star trek film 2009 cast

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The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one pl... Read all The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time. The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

• J.J. Abrams
• Roberto Orci
• Alex Kurtzman
• Gene Roddenberry
• Zachary Quinto
• 1.6K User reviews
• 532 Critic reviews
• 82 Metascore
• 27 wins & 95 nominations total

• Spock Prime

• (as Zoë Saldana)

• Amanda Grayson

• George Kirk

• Winona Kirk

• Captain Robau

• Officer Pitts
• (as Antonio Elias)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Simon Pegg did not audition for the role - he simply received an email from J.J. Abrams asking if he would like to play Scotty. Pegg said he would have done this for free, or even paid Abrams to be in this film, if he had not been offered a role.
• Goofs After Spock boards the Vulcan ship on board the mining vessel, Kirk is seen walking through some pipes. His Starfleet phaser has switched to a Romulan gun (longer barrel and no lights), before switching back to the Starfleet one again in the next scene. He actually acquires the Romulan gun a few scenes later.

Spock Prime : James T. Kirk!

James T. Kirk : Excuse me?

Spock Prime : How did you find me?

James T. Kirk : Whoa... how do you know my name?

Spock Prime : I have been and always shall be your friend.

James T. Kirk : Wha...

[shakes head]

James T. Kirk : Uh... look... I-I don't know you.

Spock Prime : I am Spock.

James T. Kirk : Bullshit.

• Crazy credits The first part of the closing credits is styled after the opening credits of Star Trek (1966) , where the starship Enterprise blasts off into space as a monologue describes its mission, and then the cast names appear as the famous "Star Trek" theme music plays.
• Connections Edited into De wereld draait door: Episode #4.157 (2009)
• Soundtracks Theme from 'Star Trek' TV Series Written by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry

User reviews 1.6K

• Apr 10, 2009
• If this premise is that an alternate timeline created when Nero traveled back in time, then what happened to James Kirk's older brother, Sam, aka George Samuel Kirk Jr.?
• How can Spock's mother still be alive years later (original series) when she dies earlier on in this movie ?
• What is Star Trek about?
• May 8, 2009 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Star Trek: The Future Begins
• Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA (Vulcan)
• Paramount Pictures
• Spyglass Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $150,000,000 (estimated)
• $257,730,019
• $75,204,289
• May 10, 2009
• $385,681,768

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Atmos
• 2.35 : 1 (original ratio)
• 2.39 : 1 (original ratio)

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Star Trek - Full Cast & Crew

• 82   Metascore
• 2 hr 8 mins
• Drama, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

JJ Abrams resurrects Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi franchise with this prequel about the formation of the Enterprise's crew. James T Kirk is forced to take command of the starship after an enemy attack, but he comes into conflict with Spock, who doesn't believe Kirk is qualified to be their captain.

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Star Trek (2009)

2009 • PG-13

James T. Kirk attempts to live up to his potential and the legacy of his father, while a vengeful Romulan from the future attempts to destroy a Federation he feels is responsible for the death of his family and homeworld.

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Movie's ratings

• Kinorium 7.7 6515
• IMDb 7.9 620 571
• Critics 94% 356

Cast & Crew

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Star Trek — Cast & Crew

J.j. abrams.

Zachary Quinto

Zoe Saldana

Anton Yelchin

Leonard Nimoy

Bruce Greenwood

Winona Ryder

Chris Hemsworth

Jennifer Morrison

Rachel Nichols

Faran Tahir

Clifton Collins Jr.

Antonio Elias

Sean Gerace

Randy pausch.

Tim Griffin

Freda Foh Shen

Kasia Kowalczyk

Jason Brooks

Sonita Henry

Marta Martin

Tavarus Conley

Jeff castle.

Billy Brown

Jimmy Bennett

Greg Grunberg

Spencer Daniels

Jeremy Fitzgerald

Zoe Chernov

Max chernov, jacob kogan.

Lorenzo James Henrie

Akiva Goldsman

Anna Katarina

Douglas Tait

Gerald W. Abrams

James McGrath

Jason matthew smith.

Marcus Young

Bob Clendenin

Darlena Tejeiro

Jeffrey Byron

Jonathan Dixon

Tyler Perry

Ben Binswagner

Margot farley.

Paul McGillion

Kimberly Arland

Sufe Bradshaw

Charles Haugk

Michael Saglimbeni

John Blackman

Jack millard.

Shaela Luter

Sabrina morris.

Michelle Parylak

Amanda Foreman

Michael Berry Jr.

Lucia Rijker

Pasha D. Lychnikoff

Matt Beisner

Neville page.

Jesper Inglis

Marlene Forte

Leonard O. Turner

Mark Bramhall

Ronald F. Hoiseck

Irene Roseen

Jeff O'Haco

Scottie Thompson

Majel Barrett

Wil Wheaton

Lynnanne Zager

Rico E. Anderson

Richard Arnold

Tad Atkinson

Leslie Augustine

Johnny Baca

Diora Baird

Leonard Baligaya

Corey Becker

Larry blackman.

Alex G. Blume

Jessica ehimika.

Neil S. Bulk

Etalvia cashin.

James Cawley

Brad champagne, zachary culbertson.

Jeffrey De Serrano

T.C. De Witt

Calvin dean.

Christopher Doohan

Claire Doré

Mark casimir dyniewicz jr..

Etienne Eckert

Aliza Finley

Anna Florence

Mathew Thomas Foss

Massi furlan.

Tommy Germanovich Jr.

Vittorio Wyatt Gray

Joshua Greene

Nancy Guerriero

Jarrell Hall

Justin Rodgers Hall

Jeffery Hauser

Brad William Henke

Gina Hieber

Ryan t. husk.

Elizabeth Ingalls

Christopher Karl Johnson

Sierra Kane

Lauren Mary Kim

Sarah Klaren

Tammy Klein

Makiko Konishi

Tashana Landray

Joyce lasley, daniel d. lee.

Anne Leighton

Steven Luna

Aaron Lynch

Justin Malachi

Paul Marshall

Owen Martin

Taylor McCluskey

Caitlin McKenna

Patrizia Milano

Heidi Moneymaker

Kevin Moser

Jonathan Newkerk

Westley Nguyen

Andres Perez-Molina

Mark Phelan

Thomas J. Phillips

Damion poitier.

Bertrand Roberson Jr

Deborah Rombaut

Leonard Jonathan Ruebe

Darth schuhe, ramona seymour, william morgan sheppard.

Nicholas Guy Smith

Ronnie Steadman

Joseph Stephens Jr.

Joseph Steven

Kaitlin Sullivan

Paul sutherlin, adam thomasson.

Paul Townsend

Scott Trimble

Errik Tustenuggee

Ravi Valleti

Jason Vaughn

Jenna Vaughn

Benjamin Vera

Brian Waller

Steve Wharton

Matthew McGregor

Linwood porter, roberto orci.

Alex Kurtzman

Gene Roddenberry

Damon Lindelof

Jeffrey Chernov

David Baronoff

Michael Giacchino

David Barbee

Anna behlmer.

Charlie Campagna

Harry Cohen

Peter J. Devlin

Scott Martin Gershin

David Giammarco

Paul massey.

Andy Nelson

Mark Ormandy

Phillip w. palmer.

Alan Rankin

Geoffrey G. Rubay

Ann scibelli.

Mark P. Stoeckinger

Tim Walston

Ben wilkins.

Cory Mandel

David raines, dennis bradford.

Keith P. Cunningham

Luke freeborn.

Beat Frutiger

Scott Chambliss

Karen Manthey

Michael kaplan.

Maryann Brandon

Mary Jo Markey

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“Star Trek” as a concept has voyaged far beyond science fiction and into the safe waters of space opera, but that doesn’t amaze me. The Gene Roddenberry years, when stories might play with questions of science, ideals or philosophy, have been replaced by stories reduced to loud and colorful action. Like so many franchises, it’s more concerned with repeating a successful formula than going boldly where no “Star Trek” has gone before.

The 2009 “Star Trek” film goes back eagerly to where “Star Trek” began, using time travel to explain a cast of mostly the same characters, only at a younger point in their lives, sailing the Starship Enterprise. As a story idea, this is sort of brilliant and saves on invention, because young Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty and the rest channel their later selves. The child is father to the man, or the Vulcan, and all that.

Don’t get me wrong. This is fun. And when Leonard Nimoy himself returns as the aged Spock, encountering another Spock ( Zachary Quinto ) as a young man, I was kind of delighted, although as is customary in many sci-fi films, nobody is as astonished as they should be. Holy moly! Time travel exists, and this may be me! It’s more like a little ambiguous dialogue is exchanged, and they’re off to battle the evil Romulan Capt. Nero ( Eric Bana ).

Time travel as we all know, is impossible in the sense it happens here, but many things are possible in this film. Anyone with the slightest notion of what a black hole is, or how it behaves, will find the black holes in “Star Trek” hilarious. The logic is also a little puzzling when Scotty can beam people into another ship in outer space, but they have to physically parachute to land on a platform in the air from which the Romulans are drilling a hole to the Earth’s core. After they land there, they fight with two Romulan guards, using ... fists and swords? The platform is suspended from Arthur C. Clark’s “space elevator,” but instead of fullerenes, the cable is made of metallic chunks the size of refrigerators.

But stop me before I get started. I mention these details only to demonstrate that the movie raises its yo-yo finger to the science, while embracing the fiction. Apart from details from the youths of the characters and the Spock reunion, it consists mostly of encounters between the Enterprise and the incomparably larger and much better armed Romulan spaceship from the future. It’s encouraging to learn that not even explosions and fires can quickly damage a starship. Also that lifeboats can save the crew, despite the vast distance from home base.

That would be because of warp speed, which for present purposes consists of looking through an unnecessary window at bright lights zapping past. This method of transportation prevents any sense of wonder at the immensity of outer space and is a convenience not only for the starship but also for the screenwriters, who can push a button and zap to the next scene. The concept of using warp speed to escape the clutches of a black hole seems like a recycling of the ancient dilemma of the rock and the hard place.

But there are affecting character moments. Young Spock is deliberately taunted in hopes he will, as a Vulcan, betray emotion. Because Zachary Quinto plays him as a bit of a self-righteous prig, it’s satisfying to see him lose it. Does poor young Spock realize he faces a lifetime of people trying to get a rise out of him? Nimoy, as the elderly Spock, must have benefitted, because he is the most human character in the film.

Chris Pine , as James Tiberius Kirk, appears first as a hot-rodding rebel who has found a Corvette in the 23rd century and drives it into the Grand Canyon. A few years after he’s put on suspension by the Academy and smuggled on board the Enterprise by Bones McCoy ( Karl Urban ), he becomes the ship’s captain. There are times when the command deck looks like Bring Your Child to School Day, with the kid sitting in daddy’s chair.

Uhura ( Zoe Saldana ) seems to have traveled through time to the pre-feminist 1960s, where she found her miniskirt and go-go boots. She seems wise and gentle and unsuited to her costume. Scotty ( Simon Pegg ) seems to have begun life as a character in a Scots sitcom. Eric Bana’s Nero destroys whole planets on the basis of faulty intelligence, but the character is played straight and is effective.

The special effects are slam-bam. Spatial relationships between spaceships are unclear because the Romulan ship and the Enterprise have such widely unmatched scales. Battles consist primarily of jump-suited crew members running down corridors in advance of smoke, sparks and flames. Lots of verbal commands seem implausibly slow. Consider, at light warp speeds, how imprecise it would be to say “At my command ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...” Between “2” and “1,” you could jump a million galaxies.

I thought about these things during “Star Trek” because I could not help myself. I understand the Star Trek science has never been intended as plausible. I understand this is not science fiction but an Ark movie using a starship. I understand that the character types are as familiar as your favorite slippers. But the franchise has become much of a muchness. The new movie essentially intends to reboot the franchise with younger characters and carry on as before. The movie deals with narrative housekeeping. Perhaps the next one will engage these characters in a more challenging and devious story, one more about testing their personalities than re-establishing them. In the meantime, you want space opera, you got it.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Star Trek (2009)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content

127 minutes

Anton Yelchin as Chekov

Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk

Eric Bana as Capt. Nero

John Cho as Sulu

Ben Cross as Sarek

Chris Pine as James Tiberius Kirk

Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime

Jennifer Morrison as Winona Kirk

Bruce Greenwood as Capt. Christopher Pike

Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson

Zachary Quinto as Spock

Zoe Saldana as Uhura

Directed by

• J. J. Abrams

Screenplay by

• Roberto Orci
• Alex Kurtzman

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Star Trek (2009)

Theatrical release.

May 6th 2009

J.J. Abrams

"The future begins."

Science Fiction, Action, Adventure

$150,000,000

$385,680,446

Oscar 2010, BAFTA Film Award 2010, Actor 2010, Saturn Award 2010, ALMA Award 2009, Eddie 2010, Excellence in Production Design Award 2010, ASCAP Award 2010, AFCA Award 2009, ACCA 2009, BMI Film Music Award 2010, BSFC Award 2009, Critics Choice Award 2010, COLA 2008, Artios 2009, C.A.S. Award 2010, CDG Award 2010, Gold Award 2010, DFCS Award 2010, DFCS Award 2009, DFCC 2009, Empire Award 2010, Gold Derby Award 2010, Golden Schmoes 2009, Golden Trailer 2009, Grammy 2010, Spotlight Award 2009, HPA Awards 2009, HFCS Award 2009, Hugo 2010, IGN Award 2009, ICS Award 2010, IFMCA Award 2010, INOCA 2010, Sierra Award 2009, Golden Reel Award 2010, MTV Movie Award 2010, NBR Award 2009, OFTA Film Award 2010, OFCS Award 2010, People's Choice Award 2010, PGA Award 2010, PFCS Award 2009, Rondo Statuette 2009, Satellite Award 2009, Scream Award 2009, SFX Award 2010, SLFCA Award 2009, Teen Choice Award 2009, VVFP Award 2009, VES Award 2010, WAFCA Award 2009, World Soundtrack Award 2009, Taurus Award 2010, WGA Award (Screen) 2010

Cast of Star Trek

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The full cast of Star Trek

Here you will find an overview of the cast of the movie Star Trek from the year 2009, including all the actors, actresses and the director. When you click on the name of an actor, actress or director from the movie Star Trek-cast you can watch more movies and/or series by him or her. Click here for more infomation about the movie.

We have made an overview that includes: actors , directors , the production team , the camera team , writers and other crew members .

J.J. Abrams

Nicole Rubio

Petra Jorgensen

Dawn Gilliam

Vanessa Meier

Tommy Gormley

Danny Green

Hal Olofsson

Gene Roddenberry

Alex Kurtzman

Roberto Orci

Actors & actresses.

Zachary Quinto

Zoe Saldana

Anton Yelchin

Leonard Nimoy

Bruce Greenwood

Winona Ryder

Chris Hemsworth

Jennifer Morrison

Rachel Nichols

Faran Tahir

Clifton Collins Jr.

Sean Gerace

Randy Pausch

Tim Griffin

Freda Foh Shen

Kasia Kowalczyk

Jason Brooks

Sonita Henry

Marta Martin

Tavarus Conley

Jeff Castle

Billy Brown

Jimmy Bennett

Greg Grunberg

Spencer Daniels

Jeremy Fitzgerald

Zoe Chernov

Max Chernov

Jacob Kogan

Lorenzo James Henrie

Akiva Goldsman

Anna Katarina

Douglas Tait

Gerald W. Abrams

James McGrath

Jason Matthew Smith

Marcus Young

Bob Clendenin

Darlena Tejeiro

Jeffrey Byron

Jonathan Dixon

Tyler Perry

Ben Binswagner

Margot Farley

Paul McGillion

Kimberly Arland

Sufe Bradshaw

Charles Haugk

John Blackman

Jack Millard

Shaela Luter

Sabrina Morris

Michelle Parylak

Amanda Foreman

Michael Berry Jr.

Lucia Rijker

Pasha D. Lychnikoff

Matthew Beisner

Neville Page

Jesper Inglis

Marlene Forte

Leonard O. Turner

Mark Bramhall

Ronald F. Hoiseck

Irene Roseen

Jeff O'Haco

Scottie Thompson

Majel Barrett

Ronnie Steadman

Rico E. Anderson

Richard Arnold

Tad Atkinson

Leslie Augustine

Johnny Baca

Diora Baird

Leo Baligaya

Corey Becker

Larry Blackman

Jessica Boss

Neil S. Bulk

Etalvia Cashin

James Cawley

Brad Champagne

Zachary Culbertson

Jeffrey De Serrano

T.C. De Witt

Calvin Dean

Christopher Doohan

Claire Doré

Etienne Eckert

Aliza Finley

Anna Florence

Mathew Thomas Foss

Massi Furlan

Tommy Germanovich Jr.

Nancy Guerriero

Jarrell Hall

Justin Rodgers Hall

Jeffery Hauser

Brad William Henke

Ryan T. Husk

Elizabeth Ingalls

Sierra Kane

Christopher Karl Johnson

Lauren Mary Kim

Sarah Klaren

Makiko Konishi

Tashana Landray

Daniel D. Lee

Anne Leighton

Aaron Lynch

Justin Malachi

Paul Marshall

Owen Martin

Taylor McCluskey

Matthew McGregor

Caitlin McKenna

Patrizia Milano

Heidi Moneymaker

Kevin Moser

Jonathan Dunkerley Newkerk

Westley Nguyen

Andres Perez-Molina

Mark Phelan

Damion Poitier

Bertrand Roberson Jr.

Deborah Rombaut

Leonard Jonathan Ruebe

Darth Schuhe

Ramona Seymour

William Morgan Sheppard

Joseph Stephens Jr.

