Abrams: First Draft of 'Star Trek XI' Is Finished

[Vic 17]

J.J. Abrams Talks 'Trek'

''I can't wait to do this,'' the ''Lost'' creator says of producing the next film in the franchise

 

DEVELOPMENT PHASERS Abrams was mum on plot details, though published reports have said his Trek movie will focus on the younger days of Spock (played in the original TV series by Leonard Nimoy, left) and Kirk (William Shatner, center)

Photo Credit: Star Trek: Everett CollectionBy Lindsay Soll

After his panel at the New York Times' 6th Annual Arts & Leisure Weekend, EW sat down with Mission: Impossible III helmer and Lost creator J.J. Abrams to get an inside look at his new enterprise: a Star Trek movie. While it isn't clear when we can expect to see the film, which will be the 11th in the series, he confirmed a draft of the script is done, and it will be trimmed sometime soon.

 

So what, exactly, will be the plot? Early reports (like this one in Variety) said that it will focus on the young, post-Starfleet Academy days of James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, but Abrams wouldn't specify. Still, he assured us it's a story that even non-Trekkers can enjoy. ''On the one hand, for people who love Star Trek, the fix that they will get will be really satisfying,'' he says. ''For people who've never seen it or know it vaguely, I think they will enjoy it equally, because the movie does not require you to know anything about Star Trek. I would actually prefer [that] people don't know the series, because I feel like they will come to it with an open mind.''

 

Alex Christian and Roberto Orci are executive-producing and writing the sci-fi flick, and Abrams is co-producing with Lost pals Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk. There's no word on a director or casting yet, but Abrams is anxious to move forward. ''I can't wait to do this,'' he says. ''It is an absolute thrill to work on this project. We really are still like, 'How the hell are we able to do this?'''

 

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