Justin Lin Talks STAR TREK 3 and Taking it Beyond What We've Already Seen
Fast and Furious director Justin Lin is getting ready to start shooting the new Star Trek film, which has been titled Star Trek Beyond. I've enjoyed what J.J. Abrams has done with the franchise up until this point, and I'm hoping that Lin will take the franchise to the next level.
Lin recently talked to Deadline about the movie, and during the interview, he spoke about being asked by Abrams to direct the movie, how his vision of the franchise will be different than Abrams', and also teased new villains that he'll introduce.
First, he talks about taking the gig and how Abrams encouraged him:
“I was in the last week shooting True Detective when JJ Abrams called last December. He asked me, do you like Star Trek? If you do, you should take this, be bold, and just go for it.’ I thought about how much a part of my life Star Trek was. Growing up, my parents had this little fish and chips restaurant in Anaheim in the shadows of Disneyland, and they didn’t close until 9 PM. As a family, we didn’t eat dinner until 10 PM, and we would watch the original Star Trek every night at 11. My dad worked 364 days a year, only took Thanksgiving off, and from age 8 to 18, the only time I could hang out with my parents was by staying late. And every night, it was Star Trek on Channel 13 in L.A. That was my childhood. All my friends were Star Wars kids but I didn’t go to the movies, so I was the Star Trek kid. Thinking about this, it became a very personal and very emotional decision.”
Sounds like Abrams picked the right guy for the job. Lin has done a great job with the Fast and Furious franchise, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he brings to Star Trek. He goes on to talk about how it will be different from Abrams' films:
"As great as JJ’s films were, there’s still a lot to be mined from these characters. They haven’t really gone on their five-year mission, so what we experienced in the TV show hasn’t been touched on yet. That sets up an opportunity for exploration and the deeper you go, the more you are examining humanity. Those are the things that I absorbed as a kid and hope to tap into and embrace and celebrate. By the time this movie comes out, Star Trek will have been around for 50 years."
Sounds like he has a solid grip on what he is hoping to accomplish with the next chapter in the story. He describes that chapter and being all "new and fresh," and teases the prospect of new villains:
The Klingons, Romulans and other species are great, but it’s time to go further. It has been fun to focus on creating whole new worlds and species.
It sounds to me like there are going to be some original elements included in the story. After all, he does say that they have focused on creating new worlds and species. Will these new species he and his team have created be the villains of the story? It really does sound like he's taking this film to a place that's beyond what fans have already seen. At the same time, I'm sure he'll include things that the fans are familiar with.
The movie is targeting a July 2016 release date. Do you think that Lin is going to do a good job bringing the Simon Pegg-scripted film to life?