Joseph Steven

Kaitlin Sullivan

Paul Townsend

Scott Trimble

Errik Tustenuggee

Ravi Valleti

Jason Vaughn

Brian Waller

Steve Wharton

Wil Wheaton

Brianna Womick

Lynnanne Zager

Artistic design.

Christine Youngstrom

Luke Freeborn

Beat Frutiger

Dennis Bradford

Jim Stubblefield

Joe Bergman

Mauricio Ruiz

Ron Mendell

Ryan Church

James Clyne

Jorge Almeida

Fabian Lacey

Paul Ozzimo

Tony Wright

Sebastian Milito

Tony Bridgers

Peter Sattler

Geoffrey Mandel

Clint Schultz

Scott Chambliss

Russell Bobbitt

Stephen McCumby

Karen Manthey

Scott Herbertson

Anne Porter

Harry E. Otto

William O. Hunter

Kevin Cross

Tex Kadonaga

Joseph Hiura

Andrea Dopaso

Andrew Reeder

Keith P. Cunningham

Andrew Kramer

David B. Nowell

Steve Wolfe

John Rex Woodward

Craig Bauer

William D. Barber

Michael P. May

Daniel L. Turrett

Philippe Carr-Forster

Andrew Rowlands

Dale Myrand

Simon England

Anaïs Ganouna

Paul Samaniego

Michael Wahl

Larry Sweet

Sean Devine

John T. Connor

Serge Nofield

Brad Peterman

Wally Sweeterman

Mateo Bourdieu

Colin Anderson

Zade Rosenthal

Scott Garfield

Pete Romano

Costume & makeup.

Melissa Montague

Leticia Sandoval

Phyllis Thurber-Moffit

Stacy Caballero

Cristina Patterson

Paul Sinnott

Michael Kaplan

Phillip Boutte Jr.

Brian Valenzuela

Linda Matthews

Jessica Carpenter

Amelia Buhrman

Bega Metzner

Carrie Arakaki

Brenda M. Ware

Adrienne Greshock

Bernadene Morgan

Terry Baliel

Aida Caefer

Teressa Hill

Nicole DeFrancesco

Jules Holdren

Ginger Damon

David Larson

Ketty Gonzalez

Colleen LaBaff

Maynard Matthews

Jason Green

Rhonda O'Neal

Hilary Niederer

Steve Constancio

Leslie Sungail

Lana Heying

Debra Coleman

Kimberly Felix

Richard Redlefsen

Dave Snyder

Bonita DeHaven

Andy Clement

Jed Dornoff

Richard Alonzo

Mark Garbarino

Mike Smithson

Margaret Prentice

René Dashiell Kerby

Ned Neidhardt

Jamie Kelman

Susan Stepanian

Rebecca Alling

Cynthia Hernandez

Tammy Ashmore

Tina Hoffman

Marianna Elias

Barney Burman

James MacKinnon

Stephen Bettles

Joel Harlow

Lisa A. Doyle

Mustapha Mimis

Shelli Nishino

Myron Baker

Gilbert Zamorano

Andrew Nelson

David Perrone

Erwin H. Kupitz

Bob Kretschmer

Cliff Fleming

Nigel Sumner

Hilmar Koch

Joakim Arnesson

David August

Paul George Palop

Steve Jaworski

Barry Safley

Jason Fleming

Michael Buster

Kathleen S. Dunn

Jessica Drake

Mike Marcuzzi

Alan D. Purwin

Bruce McCleery

Brian Connor

Chad Taylor

Richard Bluff

Conny Fauser

Grady Cofer

Daniel Pearson

Gregory Salter

David Weitzberg

Tory Mercer

François Lambert

Gerald Gutschmidt

Katrin Klaiber

Mark Nettleton

Jason Rosson

Damian Steel

John Walker

Leandro Estebecorena

Michael Hird

Alex Betuel

Burt Dalton

Richard Kennedy

Walter Polan

Richard Ratliff

Tony Vandenecker

Michael Roundy

Jeremiah Cooke

Curtis Decker

Eric Dressor

Clark James

Chris Jones

David Mesloh

Jesse Orozco

Jeff Pepiot

Bryan Phillips

Christopher A. Suarez

Jonathan Tang

Dennis Yeager II

Zack Duhame

Shauna Duggins

Chris Palermo

Bryan Fletchall

Brian McPherson

Kimberly Shannon Murphy

Martin Allan Kloner

Kevin LaNeave

Movie editing.

Kerry Joseph Blackman

Don Capoferri

Mike Chiado

Nick Monton

Erik Rogers

Maryann Brandon

Mary Jo Markey

Lucyna Wojciechowski

Julian Smirke

Lighting techniques.

Edward J. Cox

Chris Weigand

Morten Petersen

Christopher Prampin

Patrick Hoeschen

Damon Liebowitz

Joel A. Ruiz

William Streit

Douglas Kieffer

Danny Gonzalez

Dan Hawking

Anthony Gudino

Jose Harb Jr.

Kyle Kovacs

Jonathan M. Wiener

Hootly Weedn

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Jesse Mather

Mark Carlile

John Savedra

Jerry Gregoricka

George Kallimanis

Adam W. Erler

Albert F. Bagley III

James C. DeGeeter

Jason Erler

Jaime Heintz

Ricky Johnson

Gary Louzon

Philip Noble

Michael E. Pacheco

Nolan Pratt

David Baronoff

April Webster

Alyssa Weisberg

Gaby Kester

Simone Chavoor

Bonita Deneen

Jeffrey Chernov

Carla Lewis

Colleen Kenneavy

Natasha Delahunt

Maryellen Aviano

Damon Lindelof

Debbie Schwab

Charleen Richards

Robert Deschaine

Greg Crawford

David Lucarelli

Kerry Dean Williams

Paul Flinchbaugh

Branden Spencer

Chris Quilty

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Patrick Martens

Laura Harris Atkinson

Daniel S. Irwin

Victor Ray Ennis

Sarah Monat

Robin Harlan

Randy Singer

Thomas W. Small

Michael Giacchino

Phillip W. Palmer

Scott Martin Gershin

Geoffrey G. Rubay

Tim Walston

Ann Scibelli

Ben Wilkins

Mark Ormandy

Glenn T. Morgan

David Barbee

Peter J. Devlin

Paul Massey

David Giammarco

Andy Nelson

Cory Mandel

Anna Behlmer

Tim Gomillion

Matt Patterson

Dennis Rogers

Mark P. Stoeckinger

Alan Rankin

Special effects.

Michael Bomagat

Chris Mitchell

Delio Tramontozzi

Rick O'Connor

C. Michael Easton

Geoff Hemphill

Mike Bomgat

Erik Morgansen

Marla Newall

Steve Rawlins

Greg Towner

Chi Chung Tse

Paul Kavanagh

Todd Vaziri

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Nowell Valeri

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Thomas Nittmann

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Stefano Trivelli

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Star Trek (2009)

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Star Trek is a 2009 science fiction film directed by J. J. Abrams , written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman , and distributed by Paramount Pictures . It is the eleventh film based on the Star Trek franchise and features the main characters of the original Star Trek television series, who are portrayed by a new cast. The film follows James T. Kirk ( Chris Pine ) and Spock ( Zachary Quinto ) before they unite aboard the USS Enterprise to combat Nero ( Eric Bana ), a Romulan from their future who threatens the United Federation of Planets . The story establishes an alternate reality [1] [2] through time-travel by both Nero and the original Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ), freeing the film and the franchise from established continuity constraints.

Development of the film began in 2005. Filming took place from November 2007 to March 2008 under intense secrecy. Midway through the shoot, Paramount chose to delay the release date from December 25, 2008 to May 2009, believing the film could reach a wider audience.

Star Trek has earned high critical praise, gaining a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes . [3] It is the thirteenth-highest-grossing film of 2009 —seventh-highest within North America—and has become the highest-grossing film in the Star Trek series and is credited by the media as a reboot of the series. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] It was nominated for four Oscars at the 82nd Academy Awards and won the Academy Award for Best Makeup , making it the first Star Trek film to win an Oscar.

• 1.1 Act One
• 1.2 Act Two
• 1.3 Act Three
• 3.1 Development
• 3.2 Writing
• 3.4 Filming
• 3.5 Effects
• 4.2 Sound effects
• 5.1 Marketing
• 5.2 Box office
• 5.3 Reception
• 5.4 Awards and nominations
• 5.5 Home release
• 7.1 Release Dates for Untitled Star Trek Sequel

A cataclysm over 150 years into the future throws two ships into the 23rd century, altering the course of history. With a different life where he never knew his father, James T. Kirk becomes a brilliant yet cynical misfit who is finally convinced to join Starfleet by Captain Christopher Pike in 2255. Three years later, Kirk, Spock, and the young crew of the USS Enterprise , with guidance from Spock's future self, must figure out a way to work together to prevent the one responsible for the death of Kirk's father, the future Romulan known as Nero, from wreaking destruction throughout the Federation in a mad quest for vengeance, using a powerful new weapon. For some, their help comes too late.

Act One [ ]

The Narada emerges after passing through a black hole.

Lieutenant Commander George Kirk aboard the ill-fated USS Kelvin .

Winona Kirk with Jim, moments after his birth.

In the year 2233 , the Template:USS investigates a " lightning storm" near Klingon space , which they soon realize to be a black hole . Suddenly, the massive Narada emerges from the maw and immediately opens fire on the Kelvin with devastating torpedoes , inflicting heavy damage and causing many casualties. The attack also knocks out the starship's warp drive . The Narada ceases fire, and its first officer , Ayel , hails the outmatched Kelvin . Speaking for Nero , Ayel demands that the Kelvin Template:'s captain, Richard Robau , come aboard the Narada via shuttlecraft to negotiate a cease-fire; his "unwise" refusal would mean the destruction of the Kelvin . Captain Robau agrees and turns over command of the ship to his first officer , Lieutenant Commander Template:Alt . Robau orders Kirk to wait fifteen minutes for his signal or else evacuate the ship.

Robau is taken to Nero, while the crew of the Kelvin monitors his life signs . Ayel interrogates him first about a particular ship, which Robau does not recognize, and then about the location of Ambassador Spock , with whom Robau is also unfamiliar. Upon citing the stardate , 2233.04, Nero rushes at Robau, impaling him with a teral'n , terminating Robau's vital signs on the Kelvin Template:'s viewscreen. Kirk assumes command as the Narada fires another volley of torpedoes, inflicting more damage. The severely-damaged Kelvin tries to return fire, but as the situation grows dire and he realizes that the damage to the ship is compromising the lives of everyone, Kirk orders the crew to escape pods and shuttles, including his wife Winona , who is about to give birth. She is sent to a specific shuttle - Medical Shuttle 37 . Kirk tells her to wait there while he plots a collision course on autopilot .

Unfortunately, the ship's autopilot navigation was destroyed in the attack. The lieutenant makes the grim realization that he will need to control the Kelvin himself. He orders his wife to leave on the shuttle without him. She protests, but Kirk tells her that he has no choice but to stay behind and continue the attack in order to protect the others who are leaving on escape pods . On the shuttlecraft, Winona Kirk gives birth to a baby boy. As the Kelvin destroys the missiles aimed at the shuttles, Kirk can hear his newborn's cries. Then, Kirk asks Winona what they should name their son. She suggests naming him after George's father, but he laughs the suggestion off and says that Tiberius isn't much of a first name. They decide to name him Jim, after Winona's father. Right before the collision, Kirk tells Winona that he loves her. Communication is cut off, and Winona looks out of the shuttle - all she can see is a bright ball of flame in the middle of the Narada .

Kirk as a child.

Spock as a child.

Approximately ten years later, in the year 2243 , a young Template:Alt is seen racing down the road in an antique Corvette across Iowa . Over the vehicle's comm system (a Nokia in-dash car phone), Kirk's stepfather yells at him, demanding that he return home, citing that the car is an antique and he doesn't want a scratch on it. Kirk ignores the demand, switching the comm off and blasting 20th century music . Soon, a policeman on a flying motorbike chases after him, ordering the boy to stop the car. Evading the officer, Kirk heads for a quarry and jumps out of the car, moments before it speeds over the edge and crashes on the canyon floor below. The policeman apprehends the boy and asks his name, to which he states "James Tiberius Kirk".

Around the same time on Template:Alt , a young Template:Alt , who has just successfully answered a barrage of advanced questions in a learning pod, is being tormented by his peers about his mixed heritage, calling his father a traitor for marrying a Human "whore". Spock knocks one of the older boys into a learning pod and beats him in an emotional rage - hardly the expected emotional response. He is later gently admonished by his father, Template:Alt , who is disappointed at his son's lack of emotional control. He explains to his son that despite the common misconception, Vulcans are very emotional, even more so than Humans, but it is necessary for their culture to control their emotions and not let them control them. Sarek advises Spock that he has a path to choose and that only he can make the decision. When Spock asks of his father why he married his mother, Sarek coldly replies that it was logical.

Years later, Spock is conflicted about whether to participate in the kolinahr ; the Vulcan ritual aimed at purging all vestigial emotions. He talks to his mother, Template:Alt , who tells him that she will always be proud of him, no matter what he decides. Later, Spock stands before a committee on Vulcan. The chairman comments on Spock's perfect record in his attempt to gain entry to the Vulcan Science Academy and that his only flaw is that he also applied to Starfleet Academy . Spock explains it was only logical for him to explore all options. The committee informs him of his acceptance into the Vulcan Science Academy and commends his accomplishments despite his "disadvantage" of being half-Human. In response to yet another underhanded attack on his mother, Spock declines the offer of admission, implying that he has decided to enter Starfleet Academy instead. The committee expresses shock, as Spock is the first Vulcan to decline an offer of admission to the Vulcan Science Academy. Spock sardonically tells the committee that their record still remains untarnished since he is, in fact, only half-Vulcan. Before departing he conveys his gratitude once again, sardonically wishing them to "live long and prosper."

Spock defies the Vulcan elders.

Pike discovers Kirk in the bar.

Meanwhile, in 2255 , in a bar in Iowa, a young Template:Alt meets up with some friends, and a brash and intoxicated James Kirk introduces himself to her. He unsuccessfully flirts with her, trying to find out her first name, but although amused by his wit and a little impressed by his knowledge, she is ultimately not interested. The situation escalates when another Starfleet recruit intervenes in an attempt to defend Uhura - despite her saying she does not need the defense. He and three other recruits get into a fight with Kirk and beat him badly before a senior officer, Captain Template:Alt , ends the fight. Pike, familiar with Kirk's tragic past from having written his dissertation on the Kelvin incident, sits down with him and tries to talk some sense into the rebellious young man by persuading him to join Starfleet . Pike firmly believes that with his aptitude, Kirk can do more with himself than get into bar fights and be "the only genius-level repeat offender in the Midwest." He tells Jim he could have his own ship in only eight years. However, Kirk doesn't want to hear it and laughs at the idea of joining Starfleet. Pike ends the conversation with a reminder that Kirk's father saved eight hundred lives, including his mother's and his own, in the course of only twelve minutes of command and challenges Kirk to do better. Kirk cannot help but take him up on the challenge.

Kirk accepts Pike's offer.

Early the next day, Kirk heads to Riverside Shipyard , where the Template:USS is under construction. Pike is surprised to see Kirk turn up to join the new recruits. Giving his motorbike away to the first person who compliments it, Kirk passes Pike, saying he'll graduate in three years instead of four. He enters the recruit shuttle, surprising Uhura and the recruits who had beat him up the night before. Another man, Template:Alt , is escorted to his seat after being found in the bathroom by a female shuttle officer. Sitting next to Kirk, the somewhat nervous doctor starts ranting about what could physically happen to them if anything goes wrong with the shuttle's systems. Kirk is amused and tries to remind him that Starfleet works in space. McCoy explains that he has nowhere else to go, having lost everything in a divorce; the only thing he has left are his bones. The two talk and become friends.

Three years later, in 2258 , the Narada is waiting at an unknown part of space. Nero is called to the bridge by Ayel. Suddenly, a black hole temporal disturbance appears and a small starship flies out of the anomaly. Nero recognizes and welcomes the appearance of Ambassador Spock, and orders the ship to be captured.

Kirk has an encounter with Gaila.

Meanwhile, at Starfleet Academy, Kirk is telling McCoy that he is taking the Kobayashi Maru test again the next day, and is certain he will pass it. McCoy is shocked at Kirk's attitude, as no one has ever passed the test, much less repeated it - much less three times. However, Kirk then leaves to "study", which for him means an assignation with an Orion cadet named Gaila in her dorm room. Suddenly, Gaila's roommate enters and Kirk gets shoved under the bed by an anxious Gaila only to find out that the roommate is Uhura. While changing out of her uniform, she tells her roommate about a message she has just decoded, alerting Starfleet to the destruction of 47 Klingon warships by a massive unidentified ship. Kirk watches Uhura undress while noting her words, but a casual comment from Gaila makes Uhura suspicious, and she guesses there's a "mouth-breather" under the bed, at which point Kirk, amazed that she could even hear him, comes out of hiding. Angry that her roommate brought yet another guy to their room and even angrier that it's Kirk, she kicks him out.

Kirk during the Kobayashi Maru test.

The next day, Kirk, McCoy, Uhura and a few other Starfleet recruits are in the Kobayashi Maru simulation test on Kirk's third attempt. Kirk takes a comically casual approach to the test, much to everyone's bewilderment. Everything goes as planned when, unexpectedly, the power systems momentarily fail, and then the attacking Klingon ships' shields go down and are promptly destroyed. From above the simulator room, a technician asks how Kirk was able to beat this test. Spock, who is in the observation room, simply states "I do not know."

Spock at Kirk's hearing at Starfleet Academy.

