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J.J. Abrams

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Abrams used his production company, Bad Robot Productions , to develop his Star Trek films in collaboration with their distributor, Paramount Pictures , and co-financing production company Skydance Productions . His production partners on the films were Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk . The films were written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , who have written for Abrams several times in the past.

In 2010, the Producers Guild of America nominated Abrams and Damon Lindelof for the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures for Star Trek . [1] In addition, Abrams won Best Director at the 2009 Spike Scream Awards . In 2010 Abrams has been nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Director for his work on Star Trek . The film received five more nominations. [2]

• 3 Awards and honors
• 4 Involvement with Star Trek
• 6 External links

Personal [ ]

Abrams is the son of Gerald W. Abrams and Carol Abrams, both television and film producers. Abrams Sr. was a friend of writer/director Nicholas Meyer . [3] After being raised in Los Angeles, California, Abrams attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, from which he graduated in 1988.

Abrams married Katie McGrath in 1996. The couple have had three children together: Henry, born 1998; Gracie, born 1999; and August, born 2006. Abrams and McGrath are partners of The Mission Continues charity co-founded by Eric Greitens , which benefits post-9/11 veterans.

Abrams' first foray into films was Nightbeast (1982), for which he was a composer and sound effects editor. The first film he wrote was 1990's Taking Care of Business , which featured Star Trek: The Next Generation performers Gates McFadden and John de Lancie in supporting roles. He next co-wrote 1992's Forever Young which co-starred J.D. Cullum , Eric Pierpoint , Richard Ryder , and Nicolas Surovy .

Abrams in 2006

Abrams acquired his claim to fame and a huge fan base as the creator of the popular television shows Felicity and Alias . He also served as executive producer on both of these series. Star Trek writers Orci and Kurtzman worked with Abrams on Alias . Abrams and fellow Star Trek producer Damon Lindelof later became two of the creators and executive producers of Lost , which starred Terry O'Quinn , Daniel Dae Kim , and Sam Anderson .

He has also written for a number of popular big screen features, including 1998's Armageddon co-starring Jeff Austin , Brian Brophy , Jim Fitzpatrick , Googy Gress , Anthony Guidera , John Mahon , J. Patrick McCormack , Marshall R. Teague , and Lawrence Tierney in his final film role and 2001's Joy Ride with Jim Beaver , the latter of which he produced through his newly formed Bad Robot Productions. Other films he wrote include Gone Fishin' (featuring Louise Fletcher ).

Abrams directed and co-wrote (with Kurtzman and Orci) 2006's Mission: Impossible III for Paramount Pictures. Following the release of this film, Abrams signed a five-year contract with Paramount, of which the next Trek films are part. He has also signed a six-year contract with Warner Bros.; both contracts together are worth more than $55 million. [4] Tracy Middendorf and Simon Pegg were among the actors Abrams cast in Mission: Impossible III ; he later cast Pegg as Scotty in Star Trek . [5]

In addition to Star Trek , Abrams produced the hit film Cloverfield with Trek executive producer Bryan Burk. This film, in which a giant creature attacks New York City, was released in January 2008. In that film were Margot Farley , Scott Lawrence , Pasha Lychnikoff , and Kelvin Yu . All of those actors were then cast by Abrams for Star Trek or Into Darkness . It has also been reported that Abrams is attached to direct an adaptation of Stephen King book series The Dark Tower . [6]

In October 2007, it was announced that a pilot for a one-hour comic drama developed by Abrams has been purchased by ABC. The show, called Boundaries (which he executive produced with Bryan Burk and Jill Soloway ), was the first sale made by Abrams as part of his television deal with Warner Bros. [7] Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Abrams had made his first network series sale for Warner Bros., a science fiction/horror series called Fringe , which was subsequently purchased by Fox. Abrams received executive producer credit on the show, along with Star Trek executive producers Bryan Burk, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. [8] Fringe premiered on the Fox network in September 2008 and ended in 2013 after five seasons and a recurring role by Leonard Nimoy .

