It's pretty much a given that if a studio moves a film's release date back, it may be down to a lack of confidence in the project. The new RoboCop movie has had its release date pushed back all the way to Feb 2014 which might be a result of the lackluster reception by fans to everything from to the new suit, the leaked script and the decision to give RoboCop a human hand and transformation abilities. Well the opposite is true for Star Trek Into Darkness, the J.J Abrams directed highly anticipated sequel is being released one week earlier than scheduled. The new UK date to put in your diaries is May 9th 2013. That leaves that weekend and the following weekend clear for Star Trek Into Darkness to scoop up those precious box-office receipts. Every indication is that this film is going to be a huge success as cinema goers flock to the cinema to see what's next for Kirk & crew. The official synopsis is:
''When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.''
The Who's, What's and Why's are still a mystery.
On a side note, LeVar Burton who played Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation has been making his feelings clear on a whisper he picked up from the Abrams' camp. Apparently Burton has heard J.J Abrams say that he wants his version of Star Trek to be the Star Trek that everyone remembers. That annoyed Burton who had this to say in an interview with the Toronto Sun:
(Abrams' Star Trek) was a great movie, and he brought a whole new generation to Trek. But I'm a little disquieted by things I hear coming out of his camp, things like he would like to be remembered as the only Trekwhich would discount everything before he got there.
"There's 'breaking the canon,' which he did (by re-inventing Star Trek's timeline). But there's also honouring the canon. And to pretend to be the only one is really egocentric and immature.
"I just came from a conference in San Francisco with Advanced Micro Devices, and they're working on technology towards building a holodeck. That was Next Generation. And that's part of what Star Trek has brought to the culture. So when JJ Abrams says, There should be no Star Trek except the one I make,' I call bullshit, J.J."
He then told ET Online:
"J.J. a very good director, he really is, He directed the hell out of the first movie. I'm really interested to see what he wants to talk about in his upcoming movie. I'm disappointed, quite frankly, that his timeline negates the existence of Next Gen. I think that's silly."
While it's true that some of the younger audience members might have had their first introduction to Star Trek through the 2009 reboot, JJ Abrams has a long way to go if he thinks that his version of Star Trek has the staying power the original timeline had. JJ has stated that he was never a fan of Star Trek but while his movie was a fun roller coaster for 2hours, it doesn't have the substance to make you re-watch it endlessly like you can with the TV episodes and movies like Star Trek II: Wrath Of Khan or Star Trek VI: Undiscovered Country. There is also no mention of how or where LeVar Burton heard the comments from JJ Abrams but it will be interesting to see if Abrams responds. And to finish off, some new shots were released. Most are HD versions of the ones printed in Empire Magazine a couple of months back but they do rev up the excitement meter some what. Star Trek Into Darkness is released in IMAX 3D, 3D and 2D cinemas on May 9th, 2013.
