10 More Movie Openings That Totally Trolled Audiences
3. The Kobiyashi Maru - Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan kicks off with the Enterprise being unexpectedly piloted by a new character, Lt. Saavik (Kirstie Alley), while Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is nowhere to be seen.
The Enterprise receives a distress call from a spaceship, the Kobayashi Maru, but upon entering the Neutral Zone to rescue it, they're attacked by Klingon cruisers, resulting in the apparent deaths of all major crew members, including Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
Fans are finally put out of their misery, however, when Kirk emerges on the bridge, revealing the attack to have been a mere training exercise to test Saavik's ability to deal with a no-win scenario.
Though the Kobayashi Maru is of course well known to even casual Trek fans nowadays, back at the time of The Wrath of Khan's release it sure gave fans palpitations alright.
Furthermore, director Nicholas Meyer reportedly had this fake-out opening included to dispel any rumours about Spock dying later in the film, that even if fans heard about Spock's death, they'd simply attribute it to the Kobayashi Maru. Sneaky.