Abrams has created a spy series entitled Undercovers , which has been picked up by NBC for a fall 2010 premiere. [9] His next film project was Super 8 , which he wrote and direct. He also produced Super 8 with acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg , co-starring Jack Axelrod , Jason Brooks , Michael Giacchino , Bruce Greenwood , Tim Griffin , Greg Grunberg and Marco Sanchez . [10] In addition, Abrams returned to the Mission: Impossible franchise as a producer on the fourth film Ghost Protocol with Simon Pegg. In September 2011, it was revealed Abrams had officially agreed to direct the Star Trek sequel. [11]

Following the cancellation of Abrams' television series Undercovers in 2011, Alcatraz in 2012, and Fringe in 2013, he worked as executive producer on the action series Person of Interest (2011-2014) and the adventure series Revolution (2012-2014, starring Billy Burke ).

Abrams later directed and produced Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), the science fiction film Portal (2016), producer on Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and the science fiction film Half-Life . Other projects as executive producer include the fantasy series Believe (2014) and Westworld and as producer the thriller The Cellar (2016) and 11.22.63 .

Awards and honors [ ]

Abrams was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for his work on the pilot of Alias . Additionally, he and the producers of Alias shared a Television Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television from the Producers Guild of America Golden Laurel Awards.

Abrams and the other producers of Lost (including Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk) received one of television's highest honors when their show won the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. Abrams and the producers of Lost also won the 2005 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series and were nominated for a second WGA Award. In addition, they shared a Television Producer of the Year Award in Episodic from the Producers Guild of America Golden Laurel Awards, received a second nomination from the PGA, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts TV Award nomination.

His direction of Lost 's pilot episode won Abrams an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama. He also earned a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for directing the pilot. Abrams shared an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series with co-creators Lindelof and Jeffrey Lieber for the pilot episode of Lost . In addition, he and composer Michael Giacchino shared two American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards in the category of Top TV Series for their work on Lost .

Entertainment Weekly has named Abrams the 29th Smartest Person in Hollywood. [12]

On 5 November 2012 it was announced that Abrams will be honored with the 2013 Norman Lear Achievement Award by the Producers Guild of America. The award ceremony was held on 26 January 2013. [13]

Involvement with Star Trek [ ]

Abrams is a fan of both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation and refers to the franchise as "smart television".

Even though he has not followed the other Trek spin-offs as closely, Abrams stated prior to its release that his film will be faithful to established Trek canon . [14] (X)

When Abrams signed on to produce Star Trek in April 2006, he was also given the option to direct the picture. Abrams, however, declined to accept the director's position until the script was complete and he was sure he was the man for the job. Abrams worked with Kurtzman and Orci on the story throughout 2006 and early 2007 and finally signed on to direct on 23 February 2007. Abrams was convinced to direct the film by his wife, who felt the film had strong female characters, and by acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, who was impressed by the script. [15] Of his imminent involvement with Star Trek , Abrams stated:

Appearing at San Diego's Comic-Con International with the writers and producers of Star Trek on 26 July 2007, Abrams admitted that, although he loves Star Trek , he was more interested in Star Wars while growing up and his favorite television series was The Twilight Zone. He also stated that, after reading the script for the new Trek film, he would have been jealous if anyone else directed it. He then gave the first official casting news for the new Star Trek film, announcing that Zachary Quinto had been cast to play young Spock and that Leonard Nimoy would be coming out of retirement to portray the older Spock , which was met with much enthusiasm.

When describing his and his team's involvement with Star Trek at Comic-Con, Abrams stated:

In addition to Orci, Kurtzman, Lindelof and Burk, many other people working on Star Trek have worked with Abrams in the past. These include cinematographer Dan Mindel , production designer Scott Chambliss , composer Michael Giacchino , editor Maryann Brandon , casting director April Webster , executive producer and unit production manager Stratton Leopold , previz supervisor David Dozoretz , and actors John Cho , Rachel Nichols , Simon Pegg, and Zoë Saldana .

Star Trek started shooting on 7 November 2007 , and wrapped on 8 April 2008 . In addition to directing and producing Star Trek , Abrams also wrote and performed two pieces of music heard in the film: " Awasoruk Jam ", which was played in the Shipyard Bar ("Awasoruk" is Kurosawa spelled backwards), and " Josh Greenstein ", played in the scene with Kirk and Gaila and named after the head of Paramount's marketing department. He was credited as " Cyrano Jones " for both songs. He also voiced the Iowa Cop , portrayed by stuntman Jeremy Fitzgerald , who stops a young James T. Kirk after he crashes the Corvette. ( Star Trek DVD commentary)

A sequel was announced as being in development on 30 March 2009 , with Abrams returning to produce. [17] Abrams chose to direct the 2011 film Super 8 : following its release, it was announced he would direct the Star Trek sequel, which began filming in January 2012. [18] He was nominated for a 2014 Saturn Award as Best Director. [19] For Star Trek Into Darkness , Abrams co-wrote the songs " The Growl " and " The Rage That's In Us All ".