During an official inquiry presided over by Admiral Richard Barnett , Starfleet Academy informs Kirk that they have received evidence that Kirk entered a subroutine into the computer making it possible for him to win in the simulation and accuse him of cheating. Kirk demands to face his accuser. Commander Spock is called up to the podium and introduced as one of the Academy's most distinguished graduates and programmer of the Kobayashi Maru test for the past four years. Kirk and Spock debate the purpose of the Kobayashi Maru , which Kirk claims is unfair due to its no-win programming, and which Spock explains is a test of the subject's ability to maintain composure and command ability in the face of fear and certain death.

The hearing is suddenly interrupted when word comes that the Federation has received a distress call from Vulcan. With the primary fleet occupied in the Laurentian system , Starfleet is forced to commission the Academy cadets and dispatch ships immediately to begin a rescue mission.

Act Two [ ]

Cadets are assigned to ships based on their aptitude, with the most capable cadets assigned to the USS Enterprise , a ship completed so recently that it hasn't even been christened yet. Uhura is originally assigned to the Template:USS , but complains directly to Spock, citing her numerous commendations and recommendations (many from Spock himself) and insisting she had earned an assignment to the USS Enterprise . Spock suggests that he did not want to suggest impropriety, but when Uhura refuses to back down, he ultimately relents, and re-assigns her to the Enterprise . Kirk has been grounded pending a ruling on his inquiry, and is not allowed to board the shuttles and join the mission. However, McCoy takes him to the medical bay, where he injects him with a vaccine, temporarily making him ill. Consequently, he is allowed to take Kirk up to the Enterprise on medical grounds, seeing as he is the patient to the ship's medical officer.

Kirk and McCoy on the shuttle.

The Enterprise leaves the spacedock for Vulcan, but not before helmsman Template:Alt – standing in for the ill McKenna – disengages the external inertial dampener , which had prevented them from going to warp. Template:Alt uses the comm system to inform the crew about their first mission, reporting a "lightning storm in space" followed by strange planet-wide seismic disturbances. Their orders are to investigate the seismic disturbance and aid in evacuation of the planet if necessary. After hearing the announcement Kirk suddenly realizes that the "lightning storm" is exactly the same occurrence the Kelvin encountered two decades earlier. Realizing that they are running straight into a Romulan trap, Kirk rushes through the ship to Uhura despite suffering a bad reaction to the vaccine McCoy gave him: swollen hands and a numb tongue. Despite his initial difficulty to communicate coherently, he finally manages to ask her about the Klingon distress call she had deciphered earlier and she confirms that the attackers were Romulan.

Kirk then rushes to the bridge to inform Captain Pike. Pike, is at first skeptical, and furious that Kirk had snuck aboard, but after hearing about the call Uhura picked up, Spock concludes that Kirk's logic is correct. Uhura is placed at the communications console at the bridge as, unlike assigned communications officer Hawkins , she can distinguish Romulan from Vulcan. As they disengage warp drive, the Enterprise finds itself in a debris field of the other seven Starfleet ships which arrived shortly before they did. At the direction of Pike, Sulu is able to navigate his way through the debris field with minimal damage. As they clear the debris, they come upon the Narada , drilling above Vulcan's atmosphere. The Narada attacks the Enterprise , which takes heavy damage on the first volley of torpedoes, almost destroying the sickbay and reducing the ship's shields to 32%. But just as they are about to fire again, Nero realizes which ship he is firing at and orders a cease-fire.

He hails the Enterprise and politely identifies himself. Pike, seeing a Romulan, accuses him of an act of war and offers to reach a settlement, but Nero states he stands apart from the Romulan Star Empire . He pointedly greets a confused Spock, and orders Pike to come aboard via shuttlecraft. Pike asks if there are any advanced hand-to-hand combat -trained officers on the bridge. Sulu volunteers. Pike gathers Sulu, Spock, and Kirk, whom he grimly jokes "wasn't supposed to be here anyway," and begins on his way to the shuttle bay.

Pike promotes Spock to captain and puts him in charge of the Enterprise . He also commissions Kirk as first officer , much to Spock's chagrin. Pike outlines his plan to do two things at once: on the shuttle en route to the Narada he will drop Kirk, Sulu, and chief engineer Olson into an orbital skydive . They will land on Narada Template:'s drill platform and disable it in order to contact Starfleet about the incident, since the drill has disable communications and transporter capabilities. If all else fails, they are to fall back to the primary fleet at the Laurentian system . If Pike doesn't come back, they will also need to come get him.

Spock returns to the bridge and checks in on sickbay. He is surprised to hear Dr. McCoy instead of Dr. Puri , the chief medical officer , who was killed in the attack. Spock officially names McCoy the chief medical officer, a fact McCoy had already assumed as he works in the sickbay, heavily damaged and inundated with casualties.

The massive Narada looms over the Enterprise above Vulcan.

Sulu sword-fights on the Romulan drill platform.

Pike arrives on the Narada as the three begin their descent. Sulu opens his parachute first, followed by Kirk. An over-enthusiastic Olson, wearing a red space suit , waits too long to activate his parachute, and he falls underneath the drill, incinerated by the beam. Kirk lands safely on the platform, and proceeds to fight the first Romulan who attacks him. While grappling over the Romulan's disruptor rifle , the weapon fires, shooting holes into Sulu's parachute, sending him out of control. Kirk reaches for his phaser pistol, but the Romulan quickly knocks it out of his hand, forcing him to use his helmet as a weapon. As Sulu approaches the platform, a second Romulan with a disruptor rifle emerges, and Kirk wards both off, eventually taking away their rifles but not doing much to hurt either of them. Sulu lands dangling off the platform and swings close to the drilling beam. He uses the parachute's repacking mechanism to pull himself onto the platform, and uses his retractable sword to cut it off to avoid getting incinerated by a flame vent. Sulu then sword-fights with one Romulan, while the other goes hand-to-hand against Kirk, who is knocked over and hanging on the edge of the platform. Sulu knocks his adversary onto the vent, incinerating him. He then stabs the other one with his sword, and pulls Kirk back to safety. Olson had the charges they were going to use to destroy the platform, so they use the Romulans' disruptor rifles to fire on the drill and disable it.

Ayel reports the drill's incapacitation, but tells Nero that the drill reached Vulcan's core before going offline. Nero orders the release of " red matter ", and the return of the drill. Chekov discovers what the "red matter" is doing: creating a black hole in the middle of the planet. Vulcan will be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Just as Kirk and Sulu are to be beamed off, the drill moves and Sulu falls. Kirk jumps after him and catches him. Sulu activates Kirk's parachute, but it is unable to take the weight of two people and snaps off. As they can't get a transporter lock, Chekov races to the transporter room and mathematically works out how to do so. The two officers are rescued just before they hit solid rock, hitting the transporter pads with a loud thud, banged up but alive.

Spock beams onto Vulcan as it collapses.

Spock attempts to save the Vulcan elders and his parents.

Uhura comforts Spock after the loss of Vulcan and his mother.

Right after Kirk and Sulu are beamed aboard, Spock tells Kirk that he is down to save the Vulcan Council , which includes Spock's parents. Kirk tries to stop him but he ignores Kirk and orders the transporter chief to beam him down immediately. They were taking refuge in the katric ark , a chamber within Mount Seleya, which they could not simply beam through. Two of the elders in the council are killed by falling rocks and statues, but Spock is able to get five of them outside, including his parents. As the transporter is about to pick them up, the rock his mother is standing on collapses, causing the transporter to miss her. As they re-materialize on board the Enterprise , Spock stands on the transporter pad in shock, having lost his mother, with his hand still reached out to her. The Enterprise crew retreats and watches in horror as Vulcan implodes into oblivion.

Kirk, Sulu, and the few Vulcans who were able to be brought aboard the Enterprise are brought to sickbay for treatment. Soon after, Spock leaves the bridge, and he is followed into the turbolift by Uhura. She stops the turbolift and after a few words, kisses and embraces him, hoping to console him. Though Spock is responsive to her, when she asks what Spock needs, he stiffens back up and states that he needs the crew to continue to work "admirably".

Nero asks Pike for the security codes to defense systems around Earth , but Pike refuses to give them to him, disgusted by Nero's act of genocide on Vulcan. Nero speaks about how the Narada , in his time, was a mining ship, and he was laboring to support his wife, who was expecting his child, before they were killed when Romulus was destroyed. He placed blame on the Federation for doing nothing, and accused Spock of betraying them, promising himself retribution. Pike pleads that Romulus still exists, but Nero only knows that his world – the Romulus of the future – was destroyed, and he intends to destroy every world of the Federation, so that others will know his pain. Forcing a Centaurian slug down Pike's throat which will help coerce Pike to give out the security codes, Nero orders the Narada to continue to Earth.

Spock leads the bridge crew in trying to brainstorm what happened. They have determined that the Narada is heading for Earth. Judging from their "black hole" technology, Spock reasons that the Narada must have traveled back in time from the future, much to McCoy's confusion as he exclaims he is a doctor, not a physicist . He states that they must regroup with the fleet, but Kirk says that in order to stop Nero they must go after him first. Kirk believes that any delayed action will result in Earth being destroyed. If Nero is from the future, then he'll know what's going to happen next, so they'll have to be unpredictable; Spock states that Nero's very presence logically caused a chain of events that altered reality as they know it and therefore his foreknowledge is irrelevant. This culminates in an argument which ends in Spock ordering Kirk's removal from the bridge, but Kirk fights off his security escort, despite McCoy trying to reason with him. Spock ends it by delivering the Vulcan nerve pinch to Kirk, before placing him in an escape pod and jettisoning it off the ship. Kirk awakens to find himself on the snow-covered world of Delta Vega , another planet in Vulcan's system. Picking up his gear, Kirk heads for the Starfleet station fourteen kilometers away.

Kirk is marooned on Delta Vega.

He is chased down by a " polarilla " which is in turn attacked by an even larger insectoid animal . It chases Kirk into a cave, and when it finally attaches a tendril to catch him, trying to consume him, it is spooked off by an elderly man wielding a lit torch. The man reveals himself to be Spock , Kirk's old friend and is genuinely happy to see him. Kirk is skeptical, telling the old man, who had assumed Kirk was in command of the Enterprise , that "he" was, and they were hardly friends, and he had in fact marooned him for mutiny, and that Pike had been taken hostage. However, when Spock identifies Nero as Pike's captor, Kirk realizes that he might just be telling the truth.

Spock melds with Kirk so that he can understand why he is here. He explains that 129 years in the future, in the year 2387 , an impending supernova of a star threatened to destroy the home worlds of the Romulan Star Empire and, potentially, the rest of the galaxy as well. Spock developed a stockpile of "red matter", a substance that can be ignited to form a singularity , a black hole that would mop up the matter of the supernova. However, the star exploded while he was en route, and Romulus was destroyed. Spock launched the red matter from his ship, the Jellyfish , to prevent further damage. Immediately, Spock was confronted by a surviving Romulan mining vessel, the Narada , captained by Nero. Spock tried to escape, but the resultant black hole captured both the Jellyfish and the Narada , creating a disturbance in the space-time continuum sending both ships into the past. The Narada exited over 150 years in the past, where it confronted the Kelvin . Spock's ship entered moments later, but what appeared seconds to him, were 25 years after the Narada had entered. Nero then captured Spock's ship, but kept Spock alive, marooning him on Delta Vega, so that he could witness the destruction of his own home planet, Vulcan, just as he had to witness the destruction of Romulus. Kirk explains he was left on the planet by the Spock he knows, who is currently in command of the Enterprise . The elder Spock is surprised, knowing that Kirk should be in command of the ship. It is then that Spock realizes that when Nero exited the black hole and confronted the Kelvin , he altered history and created an alternate reality , which changed everything, especially Kirk's life. Kirk asks Spock whether his father lived in the original timeline. Spock confirms that George Kirk proudly saw his son take command of the Enterprise , and often spoke of him as his inspiration to join Starfleet. Spock leads Kirk to the Starfleet base.

Back on the Enterprise , McCoy walks onto the bridge. Recalling that McCoy had taken his side during the "mutiny", Spock tells the doctor that he is well aware of his friendship with Kirk, acknowledging that it could not have been easy to oppose his friend in such a manner, never actually thanking him. McCoy then asks to speak freely, which Spock "welcomes" - and the doctor furiously asks him if he has lost his mind; banishing Kirk may have been logical, but certainly wasn't the right move. Spock is unfazed, responding to McCoy's use of a horse racing analogy by reminding him of the need to break a stallion to reach its potential, which astounds McCoy, who would think Spock might at least pretend it was a difficult choice. Spock sarcastically ends the argument by telling McCoy that, if tearfully walking the ship would improve crew morale, he would gladly defer to the doctor's orders. As Spock walks off to greet Sarek and dismisses McCoy, the doctor, still stewing, mutters that Spock is a "green-blooded hobgoblin" under his breath.

Spock Prime gives Kirk the Vulcan salute on Delta Vega

Kirk and the elder Spock are met by a short alien officer, Keenser , who leads them inside, where they meet this timeline's Template:Alt . A transporter genius, Scotty was "exiled" to Delta Vega after beaming Admiral Archer 's prized beagle to an unknown location during a failed experiment in " transwarp beaming ". Spock, however, assures Scott that it does work, and gives him the formula devised many years later by the Scotty he knew . Spock informs Kirk that he must relieve the Vulcan's younger self of command by provoking him and showing everyone that Spock is too personally and emotionally compromised to lead the mission and captain the ship, a violation of Starfleet Regulation 619. However, Spock refuses to come along and explain things to his younger self, implying too many paradoxes. Kirk is unsure that this will work, and Spock, with his voice cracking with sadness, reminds Kirk that he just saw his planet destroyed, and assures him that his younger counterpart is emotionally compromised. Before the transport, Kirk tells Spock that he was "cheating", Spock reminds him just who he learned cheating from, and, after wishing them long life and prosperity, sends Kirk and Scotty back to the Enterprise .

As they are transported to the Enterprise , Scotty accidentally finds himself inside the ship's water main and Kirk is able to rescue Scotty before he meets a gruesome death. The two are spotted by Chekov's detection of the water main's open emergency valve, and captured by security personnel, led by the one who got into a bar fight with Kirk three years previously and still remembers the remark made against him.

Spock attacks Kirk

They are taken to the bridge where an astounded Spock attempts to find out how the two were able to transport on board the ship while it was in warp. Kirk refuses to answer and recommends Scotty do the same, and then proceeds to ask why Spock doesn't feel any anger or have any emotion over the destruction of his planet and the murder of his mother. He keeps pushing and provoking Spock, claiming he never loved his mother. Upon hearing this accusation, Spock finally snaps and lunges after Kirk, ruthlessly beating and strangling him to the point of nearly killing him, before Sarek begs Spock to stop. Realizing how far he has gone, Spock relieves himself of duty and leaves the bridge. McCoy chastises Kirk for getting rid of the ship's captain without a first officer to replace him. But Kirk, to the bridge crew's astonishment (except Sulu, who confirms Pike's promotion of Kirk to First Officer), assumes command and orders an immediate pursuit of the Narada . Uhura, still wary of Kirk, coldly whispers that she hopes he knows what he's doing. Kirk admits that he hopes so too.

The Enterprise crew regards Spock when he returns to the bridge

Act Three [ ]

Following his outburst, Spock returns to the transporter room, where Sarek tries to get Spock to open up to him. Spock admits to feeling conflicted, and feels a rage he cannot control towards Nero over the death of his mother. Sarek offers that his mother would have said not to bother controlling it, and, recalling what he had said years before after another outburst of his son's Human side, sadly admits to his son that he married Amanda because he loved her. Meanwhile, on the Bridge, Chekov figures out a plan to get the Enterprise close to the Narada without them noticing: they can follow the Narada and stop at Titan 's orbit, remaining undetected by hiding in its magnetic field. Soon after, a cooled off Spock returns to the bridge, confirms the logic of Chekov's plan, and offers to beam over to the Narada to get the "black hole device" and save Earth, the only home he has left. Kirk says he will go as well, to rescue Pike. Spock mentions regulations against the captain and first officer going on such a mission, but chooses not to cite something he knows Kirk will ignore. Kirk quips that they are finally getting to know each other and gives Spock a friendly slap to the back.

The Romulan ship arrives at Earth and deploys its drilling rig directly over San Francisco . Warping into Titan 's atmosphere, the Enterprise remains undetected by the Narada . Before stepping onto the transporter pad, Kirk calls the bridge, telling Sulu that, if he believes the Enterprise can destroy the Narada , even if Kirk, Spock and Pike are still aboard, he should not hesitate to take the opportunity. Sulu reluctantly acknowledge's Kirk's order. Before they beam over, Uhura kisses Spock and tells him that he better come back. In his reply, he calls her "Nyota." Kirk, who overheard, then asks Spock if that's the first name he had tried and failed to learn since the first time he met her; Spock coyly cuts him off, stating his refusal to comment on the matter. Right after they are beamed aboard, the Narada begins to drill its hole near the Golden Gate Bridge , cutting the ship off from the Enterprise .

Kirk leaps after Nero on the Narada

Scotty thought he would be beaming Kirk and Spock to the Narada Template:'s cargo bay, but it turns out to be a heavily occupied portion of the ship. After a brief firefight, Spock uncovers the location of the black hole device and Captain Pike by melding with an unconscious Romulan. When they board the Jellyfish , it recognizes Spock as its captain, and the Vulcan finally figures out what is going on, as the ship's computer confirms its origin stardate as 2387, constructed by the Vulcan Science Academy. Spock confronts Kirk about withholding information from him, but Kirk dodges the question by asking Spock if he can fly the spacecraft, a question he is fairly confident Kirk already knows the answer to. For the first time, Spock calls Kirk, "Jim" and informs him that their chances of success are grim by citing his calculation of their odds, but Kirk assures him that their plan will work.

