Roundup 12.15.11 – STAR TREK XII
Until there’s an official title, it’s Star Trek XII over here, not Star Trek 2. Nyah.
And according to “Access Hollywood”, it won’t be Star Trek 2 anyway. That’s along with an interview with Zoe Saldana as the cast anticipates getting a script soon, even though we won’t see a finished film until 2013 now, with a release date of May 17. [More at The Hollywood Reporter] [More at Deadline]
So the clock starts ticking when production begins in January. According to TrekMovie, shooting starts January 15th. Industrial Light + Magic is already on board, and some location scouting has been done in Hawaii, leading some to speculate wildly on what part of the story would be told there (odd are it doesn’t involve a Smoke Creature…).
And it won’t involve Benecio del Toro, either. After the lack of a deal, the actor is no longer being considered to play the villain. Director J.J. Abrams has flat-out denied that said villain is Khan Noonien Singh, and Think McFly Think has a rumor that a band of nomadic Klingons may feature prominently in the script. Add to that the rumor that tribbles could be involved, and you have the makings of all sorts of wild speculation on the story. [More analysis of the rumor mill at Airlock Alpha]
Note that J.J. Abrams only denied that del Toro won’t be playing the villain. He did not deny the villain is Khan. See what he did there? However, Simon Pegg has said that Khan’s name has not come up in discussions about the story.
The film will include Alice Eve and Peter Weller. Word is that Eve will be playing a character that’s new to the continuity, so she’s not going to be stepping into the role of Carol Marcus or Janice Rand. Weller has been rumored to be playing a corporate CEO of some kind. Possibly his character from “Enterprise” or someone new? [More at The Wrap]
Coming Soon has the news that composer Michael Giacchino will be back to score the sequel. Giacchino was at the home video release event for Super 8 and confirmed that he will be back to collaborate once again with Abrams & Co.
We’ll have more as things develop.