It has been reported that Abrams and Bad Robot will continue producing the Star Trek films after he chose to direct Star Wars: Episode VII in January 2013. [20]

See also [ ]

• Memory Alpha:Ask J.J. Abrams/Answers

External links [ ]

• J.J. Abrams at Wikipedia
• J.J. Abrams at the Internet Movie Database
• J.J. Abrams at Lostpedia
• J.J. Abrams at Wookiepedia, the Star Wars wiki
• J.J. Abrams at StarTrek.com

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J.J. Abrams teases the return of his original cast in new Star Trek film

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine , The Hollywood Reporter , and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight , is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

Star Trek is ready to boldly go where they've gone three times before.

On Tuesday, J.J. Abrams announced plans for a fourth Star Trek film at the Paramount Investors Day presentation. The film will be directed by Matt Shakman ( WandaVision ) with Abrams producing, and the aim is to bring back many of Abrams' original stars from his 2009 reboot of the long-running franchise.

"We are thrilled to say that we are hard at work on a new Star Trek film that will be shooting by the end of the year that will be featuring our original cast and some new characters that I think are going to be really fun and exciting and help take Star Trek into areas that you've just never seen before," Abrams said. "We're thrilled about this film, we have a bunch of other stories that we're talking about that we think will be really exciting, so can't wait for you to see what we're cooking up. But until then, live long and prosper."

However, EW has learned that the studio has yet to enter negotiations with that original cast at this juncture. The cast features a litany of high profile names, including Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as Sulu, Karl Urban as Bones, and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Anton Yelchin , who featured as Chekhov in Abrams' previous three entries , died in 2016 before the previous film in the franchise, Star Trek Beyond , hit theaters.

The new film will feature a screenplay by Josh Friedman ( Avatar 2 ) and Cameron Squires ( WandaVision ) based on a earlier draft by Lindsey Beer ( Sierra Burgess Is a Loser ) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet ( Captain Marvel ).

With his 2009 film, Abrams reset the Star Trek timeline, originally established in Gene Roddenberry's 1960s groundbreaking sci-fi television series. He followed it up with 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, but the last time the characters' were seen on the big screen was in 2016's Star Trek Beyond, which Abrams produced with Justin Lin directing.

Plans to bring them back — including a 2018 announced sequel set to team Pine with Kirk's late father as portrayed by Chris Hemsworth in the 2009 film — have stuttered along the way. For a time, Quentin Tarantino was even circling a project .

Of late, Star Trek fans have turned back to television for new content on series Picard and Star Trek Discovery.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly 's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• See Whoopi Goldberg reprise her beloved Star Trek role as Guinan on Picard
• Sonequa Martin-Green takes the chair as captain in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 trailer
• Star Trek Beyond: Where does Star Trek go?

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JJ Abrams Announces New ‘Star Trek’ Film, Shooting Set to Begin This Year

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the entire reboot cast is set to return with Matt Shakman directing

It has been six years since “Star Trek” fans have seen the USS Enterprise on the big screen, but they will soon get to see it again as producer JJ Abrams announced at ViacomCBS’ investor presentation that his studio Bad Robot is getting set to shoot the fourth installment in the “Trek” reboot film series. Matt Shakman, the veteran TV director whose credits include “Game of Thrones” and the hit Marvel series “WandaVision,” will direct the upcoming film with the entire reboot cast in talks to return, including Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock as well as Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Simon Pegg.

“We are thrilled to say that we are hard at work on a new ‘Star Trek’ film that will be shooting by the end of the year that will be featuring our original cast and some new characters that I think are going to be really fun and exciting and help take ‘Star Trek’ into areas that you’ve just never seen before,” Abrams said. “We’re thrilled about this film, we have a bunch of other stories that we’re talking about that we think will be really exciting so can’t wait for you to see what we’re cooking up. But until then, live long and prosper.” The “Star Trek” reboot series — known as the Kelvin Timeline in “Trek” lore — began in 2009 with an origin film directed by Abrams that told the story of how Kirk became the captain of the Enterprise, followed by the sequels “Into Darkness” in 2013 and “Beyond” in 2016. The fourth installment will be the first since the passing of Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the series.