As Spock commandeers the Jellyfish and blasts out of the Narada , Kirk runs into more trouble as he finds the Romulan's "bridge", where Nero and Ayel are waiting. Kirk is confronted by Nero, who has recognized him from Earth's history, and after a brief scuffle, Nero pins Kirk and tells him that, while he was a decorated officer and went on to captain the starship Enterprise , that was another life, and that he plans to deprive him of the same life his father once had. Before he can finish Kirk off, however, Nero is informed that the Jellyfish has been stolen and the drill has been destroyed. Furious above all else, Nero storms off, leaving Kirk to Ayel while he plans to kill Spock. Ayel promptly grabs Kirk by the throat and lifts him in the air, surprised at how "weak" Humans appear to be. Seeing his prey attempting to talk, Ayel offers Kirk the chance to say something - and the Human replies that he is in possession of the Romulan's disruptor pistol. Kirk fires and kills Ayel as he plunges into the depths of the Romulan vessel. He then heads off to rescue Pike. Meanwhile, Nero hails Spock, declaring that he should have killed him when he had the chance. In reply, Spock taunts Nero by "ordering" him to surrender. The Jellyfish then goes into warp with Nero and the Narada in hot pursuit.

The ships drop out of warp, and the Jellyfish turns to intercept and collide with the Narada . Nero orders all weapons to be fired, even though the ship still has " red matter " on it; with his plan for revenge ruined, now he only wants to kill Spock. The Enterprise arrives on the scene and destroys the missiles with a fierce volley of its phasers, allowing Spock to carry through with his plan to ram the Narada . Inside the Narada , Kirk finds Pike, alive but injured due to his earlier torture. Pike is quite surprised, but Kirk reminds him of his previous order to "come and get me", and when two Romulan soldiers walk in and find Kirk, effectively defenseless while freeing Pike from the chamber, the captain returns the favor, grabbing the gun on Kirk's belt and mowing down the intruders before his rescuer even realizes what happened. Scotty successfully beams back Kirk, Pike and Spock, right before the Jellyfish collides with the Narada .

Kirk and Spock discuss Nero's fate

The explosion of the Jellyfish ignites the entire stockpile of " red matter " on-board, creating a black hole, which begins to swallow up the Narada . Kirk offers to rescue the surviving crew, believing that the tense relations between the Romulans and the Federation might be aided by this. Spock disagreed. Belligerent to the last, Nero refuses assistance anyway and Kirk opens fire, blowing the ship apart with phasers and photon torpedoes. The Narada is finally destroyed, but the gravitational pull of the black hole begins tugging on the Enterprise , keeping it from escaping, even with its engines running at warp speed. The pressure is heavily damaging the ship as Kirk orders Scott to get them out of there at all cost. Scotty ejects the warp core and detonates it near the black hole, pushing the Enterprise to safety.

Spock salutes his older self from the Prime timeline

Back on Earth, the elder Spock meets with his younger counterpart, who presumed the former to be his/their father. Young Spock is confused as to why his older self didn't come with Kirk and explain the situation. The older Spock states that he implied there may be universe-destroying paradoxes if Kirk told him the truth so that they would have to rely on each other, thus ensuring "a friendship that will define you both, in ways you can not yet realize." Young Spock asks if he was making a gambit; older Spock states that he made "an act of faith" to his old friend, which he hopes that he will show again in the future. However, younger Spock expresses his decision to resign from Starfleet to help rebuild the Vulcan race; older Spock points out that he can be in two places at once. He also advises his younger self in this case to put aside logic and do what feels right. The older Spock then raises his hand in the familiar Vulcan salute , and simply wishes his younger self "good luck."

Kirk is commended by Starfleet Command , promoted to captain , and given permanent command of the Enterprise . He relieves Pike, who has been promoted to admiral and is now recovering in a wheelchair. A proud Pike shakes his successor's hand and notes that his father too would be very proud of Kirk. As the older Spock leaves to help the remaining Vulcans establish a colony, Kirk, now dressed in the gold uniform of a captain, walks on to the Enterprise bridge. After he tells McCoy to "buckle up", and receives assurances from Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and Scotty (who has barely finished talking to Kirk when he finds Keenser - now a member of his engineering staff - having climbed atop a console and orders him down) that their sections are ready to depart, the younger Spock returns to the Enterprise and asks Captain Kirk if he can be his first officer, offering to provide "character references". Kirk says it would be his honor.

The film ends with the elder Spock reciting Zefram Cochrane 's famous monologue, as the Enterprise Template:'s warp engines power up and engage, propelling the crew into the adventures that lie ahead.

Karl Urban, Chris Pine, executive producer Bryan Burk, Zachary Quinto, director J.J. Abrams, Eric Bana, and John Cho at the Sydney Opera House premiere of the film on April 7, 2009

• Jimmy Bennett plays James Kirk as a boy.
• Jacob Kogan plays Spock as a child.
• Leonard Nimoy reprises his role as the elder Spock (referred to in the movie as Ambassador Spock, and in the ending credits as Spock Prime), who has come from the future. Nimoy befriended Quinto after being cast in the role. Although Quinto watched some episodes of the show during breaks in filming, Nimoy was his main resource in playing Spock. [13] Nimoy also chose the actor who portrayed his character "Spock" in the movie. Abrams and the writers met Nimoy at his house; writer Roberto Orci recalled the actor gave a Template:"' Who are you guys and what are you up to?' vibe" before being told how important he was to them. He was silent, and Nimoy's wife Susan Bay told the creative team he had remained in his chair after their conversation, emotionally overwhelmed by his decision after turning down many opportunities to revisit the role. [18] Had Nimoy disliked the script, production would have been delayed for it to be rewritten. [19] He was "genuinely excited" by the script's scope and its detailing of the characters' backstories, [15] saying, "We have dealt with [Spock being half-human, half-Vulcan], but never with quite the overview that this script has of the entire history of the character, the growth of the character, the beginnings of the character and the arrival of the character into the Enterprise crew." [20] Abrams said "it was surreal to direct him as Spock, because what the hell am I doing there? This guy has been doing it for forty years. It's like 'I think Spock would... Template:' " [21]
• Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy . Like Pine, Urban said of taking on the role that "it is a case of not doing some sort of facsimile or carbon copy, but really taking the very essence of what DeForest Kelley has done and honoring that and bringing something new to the table". Urban has been a fan of the show since he was seven years old and actively pursued the role after rediscovering the series on DVD with his son. [22] Urban was cast at his first audition, which was two months after his initial meeting with Abrams. He said he was happy to play a role with lots of comedy, something he had not done since The Price of Milk , because he was tired of action-oriented roles. When asked why McCoy is so cantankerous, Urban joked the character might be a "little bipolar actually!" [23] Orci and Kurtzman had collaborated with Urban on Xena: Warrior Princess , in which he played Cupid and Caesar . [24]
• Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura . Abrams had liked her work and requested that she play the role. Saldaña never saw the original series, though she had played a Trekkie in The Terminal (2004), but agreed to play the role after Abrams had complimented her. "For an actor, that's all you need, that's all you want. To get the acknowledgment and respect from your peers," she said. She met with Nichelle Nichols , who explained to her how she had created Uhura's background, and also named the character. [25] Saldaña's mother was a Star Trek fan and sent her voice mails during filming, giving advice on the part. [26] Sydney Tamiia Poitier also auditioned for the part. [27] The film officially establishes the character's first name, which had never been previously uttered on TV or in film.
• Simon Pegg as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott . Abrams contacted Pegg by e-mail, offering him the part. [28] To perform Scotty's accent, Pegg was assisted by his wife Maureen, who is from Glasgow , although Pegg said Scotty was from Linlithgow and wanted to bring a more East Coast sound to his accent, so his resulting performance is a mix of both accents that leans towards the West sound. [28] He was also aided by Tommy Gormley, the film's Glaswegian first assistant director. [29] Pegg described Scotty as a positive Scottish stereotype, noting "Scots are the first people to laugh at the fact that they drink and fight a bit", and that Scotty comes from a long line of Scots with technical expertise, such as John Logie Baird and Alexander Graham Bell . Years before, Pegg's character in Spaced joked that every odd-numbered Star Trek film being "shit" was a fact of life. Pegg noted "Fate put me in the movie to show me I was talking out of my ass." [30]
• John Cho as Hikaru Sulu . Abrams was concerned about casting a Korean-American as a Japanese character, but George Takei explained to the director that Sulu was meant to represent all of Asia on the Enterprise , so Abrams went ahead with Cho. [31] Cho acknowledged being an Asian-American, "there are certain acting roles that you are never going to get, and one of them is playing a cowboy. [Playing Sulu] is a realization of that dream — going into space." He cited the masculinity of the character as being important to him, and spent two weeks fight training. [32] Cho suffered an injury to his wrist during filming, although a representative assured it was "no big deal". [33] James Kyson Lee was interested in the part, but because Quinto was cast as Spock, the producers of the TV show Heroes did not want to lose another cast member for three months. [34]
• Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov : As with the rest of the cast, Yelchin was allowed to choose what elements there were from their predecessor's performances. Yelchin decided to carry on Walter Koenig 's speech patterns of replacing "v"s with "w"s , although he and Abrams felt this was a trait more common of Polish accents than Russian ones. [35] He described Chekov as an odd character, being a Russian who was brought on to the show "in the middle of the Cold War ." He recalled a "scene where they're talking to Apollo [who says], 'I am Apollo.' And Chekov is like, 'And I am the czar of all Russias.' [...] They gave him these lines. I mean he really is the weirdest, weirdest character." [36]
• Eric Bana as Captain Nero , the film's time-traveling Romulan villain. Bana shot his scenes toward the end of filming. He was "a huge Trekkie when [he] was a kid", [37] but had not seen the films. [38] Even if he were "crazy about the original series", he would not have accepted the role unless he liked the script, which he deemed "awesome" once he read it. [39] Bana knew Abrams because they coincidentally shared the same agent. [40] Bana improvised the character's speech patterns. [41]
• Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike , the captain of the Enterprise . [11]
• Ben Cross as Sarek , Spock's father.
• Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson , Spock's mother.
• Clifton Collins, Jr. as Ayel, Nero's first officer.
• Chris Hemsworth as George Samuel Kirk, Sr. , Kirk's father, who died aboard the USS Kelvin while battling Nero.
• Jennifer Morrison as Winona Kirk, Kirk's mother.
• Rachel Nichols as Gaila, an Orion Starfleet cadet.
• Faran Tahir as Richard Robau , captain of the USS Kelvin .
• Deep Roy as Keenser, Scotty's alien assistant on Delta Vega.
• Greg Ellis as Chief Engineer Olson, the redshirt who is killed during the space jump . [42]
• Chris Doohan , the son of the original Scotty, James Doohan , makes a cameo appearance in the transporter room. Pegg e-mailed Doohan about the role of Scotty, and the actor has promised him his performance "would be a complete tribute to his father". [43] Chris Doohan previously cameoed in Star Trek: The Motion Picture .
• Paul McGillion auditioned for Scotty, and he impressed producers enough that he was given another role as a 'Barracks Leader'. [44]
• Greg Grunberg has a vocal cameo as Kirk's alcoholic stepfather. [44] Brad William Henke filmed scenes in the role which were cut out. [45] Star Trek: Enterprise star Dominic Keating also auditioned for the role. [46] Grunberg was up for the role of Olson but dropped out due to a scheduling conflict. Grunberg was also interested in playing Harry Mudd , [47] who was in an early draft of the script. [48]
• Amanda Foreman appears as Hannity, a Starfleet officer on the Enterprise bridge.
• Spencer Daniels as Johnny, a childhood friend of Kirk. Daniels was set to play his older brother, George Samuel "Sam" Kirk, Jr., but the majority of his scenes were cut and the opening car chase scene where James Kirk can be heard calling out to him was overdubbed. [49]
• Victor Garber as Klingon Interrogator, the officer who tortures Nero during his time on Rura Penthe. His scene was cut from the film and was featured on the DVD. [50]

Tyler Perry appears as the head of Starfleet Academy , Admiral Richard Barnett. James Cawley , producer and star of the webseries Star Trek: New Voyages , appears as a Starfleet officer, while Pavel Lychnikoff and Lucia Rijker play Romulans, Lychnikoff a Commander and Rijker a CO . W. Morgan Sheppard , who played a Klingon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , appears in this film as the head of the Vulcan Science Council. Wil Wheaton , known for portraying Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation , was brought in, through urging by Greg Grunberg, to voice several of the other Romulans in the film. [51] Star Trek fan and Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch (who died on July 25, 2008) cameoed as a Kelvin crew member, and has a line of dialogue. [52] Majel Barrett , the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry , reprised her role as the voice of the Enterprise Template:'s computer, which she completed two weeks before her death on December 18, 2008. [53] Template:Dead link The film was dedicated to her as well as Gene, to whom the film was always going to be commemorated as a sign of respect. [54]

Orci and Kurtzman wrote a scene for William Shatner , where old Spock gives his younger self a recorded message by Kirk from the previous timeline. "It was basically a Happy Birthday wish knowing that Spock was going to go off to Romulus, and Kirk would probably be dead by the time," and it would have transitioned into Shatner reciting "Where no man has gone before". [55] But Shatner wanted to share Nimoy's major role, and did not want a cameo, [56] despite his character's death in Star Trek Generations . He suggested the film canonize his novels where Kirk is resurrected , [57] but Abrams decided if his character was accompanying Nimoy's, it would have become a film about the resurrection of Kirk, and not about introducing the new versions of the characters. [54] Nimoy disliked the character's death in Generations , but felt resurrecting Kirk would also be detrimental to this film. [19]

Nichelle Nichols suggested playing Uhura's grandmother, but Abrams could not write this in due to the Writers Guild strike . [58] Abrams was also interested in casting Keri Russell , but they deemed the role he had in mind for her too similar to her other roles. [59]

Production [ ]

Development [ ].

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At the 1968 World Science Fiction Convention , Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry declared he would make a film prequel to the television series . [60] The prequel concept resurfaced in the late 1980s with Ralph Winter and Harve Bennett during development of the fourth and sixth films. For the latter, David Loughery wrote a script entitled The Academy Years , but it was shelved in light of objections from the original cast and the fan base. In February 2005, following the financial failure of the tenth film, Star Trek Nemesis (2002), and the cancellation of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise , the franchise's executive producer Rick Berman and screenwriter Erik Jendresen were developing a new film entitled Star Trek: The Beginning . It was to revolve around a new set of characters, led by Kirk's ancestor Tiberius Chase. It would take place after Enterprise but before the original series, during the Earth-Romulan War . [61]

In 2005, Viacom , which owned Paramount Pictures , split from CBS Corporation , which retained Paramount's television properties, including ownership of the Star Trek brand. Gail Berman , then president of Paramount, convinced CBS' chief executive, Leslie Moonves , to allow them eighteen months to develop a new Star Trek film before CBS would re-earn the rights to develop a new television series (in return, CBS would keep merchandising rights). Berman approached Mission: Impossible III writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman for ideas on the new film, and after the film had completed shooting she asked their director, J. J. Abrams , to produce it. [62] Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman, plus producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk , felt the franchise had explored enough of what took place after the series, [63] Orci and Lindelof consider themselves trekkies , [64] and feel some of the Star Trek novels have canonical value, although Gene Roddenberry never considered the novels to be canon . [65] Kurtzman is a casual fan, while Burk was not. [11] Abrams' company, Bad Robot Productions produced the film with Paramount, marking the first time another company had financed a Star Trek film. [66] Bill Todman, Jr. 's Level 1 Entertainment also co-produced the film, but during 2008 Spyglass Entertainment replaced them as financial partner. [67]

Abrams had not seen Star Trek Nemesis because the franchise had "disconnected" for him, [68] explaining that for him, Star Trek was about Kirk and Spock, and the other series were like "separate space adventure[s] with the name Star Trek ". Abrams also preferred Star Wars as a child. [69] He noted his general knowledge of Star Trek made him suitable to making a film to introduce the franchise to newcomers though, [70] and being an optimistic person, he felt the optimistic nature of Star Trek would be a refreshing contrast to the likes of The Dark Knight . [11] He continued that he loved the focus on exploration in Star Trek and the idea of the Prime Directive , which forbids Starfleet to interfere in the development of primitive worlds. However, Abrams disliked that the budgetary limitations of the original show meant they "never had the resources to actually show the adventure". [71] He noted he only became involved with the project as producer initially because he wanted to help Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof. [62]

On February 23, 2007, Abrams accepted Paramount's offer to direct the film, having been only attached as producer. [72] After reading the script, he had decided "I would be so agonizingly envious of whoever stepped in and directed the movie." [73] Orci and Kurtzman felt their aim had been to impress a casual fan like Abrams with their story. [74] Even when filming, Abrams was nervous "with all these tattooed faces and pointy ears, bizarre weaponry and Romulan linguists, with dialogue about 'Neutral Zones' and 'Starfleet' [but] I knew this would work, because the script Alex and Bob wrote was so emotional and so relatable. I didn't love Kirk and Spock when I began this journey – but I love them now." [11]

Writing [ ]

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Orci said creating a clean reboot would have been disrespectful, [75] and getting Leonard Nimoy in the film was very important. "Having him sitting around a camp fire sharing his memories was never gonna cut it" though, and time travel was going to be included in the film from the beginning. [76] Kurtzman added the time travel creates jeopardy, unlike other prequels where viewers "know how they all died". [77] The writers acknowledged time travel had been overused in the other series, but it served a good purpose in creating a new set of adventures for the original characters before they could completely do away with it in other films. [78] Abrams selected the Romulans as the villains because they had been featured less than the Klingons in the show, and thought it was "fun" to have them meet Kirk before he does in the show. [79] Orci and Kurtzman noted it would feel backward to demonize the Klingons again after they had become heroes in later Star Trek series, and the Romulan presence continues Spock's story from his last chronological appearance in " Unification ", an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation set in 2368. [78] The episode of the original continuity in which Kirk becomes the first human to ever see a Romulan, " Balance of Terror ", served as one of the influences for the film. [64] Orci said it was difficult giving a good explanation for the time travel without being gimmicky, like having Nero specifically seeking to assassinate Kirk. [80]

