d post all the pictures on the web and conduct an online auction. Voila! The almost $4,000 that I raised with Project Teddy Bear helped me raise a total of $15,000!” Read the full story here. Since then she has risen over $150,000 for The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, and is still going.

Currently an auction featuring Wil Wheaton (TNG) is up and running on eBay until Oct 06, 2010 19:21:17 PDT and more Star Trek alumnae that are still to come include; Scott Bakula (Enterprise), Jonathan Frakes (TNG), Ethan Philips (Voyager), Armin Shimerman (DS9), Brent Spiner, Dean Stockwell (Quantum Leap & Enterprise).

If you just so happen to like other celebrities other than Star Trek, Lisa has a ton more to choose from (seriously…a ton…you should see the whole list). The other celebrities include; Matthew Broderick, William B. Davis, Rosario Dawson, Micky Dolenz, Sean Patrick Flanery, Mick Fleetwood, Cuba Gooding Jr., Val Kilmer, Rue McClanahan, Jason Momoa, Brittany Murphy, Kathy Najimy, Corin Nemec, Adrian Pasdar, and Jewel Staite.

See all the Live and Upcoming
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6980842894367661461

New Star Trek Game Announced for Summer 2011 – Star Trek: Infinite Space

Star Trek Deep Space Nine returns as the setting for an upcoming browser-based game. Along with another yet unannounced game, German developer Keen Studios has a new Facebook title focusing on the classic Star Trek universe slated for release in the summer of 2011. Little is known about the title at this point, other than its name and projected launch date.

Star Trek production alum Michael Okuda, the man responsible for the design of the space station, and one of the key designers of the Next Generation and it’s sister series is working as a consultant with the game studio to make sure the game has an authentic to the Tv universe feel. His wife, Denise Okuda, who was also a scene designer and video editor on the TV shows will contribute as well.

I’m not sure what sort of gameplay to expect here, but it’s nice to see such an interesting setting within the Star Trek universe getting some attention outside Cryptic’s Star Trek Online universe. With the movies now residing in a parallel timeline it seems the only source of new adventures with these classic settings might be online.

http://news.filefront.com/new-star-trek-game-announced-for-summer-2011-star-trek-infinite-space/

Karl Urban Talks ‘Star Trek 2′

Actor Karl Urban says he’s looking forward to reprising his role as Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy in the next installment of “Star Trek.” Urban, who’s currently promoting his upcoming action film “Red,” said that in particular, he enjoyed working himself into a state of constant consternation during the first film.

“Of cantankerousness?” he asked rhetorically of Bones’ cranky disposition. “It’s fun actually, a lot of fun.”

Urban has appeared in some of the biggest franchises of the last decade, including the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the second film in the saga of Jason Bourne, “The Bourne Supremacy.” He said that he is confident that a follow-up will maintain a similar focus on characters rather than sci-fi spectacle. “I have no doubt that we will be able to continue to strengthen and deepen those relationships,” he said. “To me that was always the most interesting thing about ‘Star Trek,’ is that it was character-driven. It’s a wonderful, smart thing that J.J. [Abrams] and Roberto [Orci] and Alex [Kurtzman] have done, to maintain that.”

J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” was itself a sort of risky proposition for Paramount Pictures, who more or less exhausted the existing universe’s big-screen prospects by the time 2002’s “Star Trek: Nemesis” arrived in theaters. Abrams’ version not only rebooted the series’ mythology, but reintroduced the core ensemble to audiences in a way that appealed both to longtime fans and newcomers. Urban said he looks forward to further exploring his character within this developing universe of this new “Star Trek” franchise.

“I think there’s such a wonderful, rich tapestry of characters and territory to explore,” Urban observed. “The great thing is that we’ve got a bunch of Einsteins working on it –- you know, J.J. and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman that are really sharp. But I’m really looking forward to seeing where we take the next story.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/09/30/karl-urban-talks-star-trek-2/