Home > Jj Abrams Star Trek Movies In Order

Jj Abrams Star Trek Movies In Order

• UPDATED: December 1, 2023

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JJ Abrams Star Trek Movies in Order: A Journey through the Final Frontier

When it comes to science fiction movies, few franchises have captured the imagination of audiences quite like Star Trek. With its rich lore, captivating characters, and thought-provoking themes, Star Trek has become a cultural phenomenon that has spanned over five decades. And in 2009, director JJ Abrams took the helm to breathe new life into the beloved series with his rebooted Star Trek movies. In this article, we will take a journey through the final frontier and explore JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movies in order .

1. Star Trek (2009): The first installment of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy takes us back to the origins of the iconic crew of the USS Enterprise. This film serves as a reboot of the original series and introduces audiences to a younger version of Captain James T. Kirk (played by Chris Pine) and his loyal crew. With stunning visuals, thrilling action sequences, and a fresh take on familiar characters, Star Trek (2009) successfully reignited the franchise’s popularity.

2. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013): The second film in JJ Abrams’ trilogy delves deeper into the relationships between the crew members while introducing a formidable new villain, Khan Noonien Singh (played by Benedict Cumberbatch). As Captain Kirk faces personal and professional challenges, he must navigate a web of deception and make difficult choices that will test his leadership skills. Star Trek Into Darkness is an action-packed installment that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.

3. Star Trek Beyond (2016): In the final chapter of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy, director Justin Lin takes over the reins to deliver an exhilarating space adventure. The crew finds themselves stranded on an uncharted planet after their ship is attacked by a ruthless alien warlord named Krall (played by Idris Elba). As they fight for survival and reunite with new allies, the crew must discover the true nature of Krall’s intentions and find a way to save the Federation. Star Trek Beyond is a fitting conclusion to Abrams’ trilogy, offering a perfect blend of action, humor, and heart.

While JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movies have faced some criticism from die-hard fans for deviating from the original series’ tone and style, they undeniably brought new life to the franchise and introduced it to a whole new generation of viewers. With their stellar cast, breathtaking visuals, and thrilling storytelling, these films successfully captured the essence of what makes Star Trek so beloved.

In addition to Abrams’ trilogy, he also served as a producer on subsequent Star Trek projects like Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, further expanding the universe he helped revive. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the series, JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movies are an exciting journey through space that should not be missed. So grab some popcorn, set your phasers to stun, and prepare for an adventure that will take you where no one has gone before.

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Star Trek’s J.J. Abrams Advised Chris Pine to Be ‘Less Shatner’ While Portraying James T. Kirk

Chris Pine reflects on playing James T. Kirk in the latest Star Trek movies, and the actor acknowledges those wonderful "Shatnerisms."

• J.J. Abrams advised Chris Pine to embody "less Shatner" when portraying James T. Kirk in the big-screen reboot of Star Trek.
• Pine starred as Captain Kirk in all three reboot films; he says the franchise feels "cursed."
• A new Star Trek movie is part of Paramount's "intent," according to Roddenberry Entertainment's C.O.O.

“Less Shatner.” Those two little words encompassed the advice filmmaker J.J. Abrams had for Chris Pine when the two collaborated on the big-screen reboot of the Star Trek franchise, which began in 2009. Pine was tasked with picking up the enormous mantle of the iconic character, James T. Kirk, who was portrayed brilliantly by William Shatner from 1966 until 1994. Pine said in an interview during his appearance on the Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me podcast:

“I think the biggest correction that J.J. [Abrams] ever had for me was ‘less Shatner.’ Because it’s so deliciously fun. I mean, anything from how he sits in the chair to how he does a double take. There are many… the Shatnerisms are long and deep, and they’re beautiful. They’re beautifully crafted.”

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Pine starred as James T. Kirk in all three of the reboot films, which began with Star Trek (2009) and was followed up by the sequels Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond . Abrams directed the first two movies, but he turned the director’s chair over to Justin Lin for the third installment. And nearly eight years have passed since Star Trek Beyond , and Star Trek 4 has still yet to warp speed into movie theaters.