Orci noted while the time travel story allowed them to alter some backstory elements such as Kirk's first encounter with the Romulans, they could not use it as a crutch to change everything and they tried to approach the film as a prequel as much as possible. Kirk's service on the Farragut , a major backstory point to the original episode " Obsession ", was left out because it was deemed irrelevant to the story of Kirk meeting Spock, although Orci felt nothing in his script precluded it from the new film's backstory. [76] There was a scene involving Kirk meeting Carol Marcus, who becomes the mother of his son in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , as a child, but it was dropped because the film needed more time to introduce the core characters. [55] [81] Figuring out ways to get the crew together required some contrivances, which Orci and Kurtzman wanted to explain from old Spock as a way of the timeline mending itself, highlighting the theme of destiny. The line was very difficult to write and was ultimately cut out. [78] [82]

The filmmakers sought inspiration from novels such as Prime Directive , Spock's World , and Best Destiny to fill in gaps unexplained by canon; Best Destiny particularly explores Kirk's childhood and names his parents. [64] [76] [83] One idea that was justified through information from the novels was having the Enterprise built on Earth, which was inspired by a piece of fan art of the Enterprise being built in a ship yard. Orci had sent the fan art to Abrams to show how realistic the film could be. [84] Orci explained parts of the ship would have to be constructed on Earth because of the artificial gravity employed on the ship and its requirement for sustaining warp speed , and therefore the calibration of the ship's machinery would be best done in the exact gravity well which is to be simulated. [85] They felt free to have the ship built in Iowa because canon is ambiguous as to whether it was built in San Francisco , but this is a result of the time travel rather than something intended to overlap with the original timeline. [77] Abrams noted the continuity of the original show itself was inconsistent at times. [13]

Orci and Kurtzman said they wanted the general audience to like the film as much as the fans, by stripping away " Treknobabble ", making it action-packed and giving it the simple title of Star Trek (to indicate to newcomers they would not need to watch any of the other films). [86] Abrams saw humor and sex appeal as two integral and popular elements of the show that needed to be maintained. [70] Orci stated being realistic and being serious were not the same thing. [84] Abrams, Burk, Lindelof, Orci and Kurtzman were fans of The Wrath of Khan , and also cited The Next Generation episode " Yesterday's Enterprise " as an influence. [64] Abrams's wife Katie was regularly consulted on the script, as were Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof's wives, to make the female characters as strong as possible. [75] Katie Abrams's approval of the strong female characters was partly why Abrams signed on to direct. [87]

Orci and Kurtzman read graduate school dissertations on the series for inspiration; [63] they noted comparisons of Kirk, Spock and McCoy to Shakespearian archetypes, and Kirk and Spock's friendship echoing that of John Lennon and Paul McCartney . [64] They also noted that, in the creation of this film, they were influenced by Star Wars , particularly in terms of pacing. "I want to feel the space, I want to feel speed and I want to feel all the things that can become a little bit lost when Star Trek becomes very stately" said Orci. [74] Star Wars permeated in the way they wrote the action sequences, [77] while Burk noted Kirk and Spock's initially cold relationship mirrors how " Han Solo wasn't friends with anyone when they started on their journey." [88] Spock and Uhura were put in an actual relationship as a nod to early episodes highlighting her interest in him. [82] Orci wanted to introduce strong Starfleet captains, concurring with an interviewer that most captains in other films were "patsies" included to make Kirk look greater by comparison. [75]

The USS Kelvin , the ship Kirk's father serves on, is named after J. J. Abrams' grandfather, as well as the physicist and engineer Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) . The Kelvin Template:'s captain, Richard Robau ( Faran Tahir ), is named after Orci's Cuban uncle: Orci theorized the fictional character was born in Cuba and grew up in the Middle East. [84] Another reference to Abrams' previous works is Slusho, which Uhura orders at the bar where she meets Kirk. Abrams created the fictitious drink for Alias and it reappeared in viral marketing for Cloverfield . Its owners, Tagruato, is also from Cloverfield and appears on a building in San Francisco . [44] The red matter in the film is in the shape of a red ball, an Abrams motif dating back to the pilot of Alias . [89]

The film was primarily designed by Ryan Church , Neville Page, the Cloverfield monster's creator, [35] and Star Trek veteran John Eaves . [90] Abrams stated the difficulty of depicting the future was that much of modern technology was inspired by the original show, and made it seem outdated. Thus the production design had to be consistent with the television series but also feel more advanced than the real world technology developed after it. [63] "We all have the iPhone that does more than the communicator ," said Abrams. "I feel like there's a certain thing that you can't really hold onto, which is kind of the kitschy quality. That must go if it's going to be something that you believe is real." [91] Prop master Russell Bobbitt collaborated with Nokia on recreating the original communicator, creating a $50,000 prototype. Another prop recreated for the film was the tricorder . Bobbitt brought the original prop to the set, but the actors found it too large to carry when filming action scenes, so technical advisor Doug Brody redesigned it to be smaller. [92] The phaser props were designed as spring-triggered barrels that revolve and glow as the setting switches from "stun" to "kill". [11] An Aptera Typ-1 prototype car was used on location. [93]

Panorama of the Enterprise Template:'s redesigned bridge

Production designer Scott Chambliss maintained the layout of the original bridge, but aesthetically altered it with brighter colors to reflect the optimism of Star Trek . The viewscreen was made into a window that could have images projected on it to make the space environment palpable. Abrams compared the redesign to the sleek modernist work of Pierre Cardin and the sets from 2001: A Space Odyssey , which were from the 1960s. [94] He joked the redesigned bridge made the Apple Store look "uncool". At the director's behest, more railings were added to the bridge to make it look safer, [11] and the set was built on gimbals so its rocking motions when the ship accelerates and is attacked was more realistic. [94] To emphasize the size of the ship, Abrams chose to give the engine room a highly industrial appearance: he explained to Simon Pegg that he was inspired by Template:RMS , a sleek ship in which there was an "incredible gut". [95]

Abrams selected Michael Kaplan to design the costumes because he had not seen any of the films, meaning he would approach the costumes with a new angle. For the Starfleet uniforms , Kaplan followed the show's original color coding, with dark gray (almost black) undershirts and pants and colored overshirts showing each crew member's position (command officers wear gold shirts, science and medical officers wear blue, and operations (technicians/engineers) and security personnel wear red). Kaplan wanted the shirts to be more sophisticated than the originals and selected to have the Starfleet symbol patterned on them. [94] Kirk wears only the undershirt because he is a cadet. [11] Kaplan modelled the uniforms on the Kelvin on science fiction films of the 1940s and 1950s, to contrast with the Enterprise -era uniforms based on the ones created in the 1960s. [94] For Abrams, "The costumes were a microcosm of the entire project, which was how to take something that's kind of silly and make it feel real. But how do you make legitimate those near-primary color costumes?" [96]

Lindelof compared the film's Romulan faction to pirates with their bald, tattooed heads and disorganized costuming. Their ship, the Narada , is purely practical with visible mechanics as it is a "working ship", unlike the Enterprise crew who give a respectable presentation on behalf of the Federation . [97] Chambliss was heavily influenced by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí for the Narada , who created buildings that appeared to be inside out: by making the ship's exposed wires appear like bones or ligaments, it would create a foreboding atmosphere. The ship's interior was made of six pieces that could be rearranged to create a different room. [94] The Romulan actors spent two to four hours applying make-up: Template:Citation needed the actors had three prosthetics applied to their ears and foreheads, while Bana had a fourth prosthetic for the bitemark on his ear that extends to the back of his character's head. [98] The film's Romulans lacked the 'V'-shaped ridges on the foreheads, which had been present in all of their depictions outside the original series. Neville Page wanted to honor that by having Nero's crew ritually scar themselves too, forming keloids reminiscent of the 'V'-ridges. It was abandoned as they did not pursue the idea enough. [99] Kaplan wanted aged, worn and rugged clothes for the Romulans because of their mining backgrounds, and found some greasy looking fabrics at a flea market . Kaplan tracked down the makers of those clothes, who turned out to be based in Bali , and commissioned them to create his designs. [11]

Barney Burman supervised the makeup for the other aliens: his team had to rush the creation of many of the aliens, because originally the majority of them were to feature in one scene towards the end of filming. Abrams deemed the scene too similar to the cantina sequence in Star Wars , and decided to dot the designs around the film. [98] A tribble was placed in the background of Scotty's introduction. [44] Both digital and physical makeup was used for aliens. [100]

Filming [ ]

Filming began on November 7, 2007, [101] and finished on March 27, 2008, [102] although second unit filming took place during early April in Bakersfield, California , which stood in for Kirk's childhood home in Iowa . [103] Filming was also done at the City Hall of Long Beach, California ; [104] the San Rafael Swell in Utah; [105] and the California State University, Northridge (which was used for establishing shots of students at Starfleet Academy ). [106] A parking lot outside Dodger Stadium was used for the ice planet of Delta Vega and the Romulan drilling rig on Vulcan . [54] The filmmakers had been interested in filming in Iceland for scenes on Delta Vega, but decided against it: Chambliss enjoyed the challenge of filming scenes with snow in southern California. The drilling rig was built 16 feet into the air. Other Vulcan exteriors were shot at Vasquez Rocks , a location that was used in various episodes of the original show. A Budweiser plant in Van Nuys was used for the Enterprise ' s engine room, while a Long Beach power plant was used for the Kelvin Template:'s engine room. [94]

The Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge was used for shots of Starfleet Academy

Following the commencement of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike on November 5, 2007, Abrams, himself a WGA member, told Variety that while he would not render writing services for the film and intended to walk the picket line, he did not expect the strike to impact his directing of the production. [107] In the final few weeks before the strike and start of production, Abrams and Lindelof polished the script a final time. [108] Abrams was frustrated that he was unable to alter lines during the strike, whereas normally they would have been able to improvise new ideas during rehearsal, although Lindelof acknowledged they could dub some lines in post-production. [109] Orci and Kurtzman were able to stay on set without strikebreaking because they were also executive producers on the film; they could "make funny eyes and faces at the actors whenever they had a problem with the line and sort of nod when they had something better". [110] Abrams was able to alter a scene where Spock combats six Romulans from a fistfight to a gunfight, having decided there were too many physical brawls in the film. [16]

The production team maintained heavily enforced security around the film. Karl Urban revealed, "[There is a] level of security and secrecy that we have all been forced to adopt. I mean, it's really kind of paranoid crazy, but sort of justified. We're not allowed to walk around in public in our costumes and we have to be herded around everywhere in these golf carts that are completely concealed and covered in black canvas. The security of it is immense. You feel your freedom is a big challenge." [111] Actors like Jennifer Morrison were only given the scripts of their scenes. [112] The film's shooting script was fiercely protected even with the main cast. Simon Pegg said, "I read [the script] with a security guard near me – it's that secretive." [113] The film used the fake working title of Corporate Headquarters . [114] Some of the few outside of the production allowed to visit the set included Rod Roddenberry , [115] Ronald D. Moore , [116] Jonathan Frakes , [117] Walter Koenig , Nichelle Nichols , Ben Stiller , Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg (who had partially convinced Abrams to direct because he liked the script, and he even advised the action scenes during his visit). [87]

Abrams chose to shoot the film in the anamorphic format on 35 mm film after discussions about whether the film should be shot in high-definition digital video. Cinematographer Dan Mindel and Abrams agreed the choice gave the film a big-screen feel and the realistic, organic look they wanted for the film setting. [118] Abrams and Mindel used lens flares throughout filming to create an optimistic atmosphere and a feeling activity was taking place off-camera, making the Star Trek universe feel more real. "There's something about those flares, especially in a movie that potentially could be incredibly sterile and CG and overly controlled. There’s just something incredibly unpredictable and gorgeous about them." Mindel would create more flares by shining a flashlight or pointing a mirror at the camera lens, or using two cameras simultaneously and therefore two lighting set-ups. [54]

When the shoot ended, Abrams gave the cast small boxes containing little telescopes, which allowed them to read the name of each constellation it was pointed at. "I think he just wanted each of us to look at the stars a little differently," said John Cho . [71] After the shoot, Abrams cut out some scenes of Kirk and Spock as children, including seeing the latter as a baby, as well as a subplot involving Nero being imprisoned by the Klingons and his escape: this explanation for his absence during Kirk's life confused many to whom Abrams screened the film. [54] Other scenes cut out explained the teenage Kirk stole his stepfather's antique car because he had forced him to clean it before an auction; and that the Orion he seduced at the Academy worked in the operations division. Afterwards, she agrees to open the e-mail containing his patch that allows him to pass the Kobayashi Maru test. [82]

Effects [ ]

Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain were among several companies that created over 1,000 special effect shots. [119] The visual effects supervisors were Roger Guyett, who collaborated with Abrams on Mission: Impossible III and also served as second unit director, and Russell Earl. Abrams avoided shooting only against bluescreen and greenscreen , because it "makes me insane", using them instead to extend the scale of sets and locations. [63] The Delta Vega sequence required the mixing of digital snow with real snow. [120]

Star Trek was the first film ILM worked on using entirely digital ships. [120] The Enterprise was intended by Abrams to be a merging of its design in the show and the refitted version from the original film. Abrams had fond memories of the reveal of the Enterprise Template:'s refit in Star Trek: The Motion Picture , because it was the first time the ship felt tangible and real to him. [121] The iridescent pattern on the ship from The Motion Picture was maintained to give the ship depth, while model maker Roger Goodson also applied the " Aztec " pattern from The Next Generation . Goodson recalled Abrams also wanted to bring a " hot rod " aesthetic to the ship. Effects supervisor Roger Guyett wanted the ship to have more moving parts, which stemmed from his childhood dissatisfaction with the ship's design: The new Enterprise Template:'s dish can expand and move, while the fins on its engines split slightly when they begin warping . [122] The Enterprise was originally redesigned by Ryan Church using features of the original, at Template:Convert long, [123] but was later scaled up by a factor of two to Template:Convert long to make it seem "grander", [123] while the Romulan Narada is five miles long and several miles wide. [94] [124] The filmmakers had to simulate lens flares on the ships in keeping with the film's cinematography. [120]

Carolyn Porco of NASA was consulted on the planetary science and imagery. [125] The animators realistically recreated what an explosion would look like in space: short blasts, which suck inward and leave debris from a ship floating. For shots of an imploding planet, the same explosion program was used to simulate it breaking up, while the animators could manually composite multiple layers of rocks and wind sucking into the planet. [120] Unlike other Star Trek films and shows, the transporter beam effects swirl rather than speckle. [35] Abrams conceived the redesign to emphasize the notion of transporters as beams that can pick up and move people, rather than a signal composed of scrambled atoms. [119]

Lola Visual Effects worked on 48 shots, including some animation to Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy. Bana required extensive damage to his teeth, which was significant enough to completely replace his mouth in some shots. Nimoy's mouth was reanimated in his first scene with Kirk following a rerecording session. The filmmakers had filmed Nimoy when he rerecorded his lines so they could rotoscope his mouth into the film, even recreating the lighting conditions, but they realized they had to digitally recreate his lips because of the bouncing light created by the camp fire. [119]

Michael Giacchino , Abrams' most frequent collaborator, composed the music for Star Trek . He kept the original theme by Alexander Courage for the end credits, which Abrams said symbolized the momentum of the crew coming together. [54] Giacchino admitted personal pressure in scoring the film, as "I grew up listening to all of that great [Trek] music, and that's part of what inspired me to do what I'm doing [...] You just go in scared. You just hope you do your best. It's one of those things where the film will tell me what to do." [126] Scoring took place at the Sony Scoring Stage with a 107-piece orchestra and 40-person choir. An erhu , performed by Karen Han , was used for the Vulcan themes. A distorted recording was used for the Romulans. [127] Varese Sarabande , the record label responsible for releasing albums of Giacchino's previous scores for Alias , Lost , Mission: Impossible III , and Speed Racer , released the soundtrack for the film on May 5. [128]

Sound effects [ ]

The sound effects were designed by Star Wars veteran Ben Burtt . Whereas the phaser blast noises from the television series were derived from The War of the Worlds (1953), Burtt made his phaser sounds more like his blasters from Star Wars , because Abrams' depiction of phasers were closer to the blasters' bullet-like fire, rather than the steady beams of energy in previous Star Trek films. Burtt reproduced the classic photon torpedo and warp drive sounds: he tapped a long spring against a contact microphone , and combined that with cannon fire. Burtt used a 1960s oscillator to create a musical and emotional hum to the warping and transporting sounds. [129]

Release [ ]

In February 2008, Paramount announced they would move Star Trek from its December 25, 2008 release date to May 8, 2009, as the studio felt more people would see the film during summer than winter. The film was practically finished by the end of 2008. [130] Paramount's decision came about after visiting the set and watching dailies , as they realized the film could appeal to a much broader audience. Even though the filmmakers liked the Christmas release date, Damon Lindelof acknowledged it would allow more time to perfect the visual effects. [109] The months-long gap between the completion of the production and release meant Alan Dean Foster was allowed to watch the whole film before writing the novelization , although the novel would contain scenes absent from the final edit. [131] Quinto narrated the audiobook. [132]

Eric Bana with U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at Camp Arifjan , Kuwait , for the April 11, 2009 screening of Star Trek .

