J.J. Abrams gives STAR TREK 2 and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 4 updates!
It's busy times for writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams, a.k.a "Abramcles, the Greek God of Drama". ScifiWire caught up with the him on the red carpet of Fox's annual Fall Eco-Casino Party. Abrams had some small updates concerning a couple of the big franchises he's leading the charge on.
When it comes to the follow up to his highly successful reboot of the Star Trek franchise, Abrams had this to say concerning the returning cast:
We're hopefully going to have everyone, obviously, from the first cast.
Expected, but still a sigh of relief. No one has gotten too big for their britches... just yet. He continued, joking...
I keep trying to spread this rumor that I'm going to recast Kirk as Greg Grunberg(whom Abrams often casts in his shows), but no one ever prints it.
Have you settled on what direction you're going to take it?
We're just starting on that. Yes, we know the direction, but it's very early. We're working on a script right now still. I can tell you it's cool. We have some really cool ideas, but it's too early.
Awesome!!! It's great to hear they have a solid idea of where to take the story. Back in June, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman discussed some of the possible routes they could take and some of the road blocks they've encountered in coming up with the sequel. But considering that was a few months ago, I was surprised with the answer to the next question.
So Orci and Kurtzman have physically started writing?
No, but we've started talking story, and (Lost producer)Damon [Lindelof] is writing it with them.
I think we were all hoping they had already started writing, especially with Lindelof coming on board to help. But they've got the idea down, so that's good enough for now I guess.
Abrams is also working on the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise. Although he directed MI:III, he's only officially on board to produce MI: IV.
Any momentum on Mission: Impossible IV?
Yeah, we have a really cool story. It's being written right now by Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum.
This would be the pair's first feature, having written for TV shows like Life on Mars, October Road, Alias, and Fastlane.
What's your ETA on when you'll see the draft?
We're hoping to get it soon, like by the end of the year.
Could it work out for you to direct it?
I'm open to anything.
Basically it'll come down to scheduling. Even though Abrams must've done some major string pulling to get Tom Cruise back at Paramount, I feel Star Trek is the bigger priority for Abrams. Even though MI: III grossed more worldwide than Star Trek has, Trek was a bigger domestic hit, and Paramount considered MI: III an under performer.
We'll keep you posted as more Star Trek 2 and Mission Impossible: 4 details come out.