Chris Pine Believes the Star Trek Franchise Is 'Cursed'

While J.J Abrams’ 2009 reboot certainly isn’t the best of the Star Trek films, both critics and audiences alike enjoyed the U.S.S. Enterprise’s encounter with the rogue Romulan Nero (Eric Bana), which featured the return of Leonard Nimoy as the original Mr. Spock. Abrams’ new vision of the sci-fi phenomenon also made $385.7 million worldwide (per Box Office Mojo ). So, a sequel was inevitable. And in the summer of 2013, Kirk and crew faced off against Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) in Star Trek Into Darkness .

Star Trek Into Darkness made even more money ($467.4 million) than Star Trek (2009) did globally, but 2016’s Star Trek Beyond didn’t fare as well as its predecessors ($343.5 million), and the reboot series has been in limbo ever since. Co-star Zoe Saldaña (Lt. Uhura) still has hope that Star Trek 4 will come to fruition. But when it comes to the Star Trek franchise, Pine “feels like it’s cursed,” according to an interview he did with Esquire in 2023.

Star Trek 4: Plot, Cast, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know

In March of this year, the C.O.O./President of Development for Roddenberry Entertainment, Trevor Roth, said “there is a plan” for a new Star Trek movie. Roth elaborated on the possibility in the same interview conducted at the SXSW film festival:

“I am not able to say much, but I can say that it is Paramount's intent to figure out the Star Trek side of movies and what's going on there. There's every intent of a new movie coming out in the very near future. There's a lot of secrecy around what's going to happen there. But there is a plan getting into place. And we're very excited to see it return to the big screen.”

Most recently, Pine wrote and directed his first feature film, Poolman. Pine also stars alongside Danny DeVito in the comedic mystery, which opens exclusively in theaters on May 10. And fans can watch the Poolman trailer right now.

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Star Trek prequel movie from JJ Abrams in the works

Doctor Who 's Toby Haynes will direct.

The filmmaker's company Bad Robot is producing an origin story set decades before Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film, which rebooted the franchise for the big screen in an alternate continuity.

According to Deadline , Andor and Doctor Who veteran Toby Haynes will be directing this prequel from a script by The Lego Batman Movie 's Seth Grahame-Smith.

Haynes started his career as an in-demand director in British TV, with his impressive CV also including episodes of the Star Wars series Andor as well as Sherlock and Utopia .

Related: Star Trek confirms new Starfleet spinoff show from Discovery boss

Plot details are being kept under wraps at this stage, and there is no official release date, but the publication reports that Abrams is also still working on Star Trek 4 .

Last autumn, screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer confirmed that the sequel with Chris Pine and the crew of the previous three Star Trek films remains on track .

"It's still on the tracks. I love that project, and it was another one that I had to hop off of to direct [ Pet Sematary: Bloodlines ], and that was a hard thing to do. But I love everybody involved with that project," Beer told Collider .

The project had previously been delayed following the departure of director Matt Shakman , who has since joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the long-awaited Fantastic Four film.

Related: Star Trek spin-off saved from cancellation

The Pine-era crew of the USS Enterprise were last on the big screen in 2016 with Star Trek Beyond , which introduced Idris Elba as the main villain and featured a final appearance from the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov following his tragic death .

Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1-4 are streaming on Paramount+ . A fifth and final season has been confirmed and is expected to premiere in early 2024.

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Night News Editor

Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US. 

He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016. 

Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.

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Star Trek Reboot Nearly Directed By a Horror Icon

Posted: April 17, 2024 | Last updated: April 23, 2024

For better or for worse, JJ Abrams has really defined the face of modern sci-fi. He directed two films in the generally disappointing Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, and, arguably, the main reason he got that gig was his experience directing two of the three Star Trek reboot films. Those movies were about a different franchise timeline, and it turns out we almost had our own very different timeline: as it turns out, Paramount first offered the Star Trek (2009) reboot directing gig to The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi.

Abrams Revitalized The Franchise

In retrospect, JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboots were generally very successful. Into Darkness rightfully gets a lot of crap from fans because it was a lame retread of The Wrath of Khan and a generally disappointing sequel in its own right. However, Star Trek (2009) was a major hit that brought new fans into the fold, and we arguably wouldn’t be enjoying the current Star Trek television renaissance if not for Abrams’ work on that first film.