A surprise public screening was held on April 6, 2009, at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas , hosted by writers Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and producer Damon Lindelof. The showing was publicized as a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , followed by a ten-minute preview of the new Star Trek film. A few minutes into Khan, the film appeared to melt and Leonard Nimoy appeared on stage with Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof, asking the audience, "wouldn’t you rather see the new movie?" [133] Following the surprise screening in Texas, the first of many premieres across the world was held at the Sydney Opera House on April 7, 2009. [134] For almost two years, the town of Vulcan, Alberta had campaigned to have the film premiere there, but because it had no theater, Paramount arranged instead a lottery where 300 winning residents would be taken to a prerelease screening in Calgary . [135] The film was requested by astronaut Michael R. Barratt , before boarding the International Space Station . Paramount provided NASA with a copy that was uploaded to the International Space Station on May 14, 2009. [136]

Marketing [ ]

Template:See also The first teaser trailer debuted in theaters with Cloverfield on January 18, 2008, which showed the Enterprise under construction. Abrams himself directed the first part of the trailer, where a welder removes his goggles. Professional welders were hired for the teaser. [137] The voices of the 1960s played over the trailer were intended to link the film to the present day; John F. Kennedy in particular was chosen because of similarities with the character of James T. Kirk and because he is seen to have "kicked off" the space race . Orci explained that: "If we do indeed have a Federation , I think Kennedy’s words will be inscribed in there someplace." [85] Star Trek's later trailers would win four awards, including Best in Show, in the tenth annual Golden Trailer Awards . [138] [139]

Paramount faced two obstacles in promoting the film: the unfamiliarity of the " MySpace generation" with the franchise and the relatively weak international performance of the films. Six months before the film's release, Abrams toured Rome ; Cologne ; Madrid ; Paris ; London ; New York City and Los Angeles with 25 minutes of footage. Abrams noted the large-scale campaign started unusually early, but this was because the release delay allowed him to show more completed scenes than normal. The director preferred promoting his projects quietly, but concurred Paramount needed to remove Star Trek Template:'s stigma. [140] Abrams would exaggerate his preference for other shows to Star Trek as a child to the press, with statements like "I'm not a Star Trek fan" and "this movie is not made for Star Trek fans necessarily". Orci compared Abrams' approach to The Next Generation episode " A Matter of Honor ", where William Riker is stationed aboard a Klingon vessel. "On that ship when someone talks back to you, you would have to beat them down or you lose the respect of your crew, which is protocol, whereas on a Federation ship that would be a crime. So we have to give JJ a little bit of leeway, when he is traveling the 'galaxy' over there where they don’t know Trek, to say the things that need to be said in order to get people onto our side." [84]

Promotional partners on the film include Nokia , Verizon Wireless , Esurance , Kellogg's , Burger King and Intel Corporation , as well as various companies specializing in home decorating, apparel, jewelry, gift items and "Tiberius," "Pon Farr" and "Red Shirt" fragrances. [141] [142] Playmates Toys , who owned the Star Trek toy license until 2000, earned Template:Clarify the merchandise rights for the new film. [143] The first wave was released in March and April 2009. Playmates hope to continue their toy line into 2010. [144] The first wave consists of 3.75", 6" and 12" action figures, an Enterprise replica, prop toys and play sets. In order to recreate the whole bridge, one would have to buy more 3.75" figures, which come with chairs and consoles to add to the main set consisting of Kirk's chair, the floor, the main console and the viewscreen. [145] Master Replicas , [146] Mattel , Hasbro and Fundex Games will promote the film via playing cards, Monopoly , UNO , Scrabble , Magic 8-Ball , Hot Wheels , Tyco R/C , 20Q , Scene It? and Barbie lines. Some of these are based on previous Star Trek iterations rather than the film. [142] [147] CBS also created a merchandising line based around Star Trek caricatures named "Quogs". [148]

Box office [ ]

The film's first normal US screenings were at 7 p.m. on May 7, 2009, [149] grossing $4 million on its opening day. By the end of the weekend, Star Trek had opened with $79,204,300, as well as $35,500,000 from other countries. Adjusted and unadjusted for inflation, it beat Star Trek: First Contact for the largest US opening for a Star Trek film. The film made $8.5 million from its IMAX screenings, breaking The Dark Knight Template:'s $6.3 million IMAX opening record. [150] The film is the highest-grossing in the United States and Canada from the entire Star Trek film franchise, eclipsing the previous leader, The Voyage Home (which made $109,713,100 unadjusted for inflation), and adjusted for inflation, Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Its opening weekend numbers alone outgross the entire runs of The Undiscovered Country , The Final Frontier , Insurrection and Nemesis . [151] Star Trek ended its United States theatrical run on October 1, 2009, with a box office total of $257,730,019, which currently places it as the seventh highest-grossing film for 2009 behind The Hangover . [4] The film's total international gross is $127,764,536 [152] , for a total worldwide gross of $385,494,555, ranking it currently thirteenth behind Sherlock Holmes . [153] While foreign grosses represent only 31% of the total box office receipts, Paramount is happy with the international sales, as Star Trek historically as a movie franchise has never been a big draw overseas. [154]

Reception [ ]

Template:As of , the film holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 262 out of 278 critics giving it a positive review with an average rating of 8.1/10, surpassing all other feature films in the franchise. RT's consensus is that " Star Trek reignites a classic franchise with action, humor, a strong story, and brilliant visuals, and will please traditional Trekkies and new fans alike." [3] Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 92% (7.8/10), based on a sample of 39 reviews. The film also holds a score of 83 based on 37 reviews Template:As of on the review aggregator website Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, tying for ninth of The Best-Reviewed Movies in 2009 to date. [155] [156]

Ty Burr of the Boston Globe gave it 4/4 stars, describing it as "ridiculously satisfying", and the "best prequel ever". [157] Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A- commenting that: "But in Star Trek , the clever and infectious reboot of the amazingly enduring sci-fi classic, director J.J. Abrams crafts an origin story that avoids any hint of the origin doldrums." The film also received positive reviews from The New York Times , Slate Magazine and Rolling Stone . [158] [159] [160]

Although only two reviews were categorized by Metacritic as "yellow", or mixed, a recurring critical complaint held that the franchise's tradition of providing morally challenging stories had been neglected or even violated. The AV Club gave the film a "green" B+, but asserted that it was "a reconsideration of what constitutes Star Trek , one that deemphasizes heady concepts and plainly stated humanist virtues in favor of breathless action punctuated by bursts of emotion. It might not even be immediately recognizable to veteran fans." [161] Roger Ebert agreed, lamenting in his 2.5/4 star-review that "the Gene Roddenberry years, when stories might play with questions of science, ideals or philosophy, have been replaced by stories reduced to loud and colorful action." [162] Non-review articles also echoed this concern: Marc Bain asked in Newsweek if the franchise had "lost its moral relevance", [163] and Juliet Lapidos argued in Slate that the new film, with its "standard Hollywood torture scene," failed to live up to the intellectual standard set by the 1992 Next Generation episode " Chain of Command ", whose treatment of the issue she found both more sophisticated and pertinent to the ongoing debate over the United States ' use of enhanced interrogation techniques . [164]

Awards and nominations [ ]

On December 2, 2009, Star Trek was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Score Soundtrack Album category, but did not win. On November 10, 2009, the People’s Choice Awards nominated the film for 4 awards: Breakout Actress, Breakout Actor, Favorite Franchise, Favorite Movie; it failed to win any award. In October, 2009, Star Trek won the Hollywood Award for Best Movie. That same month, it also won 6 Scream Awards for Ultimate Scream, Best Science Fiction Movie, Best Director, Best Science Fiction Actor, Best Cameo, and Best Fight Scene. On June 15, 2009, the film was nominated for 5 Teen Choice Awards , but did not win any of them. It won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture . The film also received several peer-reviewed guild awards for Asst. Location Manager of the year and Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature. On December 14, 2009, the Broadcast Film Critics Association – Critics Choice Awards nominated it for Best Action Movie, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound, but did not win any of them. On December 9, 2009, the film was also named one of the top 10 films of the year by the National Board of Review . In addition it has appeared on several local film critics top 10 lists, including St. Louis, Las Vegas, Boston and Washington DC. [165]

In 2010, Star Trek was nominated for four Academy Awards , including Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, and winning the franchise's first Oscar for Best Makeup. At the same ceremony, Star Trek composer Michael Giacchino won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for Pixar 's Up . [166] The film was also nominated for three Empire Awards , and it won in the best sci-fi/fantasy category. [167]

Home release [ ]

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 17, 2009 in North America, [168] November 16 in the UK [169] and October 26 in Australia and New Zealand. [170] In Sweden and Germany, it was released on November 4. [171] First week sales stand at 5.7 million DVD's along with 1.1 million Blu-ray Discs [172] giving Paramount Pictures their third chart topping release in five weeks following Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra . [173]

The story of the film is completed by two comics books by IDW Publishing . The first one, titled Star Trek: Countdown , takes place in the Prime Star Trek universe, after the events of Nemesis and before the back story of Star Trek Online . The second one, Star Trek: Nero , covers the gap between the destruction of the USS Kelvin and the reappearance of the Narada in the new timeline.

The film's major cast members have signed on for two sequels. [174] Roberto Orci , Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof began writing the script for a sequel in March 2009. J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk will produce, although Abrams has not signed to direct. [175] When speaking on the alternate reality [1] set up in Star Trek , Abrams commented that it would be "ridiculous to not be open" to ideas like resurrecting William Shatner 's James T. Kirk or recasting Khan Noonien Singh . "The idea, now that we are in an independent timeline, allows us to use any of the ingredients from the past — or come up with brand-new ones — to make potential stories," he said. [2] Orci and Kurtzman explained the dilemma for the sequel was whether to pit the crew against another villain, or to have an "exploration sci-fi plot where the unknown and nature itself is somehow an adversary." On recasting Khan, Orci questioned "why take the chance?" [176] Paramount is planning to release the sequel on June 29, 2012. [177] [178]

In an interview with the BBC, Abrams confirmed that no script for a sequel yet exists as of March 5, 2010. He also acknowledged that both cast and director have yet to be confirmed. [179]

Release Dates for Untitled Star Trek Sequel [ ]

• June 29, 2012 (US)
• July 22, 2012 (UK)
• September 15, 2012 ( Australia )
• September 22, 2012 ( New Zealand )
• ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named mtvalt1
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named mtvalt2
• ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:Cite web
• ↑ 4.0 4.1 Template:Cite web
• ↑ Entertainment Weekly's EW.com . 2008-01-18. " Sneak Peek: J.J. Abrams' Star Trek " by Jeff Jenson. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
• ↑ Boston.com . 2009-05-05. " Star Trek movie review " by Ty Burr. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
• ↑ MTV . 2009-05-08. " Star Trek Reboot Aims To Be 'An Adventure For Everybody' ". Retrieved 2009-11-17.
• ↑ http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090831/en_nm/us_startrek_3 Template:Dead link
• ↑ SCI FI Wire . 2009-09-02. " Star Trek returns to IMAX for a two-week limited engagement ". Retrieved 2009-11-17.
• ↑ Template:Cite web
• ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 Template:Cite news
• ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Template:Cite news
• ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Template:Cite news
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• ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Template:Cite web
• ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 Template:Cite news
• ↑ http://trekmovie.com/2009/10/27/star-trek-movie-deleted-klingon-scene-available-online/
• ↑ Template:Cite news Template:Dead link
• ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 54.4 54.5 Template:Cite news
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• ↑ Template:Cite book
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• ↑ 123.0 123.1 Template:Cite journal
• ↑ CGSociety - STAR TREK
• ↑ "Man on Wire," "The Wrestler" Among 2009 Golden Trailer Winners
• ↑ Four Golden Trailer Awards For Star Trek XI - TrekToday
• ↑ 142.0 142.1 Template:Cite news
• ↑ Newsweek.com : "Enterprise Ethics."
• ↑ Slate.com : "There Are Four Lights!"
• ↑ awards buzz watch ear-end summary at Trekmovie.com
• ↑ Template:Citenews
• ↑ Star Trek (2009) - Ultimate 3-Disc Digital Copy Edition (3 Disc Set) (Blu-ray) at EzyDVD. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
• ↑ Star Trek (2009) at WEBHALLEN.com. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
• ↑ 'Star Trek' tops video charts . Retrieved 2009-11-27.
• ↑ Top Selling DVDs of 2009 . Retrieved 2009-11-27.
• ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TrekMovie_2008-04-06
• ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Variety_2009-03-30
• ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TrekMovie_2009-06-20
• ↑ " [1] BBC talks to Abrams"
• 2 Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• 3 Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan

star trek (2009)

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Directed by J.J. Abrams

The future begins.

The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, a Vulcan, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. The human adventure has begun again.

Chris Pine Zachary Quinto Leonard Nimoy Eric Bana Bruce Greenwood Karl Urban Zoe Saldaña Simon Pegg John Cho Anton Yelchin Ben Cross Winona Ryder Chris Hemsworth Jennifer Morrison Rachel Nichols Faran Tahir Clifton Collins Jr. Tony Elias Sean Gerace Randy Pausch Tim Griffin Freda Foh Shen Kasia Kowalczyk Jason Brooks Sonita Henry Kelvin Yu Marta Martin Tavarus Conley Jeff Castle Show All… Billy Brown Jimmy Bennett Greg Grunberg Spencer Daniels Jeremy Fitzgerald Zoe Chernov Max Chernov Jacob Kogan Lorenzo James Henrie Colby Paul Cody Klop Akiva Goldsman Anna Katarina Douglas Tait Tony Guma Gerald W. Abrams James McGrath Jason Matthew Smith Marcus Young Bob Clendenin Darlena Tejeiro Reggie Lee Jeffrey Byron Jonathan Dixon Tyler Perry Ben Binswagner Margot Farley Paul McGillion Lisa Vidal Alex Nevil Kimberly Arland Sufe Bradshaw Jeff Chase Charles Haugk Nana Hill John Blackman Jack Millard Shaela Luter Sabrina Morris Michelle Parylak Osgood Perkins Amanda Foreman Michael Berry Jr. Lucia Rijker Pasha D. Lychnikoff Matthew Beisner Neville Page Jesper Inglis Greg Ellis Marlene Forte Leonard O. Turner Mark Bramhall Ronald F. Hoiseck Irene Roseen Jeff O'Haco Scottie Thompson Deep Roy Majel Barrett Ronnie Steadman Arne Starr Rico E. Anderson Richard Arnold Tad Atkinson Leslie Augustine Johnny Baca Diora Baird Sala Baker Leo Baligaya Corey Becker Larry Blackman Jessica Boss Neil S. Bulk Etalvia Cashin James Cawley Brad Champagne Zachary Culbertson Jeffrey De Serrano T.C. De Witt Calvin Dean Christopher Doohan Claire Doré Etienne Eckert Ken Edling Aliza Finley Ian Fisher Anna Florence Mathew Thomas Foss Massi Furlan Tommy Germanovich Jr. Mary Grace Wyatt Gray Nancy Guerriero Jarrell Hall Justin Rodgers Hall Jeffery Hauser Brad William Henke Ryan T. Husk Elizabeth Ingalls Sierra Kane Christopher Karl Johnson Jolene Kay Lauren Mary Kim Sarah Klaren Makiko Konishi Tashana Landray Daniel D. Lee Anne Leighton James Lew Jill Lover Steve Luna Aaron Lynch Justin Malachi Nav Mann Paul Marshall Owen Martin Taylor McCluskey Matthew McGregor Caitlin McKenna Andrew Mew Patrizia Milano Heidi Moneymaker Kevin Moser Jonathan Dunkerley Newkerk Westley Nguyen Jim Nieb Andres Perez-Molina Mark Phelan Damion Poitier Rahvaunia Bertrand Roberson Jr. Deborah Rombaut Leonard Jonathan Ruebe Darth Schuhe Ramona Seymour William Morgan Sheppard Katie Soo Joseph Stephens Jr. Joseph Steven T.J. Storm Kaitlin Sullivan Paul Townsend Scott Trimble Errik Tustenuggee Ravi Valleti Jason Vaughn A.J. Verel Brian Waller Steve Wharton Wil Wheaton Brianna Womick Rob Wood Lynnanne Zager

Director Director

J.J. Abrams

Producers Producers

Damon Lindelof J.J. Abrams Debbie Schwab David Witz David Baronoff

Writers Writers

Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman

Casting Casting

Alyssa Weisberg April Webster Gaby Kester

Editors Editors

Mary Jo Markey Maryann Brandon

Cinematography Cinematography

Assistant directors asst. directors.

