Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The USS Excelsior

10. エクセルシオール

The USS Excelsior (initially called the USS Valiant) was described in the script for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as "the new Queen of Space" and "a super starship".

Unlike previous Star Trek ships which had been designed through a series of back and forths between concept artists, producers, and VFX artists, the bulk of the design work for the Excelsior was done by the model shop at Industrial Light & Magic. In this capacity, ILM eschewed the creation of dozens (or even hundreds) of conceptual drawings in favor of building numerous study models, many featuring radically different configurations from the refit Enterprise but all reflecting the script's mandate for a "clearly bigger, sleeker, and very new" vessel.

Presented with these study models, Search for Spock director Leonard Nimoy selected the ship most recognizably Starfleet, but with a twist.

According to ILM model maker Bill George, the starship configuration Nimoy chose had some very Earthly roots:

At the time I was really into Japanese design, so I thought, "OK, what would the "Enterprise" look like if the Japanese designed it?" That was the basis of what I came up with for the "Excelsior".

Due to the difficulties with the cumbersome refit Enterprise model built by Magicam for The Motion Picture and the lessons the ILM model shop learned themselves constructing and filming the USS Reliant for The Wrath of Khan, the Excelsior miniature was built using lightweight materials which made it easier to move, mount, and photograph.