I mention this because it’s tempting for jaded fans to say that Sam Raimi or almost any other big-name director could have done a better job with the reboot universe. Into Darkness sucked harder than the vacuum of space, but it led to Star Trek Beyond, a non-Abrams joint that is arguably the best of the reboot trilogy. In short, Abrams kicked off a trilogy of films where two of the three movies were very good, which is more than the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy can say (but like how Maz Kanata got Luke’s lightsaber, that’s a story for another time).

Star Trek Has Always Had Strong Horror Elements

Now that I’ve given Abrams his credit, though, I can’t help but wonder what a Sam Raimi Star Trek reboot would have looked like. Thanks to the Evil Dead franchise, Raimi is mostly known as a horror director, and it’s possible he would have leaned into that (fitting because, as Dr. McCoy reminds us in the final film, “space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence”). A horror director could have been perfect for a Trek reboot: as Red Letter Media’s Mike Stoklassa points out, there is a strong case to be made that The Original Series was always a horror show as much as a sci-fi series.

Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness

While it may be difficult to imagine a Sam Raimi Star Trek film, we already got a taste of what that could be like. Raimi directed Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but he subverted much of the Marvel formula by giving us a film filled with horror trappings like walking corpses, dark magic, and a seemingly unstoppable corrupted force that threatens all of reality. The mix of horror elements with the traditional superhero elements didn’t result in a perfect film by any means, but it gives us an idea of how Raimi might have utilized his horror experience to create a very different kind of Trek film.

First Contact

While Star Trek (2009) was a major hit, it’s worth considering that it could have been even more successful with Sam Raimi in the director’s chair. Horror may seem like a strange fit for the franchise, but 13 years before the reboot, we had First Contact, generally considered the best TNG film. Jonathan Frakes turned First Contact into a very horror-inspired film, and Paramount’s belief that the Borg were too much like a zombie horde is what led to the (very controversial) development of the Borg Queen.

The Quick And The Dead

In retrospect, Sam Raimi certainly seemed destined to direct a sci-fi film: after all, Evil Dead II introduced a major time-travel cliffhanger that effortlessly blended horror and science fiction. He also gave us an almost perfect Western film in The Quick and the Dead, proving that he’s a master of multiple genres. While he didn’t get a chance to direct the Trek reboot, we hope that Paramount considers the veteran horror director for future films, especially because they may be taking the franchise in a different direction with the upcoming origin movie.

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Screen Rant

Discovery was built on earth like uss enterprise in j.j. abrams’ star trek.

Burnham's time jump reminds us that, unlike other Star Trek hero ships, both the USS Discovery and J.J. Abrams' USS Enterprise weren't built in space.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange". Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange", reminds us that the USS Discovery was built on Earth, just like the USS Enterprise in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies. Written by Sean Cochran and directed by Lee Rose , "Face the Strange" catapults Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) through the personal history of the USS Discovery. From its construction in the 23rd century to the crew being killed by the Breen in the 32nd century, Discovery season 5, episode 4, covers the full spread of the starship's history.

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 established that the USS Discovery was still a new and groundbreaking vessel in 2256 . It's unclear exactly when Burnham and Rayner's trip to the in-construction USS Discovery takes place, but deck seven hadn't quite been completed on schedule. However, it's very clear from a glimpse of the outside world where Burnham and Rayner have traveled to, the San Francisco Fleet Yards on Earth, drawing a direct link with J.J. Abrams' version of the starship Enterprise from the Kelvin Timeline movies.

Star Trek: Discovery’s Enterprise Crossover Made 1 Of Burnham’s Crew Very Happy

Uss discovery was built on earth just like uss enterprise in j.j. abrams’ star trek.

The USS Discovery was built at the San Francisco Shipyards, something first mentioned way back in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 . "Face the Strange" reveals the location of the shipyard, via a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. This places Starfleet's San Francisco Shipyards somewhere in or around Starfleet Academy and Federation Headquarters. A huge amount of space must be required to construct starships, so it's possible that specialist platforms have been erected in the area around San Francisco Bay. The height of Burnham's view means that the audience don't see the ground, suggesting that the Crossfield-class starship could be constructed on a floating platform.