Hal Olofsson Tommy Gormley Danny Green

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Alex Kurtzman Bryan Burk Jeffrey Chernov Roberto Orci

Lighting Lighting

Christopher Prampin Mark Carlile Jerry Gregoricka Jesse Mather Hootly Weedn Jimmy Harritos John Savedra Joey Moran

Camera Operators Camera Operators

William D. Barber Colin Anderson Michael P. May Philippe Carr-Forster Daniel L. Turrett Andrew Rowlands Dale Myrand

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Bill Marti Steve Wolfe John Rex Woodward

Production Design Production Design

Scott Chambliss

Art Direction Art Direction

Aaron Haye Gary Kosko Dennis Bradford Luke Freeborn Curt Beech Keith P. Cunningham Beat Frutiger

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Karen Manthey William O. Hunter Scott Herbertson Harry E. Otto Joseph Hiura Dawn Brown Andrea Dopaso Andrew Reeder Kevin Cross Anne Porter Jane Wuu Tex Kadonaga

Special Effects Special Effects

Jeremiah Cooke Walter Polan Jim Jolly Richard Kennedy Eric Dressor Jeff Pepiot Jay Bartus Burt Dalton Joe Judd David Mesloh Michael Roundy Jesse Orozco Christopher A. Suarez Richard Ratliff Curtis Decker Jonathan Tang Clark James Dennis Yeager II Chris Jones Bryan Phillips Tony Vandenecker

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Paul Kavanagh Erik Gamache Russell Earl Shari Hanson Edson Williams Eric Withee Thomas Nittmann Roger Guyett Jill Brooks Jeff Olson Kelly Port Matt McDonald Daniel P. Rosen Stefano Trivelli Neville Page

Title Design Title Design

Andrew Kramer

Stunts Stunts

Damion Poitier Sala Baker Heidi Moneymaker Shauna Duggins Kimberly Shannon Murphy Lauren Mary Kim Chris Palermo Zack Duhame Peter Epstein Anthony N. Joey Box

Composer Composer

Michael Giacchino

Sound Sound

Phillip W. Palmer Sarah Monat Tim Walston Andy Nelson Robin Harlan Dennis Rogers Ann Scibelli David Barbee Scott Martin Gershin Ben Wilkins Mark P. Stoeckinger Peter J. Devlin Mark Ormandy Glenn T. Morgan Tim Gomillion Matt Patterson David Giammarco Paul Massey Randy Singer Alan Rankin Cory Mandel Geoffrey G. Rubay Anna Behlmer

Costume Design Costume Design

Michael Kaplan

Makeup Makeup

Mindy Hall Rebecca Alling Brian Sipe Jed Dornoff Lygia Orta Margaret Prentice Mike Smithson Andy Clement Bonita DeHaven Jay Wejebe René Dashiell Kerby Greg Funk Tina Hoffman Dave Snyder Marianna Elias Richard Redlefsen Ron Pipes Stephen Bettles Mark Garbarino Richard Alonzo Jamie Kelman Susan Stepanian Earl Ellis Cynthia Hernandez Ned Neidhardt James MacKinnon Debra Coleman Tammy Ashmore Kimberly Felix Barney Burman

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Ketty Gonzalez Lana Heying Colleen LaBaff Nicole DeFrancesco Rhonda O'Neal Erwin H. Kupitz Jason Green Terry Baliel David Larson Teressa Hill Jules Holdren Maynard Matthews Ginger Damon Bob Kretschmer

Paramount Spyglass Entertainment Bad Robot

Releases by Date

06 may 2009, 07 may 2009, 08 may 2009, 13 may 2009, 15 may 2009, 29 may 2009, 05 jun 2009, 09 jun 2009, 26 aug 2009, 04 nov 2009, 05 nov 2009, 16 nov 2009, 05 sep 2016, 07 oct 2011, releases by country.

• Theatrical M

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

• Theatrical 12
• Theatrical C
• Theatrical 15+
• Theatrical 11
• Theatrical TP
• Theatrical 13
• Theatrical הותר לכל
• Theatrical T

Netherlands

• Physical 12 DVD, Blu ray
• TV 12 RTL 5

New Zealand

• Theatrical 12 Age Limit: 11

Philippines

• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical M/12
• Theatrical AP

Russian Federation

• Theatrical 16+

South Africa

South korea.

• Theatrical 7
• Physical 11 DVD, Blu-ray
• Physical 15 4K UltraHD

Switzerland

• Theatrical PG-13
• Theatrical 12A
• Physical 12 DVD
• Theatrical 12+

127 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Matthew L. Brady ★★★★ 2

You can say whatever you want about the new Star Trek movies, but he nailed Chekov.

R.I.P Anton Yelchin

Review by a ☭ ★★★★

As soon as Simon Pegg came on screen I audibly gasped and then I had to go through intense emotional abuse while seeing Simon Pegg be fucking dragged through water and almost die

Review by zelda ★★★★ 5

do you ever rewatch this movie and then realize how unbelievably kinky it is that kirk yells at spock until he chokes him out in front of like 30 people

Review by lauren ★★★★½

GOD i love chris pine, lens flares and *clenches fist* space

Review by Lucy ★★★★½

they boldly went™

Review by rowan ★★★★

during this my friend told me she never knew spock was an alien and she "just thought he was trendy"

Review by matt lynch ★★★★ 3

J.J. Abrams is Michael Bay if he were successfully trying to be a really nice person.

Review by ellie ✨ ★★★★★ 5

no group viewing of new-trek is complete without someone commenting on how hot chris pine is every 5 minutes

Review by feat. dante from the dmc series ★★★★ 2

chekov is the sweetest boy

Review by ellie ✨ ★★★★★

space is gay

Review by mulaney ★★★★½ 1

your father was captain of a starship for 12 minutes. he saved 800 lives, including your mother’s and yours. i dare you to do better.

Review by Hunter Morris 4

Karl Urban’s “Bones” McCoy could have solved this pandemic in a day, and I now trust no one else to get the job done.

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Star Trek 2009 Is Worth Revisiting 15 Years Later

By Stephen Wilds

I grew up seeing a handful of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes randomly on television. They somewhat caught my attention, but my Star Trek journey truly began with The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. Until I decided to start doing full re-watches in college, my primary interactions with Captain Kirk and his crew were the movies. As much as I enjoyed and respected that original crew, I always felt they were harder to relate to than some of my favorites. Like most fans, I was unsure about a reboot, but something in the back of my mind hoped that this would get me into these characters even more. Although Star Trek 2009 has its flaws, I remember leaving the theater with renewed vigor for the franchise and the possibilities of future adventures.  

This, however, was not a universally shared opinion. Many fans didn’t like this new version of their beloved classic Trek, claiming that it wasn’t deserving of the title. A lot of the names behind the camera had set off red flags, but even if that was overreacting, what they saw on screen was flashier, faster-paced, more action-based, and violent, with the younger characters full of drama and at each other’s throats. This incarnation didn’t feel right to some lifelong fans and was hard to accept. Some enjoyed the movie, but saw it as too much of a popcorn flick to be real Trek, designed more for general audiences and less for the devoted, as if the filmmakers took all of the wrong lessons from First Contact and set it in an alternate universe – a decision that seemed to be made primarily due to merchandising rights – gave them carte blanche to completely spin the dial when it came to tone.

There are some valid arguments here, but most of it comes down to preference and what individual fans expect from their Trek. Star Trek 2009 is a reboot that still acknowledges the original timeline, even bringing over Spock from the Prime universe, things are changed, but the project does make an effort to appease everyone. For most, the new ship designs, recrafted sets, and polished visuals take a back seat to the characters and how they’re handled.

I’m a huge fan of the cast, solid choices almost all around. It is amusing to see Thor at the beginning. Zachary Quinto as Spock does an excellent job, and it’s easy to hang on to his words looking for the small bits of emotion that might escape. His relationship with the incredible Zoe Saldana as Uhura enriches them both. She compliments him and stands on her own. The character is strong, assertive, compassionate when needed, and works well under pressure. Not to mention the wonderful Karl Urban’s take on Dr. McCoy, who has some of the best lines in the film and possesses a wonderfully unorthodox demeanor and unruly presence. These are the main performances, but they are assisted by John Cho’s portrayal of Hikaru Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and Anton Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekov. I also feel like we overlook this universe’s version of Christopher Pike because Bruce Greenwood has a wonderful space dad presence and feels different than Anson Mount’s incarnation but still regal and heroic.  

“Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.” Leonard “Bones” McCoy

We always need a solid villain, though, and Trek has had some great ones, but that is never guaranteed. Captain Nero is one of my absolute favorites, certainly my #1 Romulan. In a way, he’s more Spock’s villain, a darker reflection that plays off the Vulcan vs Romulan connection, and although there should be no one to blame for what happened to his planet, he needs someone to hate. Sure, Nero could have tried to go warn his homeworld or spent that time in this alternate reality building a new life, something constructive, but he was looking for a furious retribution to help make that pain mean something. 

I think Eric Bana brought some heat to the role and he looked fantastic with the pirate vibe and a converted mining ship that resembled a savage beast on the outside and a demented clock inside. He’s quiet until the violence erupts, a working-class villain who calls Starfleet captains by their first names condescendingly while he plays with his prey, and the crew wants to ensure he’s dealt with so much that once he refuses help, they make sure there’s no way he could slip through time again, firing everything, risking their safety just to make sure Nero’s dead.

Sometimes it’s good to appreciate raw hatred and the lengths someone can go to out of pettiness. The melodrama is thick in space. We see from that first glorious scene a tragic battle, where this is a darker timeline, and people are going to die and be forced to make sacrifices. The music is also a huge boost here, no, I don’t mean The Beastie Boys, but Michael Giacchino‘s score. The notes we hear are bombastic, creating a bold sound that is also meant to jar us at times, and it succeeds in pushing the tone and giving the heroic moments some extra weight. The original theme playing over the credits also helped. 

Captain Kirk isn’t nailed

Right, I’ve put off talking about Chris Pine ’s version of Kirk long enough. I enjoy the character, his new origin, being birthed and christened by such a devastating event, forged in phaser fire and photon torpedoes, tested from breath one. He’s an angry kid with a lot to prove, just like Pike challenges him on, and his bullshit is often called out or catches up to him, the little “cupcake.” Sure, making captain so quick doesn’t make sense, even if they explained how weak the fleet was then, but that’s not my issue. I think it’s Pine. I don’t dislike him, but even after he grew on me, I’m still wondering what’s missing in his performance because it isn’t as wooden as some of his others, and he’s just a dialed-up, younger, more petulant version of the character I know, but I also think he’s the only character that doesn’t sit right with me. In a movie where even the minor characters all have moments that show their personalities and give them quirks that feel right, Kirk is my least favorite part of Star Trek 2009’s ensemble cast.

The constant lens flares, the flashy lights on top of a duller stage, the cluttered battle scenes, those weird monsters on the ice planet, there are several decisions that I understand why fans question this movie. It goes for a unique look but almost makes the film harder to follow. When things are pumping this hard, it can be tough to get into the smaller details. I absolutely love the way the movie looks in some parts, especially on the planets. My favorite moment like this is when Kirk and Sulu fall after disabling the drill and are teleported out of mid-air, landing on the transporter pad and breaking it. Little details make this 2009 movie feel like a legitimate upgrade as a reboot without trying to step on the past.

I was prepared for this movie. A friend loaned me the prequel comic, a story I genuinely enjoyed, but thought that more of the scenes, or at least the information from it, should have made it into the film. Some of the story elements feel like they come out of nowhere without it. But for many new fans, this is the one that finally got them into Star Trek, made them want to go watch and read more about it, and see what else the franchise had to offer. I know I went and watched more TOS episodes after this, I wanted to prepare for the eventual sequels which, admittedly, didn’t work out so well, but before that, this movie had me excited for what was to come. I’ll always appreciate Star Trek 2009, no matter how different it may have been.

Playing video games and watching old cartoons in the basement of Raccoon City's Police Department, where misplaced commas and lack of pizza are the biggest problems.

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Star Trek 2009 Cast & Character Guide

Star trek ranks higher than 3 star wars movies on rotten tomatoes’ 300 best movies list, i’m glad william shatner didn't appear in j.j. abrams’ star trek movie.

• J.J. Abrams' Star Trek 2009 rejuvenated the franchise with a new timeline, dynamic characters, and high-stakes action.
• Nero's vengeful plan to destroy Earth stemmed from Romulus' destruction, leading to Kirk and Spock's heroic battle against him.
• Kirk's journey to becoming Captain of the USS Enterprise was marked by ambition, friendship, and the will to save Earth.

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek 2009 movie didn't just end with the crew of the USS Enterprise saving the Earth, but it also breathed new life and energy into the dormant Star Trek franchise, setting up not just more feature films but also the new TV series on Paramount+. Set in the alternate Kelvin Timeline created by a Romulan time traveler named Nero (Eric Bana) , Star Trek is an origin story of how James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) became Captain of the USS Enterprise and forged his eternal friendship with Spock (Zachary Quinto).

The young crew of the Starship Enterprise was in a race against time to stop Nero in Star Trek 2009's final act. Nero stole Earth's defense codes from the captured Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) . The Romulans' starship, the Narada, reached Earth and lowered a drill to dig into the planetary core in San Francisco Bay near Starfleet Headquarters. From there, Nero would drop red matter to create a singularity that would swallow the planet into a black hole, just as the Romulans previously destroyed Spock's homeworld of Vulcan. The USS Enterprise's counterattacked by using the gravitational field of Saturn's moon, Titan, to hide the starship from the Narada's sensors. This allowed Kirk and Spock to beam aboard Nero's ship to rescue Pike and stop the Romulans' drill from destroying Earth .

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek relaunched the movie franchise and reintroduced audiences to Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise.

Nero's Plan To Destroy The Federation Explained

Nero wanted to do to earth what he did to vulcan.

Nero's plan was, simply, vengeance in the form of intergalactic genocide. In 2387, which is 129 years before the present day of Star Trek 2009's main story, Nero was helpless to watch a supernova destroy his homeworld of Romulus. Nero was furious at Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) , who promised the Romulans he would stop the supernova, but the legendary Vulcan was too late to exact his plan to use red matter to create a black hole that would swallow the supernova before it eradicated Romulus.

Both Nero and Spock were pulled into the black hole's singularity, but they emerged at different points in Star Trek 's past. The Narada arrived in 2233 and its destruction of the USS Kelvin ended up creating an alternate reality from that point forward. Spock arrived in the Kelvin timeline 25 years later, in 2258. Nero immediately captured Spock and stranded him on Delta Vega, forcing him to watch as Nero destroyed Vulcan.

Star Trek: Picard season 1's backstory goes into more detail about the Federation's failure to stop the Romulan supernova.

Nero ultimately blamed the United Federation of Planets for doing "nothing" to save Romulus. Nero decided that he would use red matter to wipe out every Federation world, starting with Vulcan and Earth, in the 23rd century to ensure there would be no Federation in his 24th-century era . Nero even attacked a Klingon prison planet (possibly Rura Penthe) and wiped out a Klingon fleet with his advanced technology, because the Romulan also knew the Klingons and the Federation become allies in the 24th century,

How Kirk And Spock Stopped Nero

Only by working together could kirk and spock save earth.

James T. Kirk and Spock beamed onto the Narada to stop Nero's drill . Scotty (Simon Pegg) mistakenly transported them into a populated era of the Romulans' ship, so a shootout quickly ensured. But, through a mind-meld with one of the Romulans, Spock learned the location of the Jellyfish, Ambassador Spock's ship containing the red matter, while Kirk learned where Captain Pike was being held. The Starfleet heroes then split up. Spock piloted his elder self's ship into Earth's atmosphere and destroyed Nero's drill, saving the planet. Since the red matter was with Spock, Nero couldn't use it on the Terran homeworld. Meanwhile, Kirk got into a fistfight with Nero, but after he killed Nero's First Officer, Ayel (Clifton Collins, Jr.), he was also able to rescue the injured Captain Pike.

Incensed at Spock for destroying his drill, Nero's ship followed the Jellyfish as the Vulcan warped away, leading the Romulans from Earth. Spock's gamble was to exit warp near Saturn, which would allow the Enterprise to come to the rescue . That's exactly what happened as the Enterprise arrived like the cavalry and saved Spock from Nero's torpedoes. Kirk, Pike, and Spock beamed back aboard the Enterprise before Spock's ship crashed into the Narada, which released the red matter and created a black hole that would swallow the ship.

Kirk offered to beam Nero and his crew to safety (against Spock's wishes) but the Romulan preferred to "die in agony" rather than accept the Federation's help. Kirk's response? "You got it." And they let the singularity swallow the Romulans. However, another problem arose, and the Enterprise was trapped in the black hole's gravity well, preventing it from warping away. Kirk ordered Scotty to eject the warp core, hoping that the force of the detonation would push the Enterprise to safety. The gamble worked, and the Federation flagship was able to gain enough distance from the singularity and make it home to Earth.

Star Trek's Musical Captain's Chair And How Kirk Became Captain Of The Enterprise

The uss enterprise had three captains but one destiny..

Star Trek 2009's endgame was for Kirk to become Captain of the Enterprise - and earn the chair - but how it got there is bewildering. Pike is Captain of the Enterprise when the starship warped to Vulcan to answer its emergency distress call when Nero attacked the planet. After Nero "invited" Pike aboard the Narada, Pike promoted Spock to Acting Captain and Kirk (who wasn't supposed to be on the Enterprise, to begin with) to First Officer. Spock then had Kirk thrown off the ship for mutiny and marooned him on Delta Vega. Kirk returned to the Enterprise with Scotty thanks to Ambassador Spock showing the engineer the equation for transwarp beaming. Kirk was then able to show that Spock was "emotionally compromised" because of his trauma from Vulcan's destruction, and Jim assumed command as Acting Captain.

In Star Trek , saving Earth is the key to getting what you want, especially if your name is James T. Kirk.

Because Kirk led the Enterprise to successfully save Earth from Nero, Starfleet Command rewarded him with a promotion to Captain. Yes, Kirk jumped rank from Cadet to Captain in the course of the film. Kirk then relieved the injured and wheelchair-bound Captain Pike of command of the USS Enterprise. It may seem like an insane turn of events, but there is Star Trek movie precedent for Kirk's reward . When Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) saved Earth from the Whale Probe in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Starfleet dropped all charges against him and demoted him to Captain, giving him command of the USS Enterprise-A. In Star Trek , saving Earth is the key to getting what you want, especially if your name is James T. Kirk.

Star Trek 2009 Positioned The Enterprise Crew In Their Classic Roles

The crew of the uss enterprise perfectly assembled.

Star Trek 2009 was ingenious in how every main Enterprise crew member got positioned into their classic roles despite being Starfleet Cadets . Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) became helmsman by replacing the previous pilot, who was ill. 17-year-old Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin) was also on the bridge at Operations as the ship's navigator. Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) was assigned as one of the Enterprise's senior medical officers, but he became Chief Medical Officer after the previous doctor died during Nero's attack. McCoy also used his clout to sneak Kirk aboard the Enterprise despite his academic suspension.

Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) used her romantic relationship with Spock to get reassigned to the Enterprise from the USS Farragut. Captain Pike then made Uhura Communications Officer because of her superior ability to understand Romulan and Klingon. Finally, Scotty worked as the transporter chief during the Enterprise's final assault on Nero, and Kirk promoted him to Chief Engineer after he became Captain.

Ambassador Spock's Role In Star Trek 2009 Explained

Leonard nimoy's spock gave star trek 2009 credibility.

Leonard Nimoy's presence in Star Trek 2009 gave J.J. Abrams' reboot legitimacy in the eyes of longtime Trekkers, but Ambassador Spock (billed as Spock Prime in the film) was also crucial to the story. Spock is the key link between Star Trek 's Prime Timeline and Abrams' Kelvin alternate reality, but because the legendary Vulcan jumped to the Kelvin Universe and was ultimately stranded there, it was an assurance that Star Trek 2009 "really happened." Ambassador Spock's role was ostensibly to give Kirk (and the audience) the backstory of where Nero came from and how he time traveled to the 23rd century, but the Vulcan's far more vital role was to help the young Kirk along on his journey to becoming Captain of the Enterprise.

Meeting Ambassador Spock was the impetus Kirk needed to become the Captain he is destined to be.

Thanks to Ambassador Spock, Kirk realized that he needed to work with the younger Spock in order to stop Nero. K irk believed the old Vulcan that he and Spock are destined to be friends and that they can achieve great things together. Meeting Ambassador Spock was the impetus Kirk needed to become the Captain he is destined to be. As for the two Spocks, the Prime Vulcan initially didn't want to meet his younger self, but he decided they "couldn't ignore each other" when less than 10,000 Vulcans remained in the universe. Ambassador Spock also urged Commander Spock to remain in Starfleet since they can now be "in two places at once." The two Spocks meeting gets a payoff in Star Trek Into Darkness when the younger Vulcan turns to his senior counterpart for information on how to defeat Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch).

How Star Trek 2009 Set Up J.J. Abrams' Trilogy (And The Star Trek TV Shows To Come)

Star trek 2009 co-writer alex kurtzman now oversees star trek on paramount+.

Star Trek 2009 ended with Captain Kirk and his crew in place aboard the Starship Enterprise, ready to explore the final frontier in sequels. Beyond setting up 2012's Star Trek Into Darkness , and a third movie directed by Justin Lin, 2016's Star Trek Beyond , J.J. Abrams' 2009 film was ultimately the rebirth of the Star Trek franchise. Four years had passed since Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled and there would not be a new Star Trek series on television until Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. During those 12 years, Abrams' Star Trek trilogy kept the franchise alive, created new fans, and became the basis for the next wave of Star Trek TV shows.

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films were a necessary and long-needed upgrade of Star Trek 's visual effects, production values, and a shift in tone and storytelling styles. Star Trek 2009 was the template that Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds followed, with all three live-action series on Paramount+ boasting blockbuster movie-quality production values and visuals. Star Trek 2009's breakneck style and giddy sense of fun and adventure are also evident in the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy .

Star Trek 4 Is In Development At Paramount

Will chris pine's uss enterprise warp back into movie theaters.

Star Trek 4 has been mired in development hell since 2016. Filmmakers like S.J. Clarkson, Matt Shakman, and Quentin Tarantino developed the next Star Trek movie for producer J.J. Abrams' but all left due to creative differences. However, Paramount Pictures is reportedly prioritizing Star Trek , and a new screenwriter, Steve Yockey, is writing Star Trek 4 , which is billed as "the final chapter" of the USS Enterprise crew led by Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk. Although no director has been named, an ideal scenario would be Star Trek 4 arriving in theaters to celebrate Star Trek 's 60th anniversary in 2026 .

However, there are two new Star Trek movies releasing soon . Star Trek: Section 31 , starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, has completed filming and will be the first Star Trek movie made for streaming on Paramount+. On the theatrical side, Paramount Pictures has confirmed an Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie set "decades before" Star Trek 2009 to premiere in 2025, with Toby Haynes ( Star Wars: Andor ) directing. Whether or not a Star Trek 4 ever reunites Chris Pine and the USS Enterprise cast, Star Trek 2009 is the benchmark that the current golden age of Star Trek on Paramount+ is built upon, and J..J. Abrams' first Star Trek movie remains a thrilling, spectacular space adventure that holds up to repeat viewings.

Star Trek 2009 is streaming on Paramount+

Im Glad William Shatner Didn't Appear In J.J. Abrams Star Trek Movie

• J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot benefited from not including William Shatner as Captain Kirk, allowing for a fresh take on the series.
• The decision to cut Shatner's scene improved the 2009 Star Trek ending by allowing the new cast to shine without overshadowing them.
• Shatner's cameo would have taken away from Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, robbing them of their own agency and deepening their characters.

It's for the best that William Shatner didn't appear as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie. 15 years ago, J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot rejuvenated the Star Trek movie franchise after the poor performance of both Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis . Boldly deciding to recast the Star Trek: The Original Series characters and set the movie in an alternate timeline, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie was able to have the best of both worlds; 40-year-old cultural icons placed in a modern action-packed blockbuster.

To pass the torch between the Star Trek: The Original Series crew and their modern counterparts, Leonard Nimoy was cast as an older Ambassador Spock, a mentor figure to both the young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto). However, early versions of the Star Trek script also featured a cameo by William Shatner as Captain Kirk , appearing as a recording in the movie's closing scenes. J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman eventually decided to cut the scene, which may be disappointing to fans, but it also improved the ending of Star Trek (2009) as a result.

Star Trek 2009 Cast & Character Guide

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek relaunched the movie franchise and reintroduced audiences to Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise.

William Shatners Scene In J.J. Abrams Star Trek Explained

"i miss you, old friend.".

A few months after the release of Star Trek in 2009, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci revealed that they had written a scene for William Shatner (via TrekMovie ). In the scene, Prime Spock presents his Kelvin Timeline counterpart with a pendant that turns out to be a holo-emitter, containing a message from William Shatner's Kirk . It's revealed that the pendant was a birthday message from Kirk to Spock in which he reflects on their friendship, and reveals his desire to live out his retirement with his best friend.

I suppose Id always imagined usoutgrowing Starfleet together. Watching life swing us into our Emeritus years

William Shatner's voice-over would then continue over the scenes of Chris Pine's Kirk being honored by Starfleet Command for defeating Nero (Eric Bana). As Prime Kirk reflects on when he and Spock " stepped onto the Enterprise as boys ", Kelvin Kirk accepts command of the Kelvin Timeline's version of the starship Enterprise . Touchingly, Prime Kirk acknowledges the Kelvin Timeline crew, by saying that " it's their time now " . However, it's also clear that the spirit of adventure is still alive in this older Captain Kirk, who closes the scene by saying:

You once said being a starship captain was my first, best destiny if thats true, then yours is to be by my side. If theres any true logic to the universe well end up on that bridge again someday.

Shatners Kirk Cameo Would Have Undermined Chris Pine And Zachary Quinto

While the scene as written is a touching little coda, acting as a melancholy farewell between the prime timeline's Kirk and Spock, it does undermine Star Trek 's new leads. When handing his Kelvin timeline counterpart the pendant, Prime Spock says that it's a " dream " that the young Kirk and Spock can now fulfill. The implication being that the Kelvin timeline's Kirk and Spock are only friends because of an obligation to mirror their prime timeline counterparts. This robs Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto's Star Trek characters of their agency, reducing them to performing hollow William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy tribute acts .

Star Trek director J.J. Abrams famously told Chris Pine to do " less Shatner " when playing Captain Kirk.

The end of the movie is about this new crew stepping out of the shadow of the Star Trek: The Original Series cast and embracing their own future , something that would have been undercut by a surprise appearance by Star Trek 's William Shatner . Reminding theater audiences of the original, iconic, Captain James T. Kirk at the exact moment that Chris Pine's version takes command of the USS Enterprise would have been a serious misstep. It's good, therefore, that the scene was cut from the finished Star Trek script, though it's also worth noting that notoriously cameo-averse actor William Shatner may have declined to return anyway.

William Shatner Says Star Treks New Kirk Actors Chris Pine & Paul Wesley Are "Wonderful

Exclusive: William Shatner is Star Trek's original Captain Kirk and he has high praise for the actors who now play Kirk, Chris Pine and Paul Wesley.

Star Treks Old Kirk Could Never Be As Good As Spock

Star trek generations limited kirk's potential return in star trek 2009..

More than undermining Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, William Shatner's Star Trek scene doesn't work because it can't develop the character in the same way it did with Ambassador Spock. By the end of Star Trek , Spock has a new life in the Kelvin Timeline, helping the Vulcans to rebuild after the destruction of their home world. It's an appropriate last act for Spock, and one that helps him reconcile his lifelong struggle between his Vulcan and human sides. Due to the events of Star Trek Generations , Kirk could never have had such an arc in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie .

Having died on Veridian III, Kirk could only appear in Star Trek as a hologram, or perhaps via archive footage from the earlier movies. Kirk's death in Generations meant that William Shatner's cameo could only ever be a sentimental piece of lip service to the past, rather than anything that would drive the plot forward. The proposed William Shatner cameo in Star Trek could never have had the impact of Leonard Nimoy's appearance, which is why it was the right decision to drop it from the finished script.

Star Trek (2009) is streaming now on Paramount+.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams' 2009 movie Star Trek rebooted the iconic sci-fi franchise in a totally new timeline. When a Romulan ship travels back in time and alters the past, the lives of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the future crew of the USS Enterprise are drastically changed. In this new timeline, the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) sets out for revenge on Spock, setting off a chain of events that reshape the entire universe.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

• May 9, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Gets Cool Under Pressure In “Erigah”
• May 8, 2024 | Chris Pine Talks “Big F-ing Deal” Landing Kirk Role; Surprised ‘Star Trek 4’ Has Another New Screenwriter
• May 8, 2024 | Star Trek’s Michelle Yeoh To Star In ‘Blade Runner 2099’ Series
• May 7, 2024 | Crowdfunded ‘Space Command: Redemption’ Released, Features Star Trek’s Doug Jones, Robert Picardo & More
• May 6, 2024 | William Shatner Calls Return To Star Trek “Intriguing Idea,” Suggests Digital De-Aging To Play Kirk Again

Crowdfunded ‘Space Command: Redemption’ Released, Features Star Trek’s Doug Jones, Robert Picardo & More

| May 7, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 12 comments so far

A dozen years after its first crowdfunding campaign , the first installment of Marc Scott Zicree’s Space Command has been released, with several Star Trek actors in the cast. “Space Command: Redemption” is out now on Tubi, VOD, and physical media, with more installments from the series in the works.

Space Command finally arrives

Space Command is a sci-fi series inspired by Star Trek. The ensemble cast for “Space Command: Redemption” features Star Trek: Discovery’s Doug Jones in a leading role. Other franchise stars include Robert Picardo ( Voyager ), Armin Shimerman ( Deep Space Nine ), Faran Tahir (J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek ), and the late Nichelle Nichols (TOS). The cast also includes several Babylon 5 stars including Bill Mumy,  Bruce Boxleitner, and the late Mira Furlan.

Check out the release trailer…

Here is the official synopsis for “Space Command: Redemption”…

Captain Kemmer rescues xeno-archeologist Vonn O’Dara high above Mars, setting into motion a revolution that changes galactic history. The thrilling new space-set film follow the bold adventures in space of the United Planet’s Space Command, a dedicated group of scientists, soldiers and adventurers exploring and taming the vast expanse of our solar system for human colonization.

Here is how Doug Jones described his role in Space Command in a 2018 interview with TrekMovie :

Dorn Neven is an android in Space Command . I loved his character so much. He is much like other characters I have played, in that he is tall and lanky, but very poised and very mannered. He is an android that served as a servant for rich people in this future setting, but he ended up getting a heart and soul of his own, getting more human characteristics and asking questions he wasn’t supposed to ask. So, they end up demoting him and putting him in the salt mines, and that is how you meet him in the beginning of  Space Command .

Doug Jones with Robert Picardo, Jelena Mrdja, and Mira Furlan in Space Command

Space Command was written, directed, and produced by Marc Scott Zicree, who worked on shows like Sliders and Babylon 5 , as well as authoring the influential book The Twilight Zone Companion . Zicree has also been involved in Star Trek, writing the stories for the Next Generation episode “First Contact” and DS9’s “Far Beyond the Stars.” He also wrote and directed the 2007 Star Trek Phase II fan film “World Enough and Time,” starring George Takei. His concept for Space Command was to make something more like Star Trek, in reaction to the dark and dystopic sci-fi of the early 2000s.

“Our idea was an uplifting show like the original Star Trek , which came out when I was 10, blew my mind, and inspired my lifetime fascination for this whole realm. Star Trek was truly revolutionary,” says Zicree in a statement. “Like Star Trek , the stories we present in Space Command are hopeful, taking on various challenges that show we can make a future worth living and not just passively accept defeat. The whole philosophy of the film is that we can achieve all of this through empathy, compassion, and inclusivity. We want to change millions of lives for the better.”

The initial crowdfunding campaign brought in $221,000 in 2012, which helped launch the independent Space Command Studio based in Los Angeles, California. Over the past decade, Zicree has raised $4 million between crowdfunding and selling investment shares. Filming and post-production work on the Space Command series has been ongoing over the last decade with work recently completed on the 2-part pilot, which is the newly released “Space Command: Redemption” movie. Zicree has planned out a 12-part “season” for Space Command with filming for part 6 recently completed and parts 7 and 8 already begun.

For more about the development of Space Command , check out TrekMovie’s 2018 interview with Marc Zicree .

You can watch “Space Command: Redemption” now for free on the ad-supported streaming service Tubi . You can also rent or buy it at Amazon and Google Play . There is also a DVD and Blu-ray release with special features and director’s commentary available at the official site  spacecommand-theseries.com .

Keep up with more Trek-adjacent Sci-Fi news here at TrekMovie.com

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This looks like a slice of classic 80s Sci-Fi cheesiness. Hope it’s enjoyable in that way.

Looks like something I would have rented from Hollywood Video in 2001… So yep, I’ll watch it!

This has been out for years. Not sure what this is about.

Yeah, I wondered this as well when I saw it posted up on YouTube as if it was a new thing. Marc Zicree, bless him, can sometimes be a bit over the top with ‘marketing’. As in, reposting, clipping, whatever. Amusing that such a repost has made its way here as a story though. I guess a correction is in order!

I’ve never heard of this but I’m curious now. I am definitely interested in watching anything that has the classic Star Trek spirit of optimism and hope.

Mira Furlan passed away a couple years ago. A damn shame, she was an underrated actress, and her personal story was equally compelling.

Nichelle Nichols has been gone almost two years now as well…

How is this different from Space Command 2020? It’s on youtube as Space Command Streaming Series (10 parts). Very poor Imdb reviews, two fake 10*s. Space Command Redemption is also on Imdb, no reviews, incomplete cast list. Some poor acting in the trailer.

I watched the original version of “Space Command” some time ago and was not too impressed. Nevertheless, I wish Zicree nothing but the best in this project, and will hopefully get around to checking it out myself eventually. I met him many years ago at the Director’s Guild in Los Angeles for a screening of the Trek pilots which also included his excellent “World Enough and Time,” and he seemed like a very nice guy.

He’s a cool dude, for sure. And Space Command (2020-2022) is packed with cool people. I’m not sure what happened. Perhaps an avalanche of issues. Or maybe it’s just not for me – which is, you know, fine.

But I didn’t so much watch that production as I endured it!

Watching it myself, I went with the second possibility. And you’re correct; that’s fine. If I were 14 and had just finished reading my first Heinlein juvenile, where the characters tended to say things like “gadzooks!,” I probably would have loved it.

A dozen years??? I had thought that the Axanar crowd were the world – class slackers! LMAO.

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William shatner willing to return to ‘star trek’ as de-aged captain kirk.

The 93-year-old actor says he's down to return as James T. Kirk for a new movie, and has an idea about how to make it work.

By James Hibberd

James Hibberd

Writer-at-Large

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“Mr. Scott, set the de-ager for 40 years!”

William Shatner says he’s down to play Captain James T. Kirk in a movie again, and has an idea for how it might work.

The 93-year-old sci-fi legend told the Canadian Press that he’d be willing to return to the Starship Enterprise under certain conditions.

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William shatner on living boldly throughout acting career: "the future is unheralded", 'star trek: lower decks' to end with season 5.

Shatner suggested he could play a younger version of his iconic character, thanks to a company he’s working with that specializes in de-aging technology that “takes years off your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are.”

While Kirk was, of course, killed off in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations (photo above), Shatner suggested that Kirk’s body and brain might have been frozen for posterity, and then he could be revived years later.

“‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here,'” he mused. “There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper [in his hair]. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!'”

The prospect of this happening seems rather unlikely, of course. But filmmakers have been getting rather bold with de-aging technology, so it’s hardly impossible that a future Trek film might take Shatner up on his offer and at least try for a de-aged Kirk flashback or cameo of some kind.

Shatner was doing this interview to promote his biographical documentary You Can Call Me Bill , which is being released On Demand.

The actor famously journeyed into space in 2021 as a member of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin craft, becoming the oldest person to ever go into orbit.

Shatner has managed to remain quite sharp, energetic and hearty despite his years. The actor credits both genetic luck and taking care of himself.

“I eat well, I exercise, I ride horses a lot,” he said. “My wife cooks noninflammatory foods extremely well.”

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