4. Abrams Loves The Beastie Boys
I doubt many of us ever thought that we'd end up hearing a Beastie Boys song in a Star Trek movie, but J.J. Abrams confounded expectations from the outset by doing that very thing; as a young James T. Kirk steals a Corvette and goes joy-riding, he blares out The Beasties' classic track Sabotage, and continues cruising along while attempting to escape a police officer and then also avoid flying off the edge of a cliff. Abrams since cleared up the confusion by suggesting he chose the song because it perfectly conveyed Kirk's admiration for old relics, and also, the simple fact that Abrams loves the Beastie Boys. This re-occurs in Into Darkness; when Kirk is getting into his threesome (something I'll elaborate on in a moment), the Beasties' inimitable track Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim Remix) is blaring it out. It's fair to expect that Abrams will continue this musical motif in the third film (assuming he actually does end up helming it).