The Kelvin Timeline version of the USS Enterprise was also built on the Earth's surface, at the Starfleet Shipyard in Riverside, Iowa . However, while the majority of construction took place in Iowa, the Enterprise itself was launched from the San Francisco Fleet Yards. This draws a direct link with Star Trek: Discovery , suggesting that the nature of starfleet construction in the 23rd century was largely unchanged by the destruction of the USS Kelvin. However, the USS Discovery and the Kelvin Timeline USS Enterprise are still unique, because the majority of Star Trek 's starships are built in space.

Star Trek: Discovery was the first Star Trek show in 12 years, released after the three J.J. Abrams movies, which may account for season 1's reference to the Earth-based construction seen in Star Trek (2009) .

Starfleet Ships Are Usually Built In Space

In the Star Trek universe, Starfleet's ships are generally built in space, either at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards above Mars, or in various space docks. The USS Excelsior, first glimpsed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was being built and tested at Spacedock One. A century later, the USS Enterprise-D, USS Defiant and USS Voyager were all constructed at the orbital Utopia Planitia Shipyards. This makes the USS Discovery unique in the prime Star Trek timeline, as it's the only hero ship confirmed to be built on Earth. In fact, Discovery is unique among other starships in Star Trek: Discovery 's 32nd century timeline.

Starships in the 32nd century are built and refitted at Starfleet's Archer Spacedock , unveiled in Star Trek: Discovery season 4. The USS Discovery has made several trips to Archer Spacedock for repairs following its encounters with the Dark Matter Anomaly and the avalanche on Q'Mau. All of which proves that, while starships can be constructed on Earth, it's far more convenient and efficient for them to be built and repaired in space so that they're primed to join Starfleet's armada at the nearest opportunity.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

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.

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JJ Abrams: the man who boldly goes…

Hollywood loves to categorise people. As every actor and director knows, it is all too easy to get pigeonholed on the back of a single successful film or an early role taken purely to pay the bills. Inside many daytime soap stars are Shakespeareans longing to play Hamlet. Perhaps some of the best action film directors, in their dark moments of the soul, will be kept awake at night by a gnawing urge to direct a low-budget independent film of deep artistic worth.

This is, after all, the industry that developed the star system, whose scripts are ruthlessly fine-tuned to appeal to the broadest maximum audience and whose biggest actors are packaged in boxes labelled Action Hero, Romantic Lead, Serious Actor or Comedy Star.

So where, then, does JJ Abrams, 46, fit in? The man behind the current wildly successful reboot of the Star Trek series, and given the huge task of coming up with a seventh Star Wars movie, is currently seen as the Lord of the Geeks – a science fiction King Midas, whose every project turns into box-office gold. But that is just to scratch the surface of Abrams's diverse CV.

In a one-note town, there is barely a genre in which Abrams has not excelled. He has directed huge blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible III . He has produced more arty treatments, such as Cloverfield – a monster movie shot in a grainy, hand-held style. He has written disaster movies and homages to childhood. He has been a producer, a director, a writer, a bit-part actor and even a composer. Nor has it just been movies. Abrams is also the man behind some of the best television series of the past two decades – a period that has not wanted for excellence. He gave us a painful and poignant exploration of youth with Felicity , the kinetic spy caper Alias and the huge global mystery smash Lost .

So it is no surprise, that as Hollywood's trade papers report on the seemingly endless series of Abrams projects, that he has earned a label all of his own. Not for him "director" or "producer" or "screenwriter". He is referred to as a "multi-hyphenate". But even that is wrong. What Abrams has shown, especially in his masterful reinterpretation of the tired world of the Star Trek films, is that he deserves a title that predates the silver screen – a storyteller.

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams himself knows this. Despite his past success and the scale of future projects such as the Star Wars films, Abrams has always come across as remarkably grounded. He was asked once, by an interviewer for the Jewish Journal , if he ever pinched himself in disbelief at his triumphs. Abrams replied: "What I realised was that nothing changes. I'm exactly the same goof ball. I'm still sitting in the same room, I've got the same computer, the same thoughts in my head."

Those thoughts – whether about a young woman finding herself in New York or the new space adventures of Captain James T Kirk – have been there virtually from the beginning. Though born on Long Island, Abrams grew up in the entertainment industry of southern California. It was practically a family business. His father, Gerry, was a producer on more than 100 made-for-TV movies. As a child, the young Abrams would hang out with his dad on TV sets for massively popular shows such as Happy Days and Mork and Mindy . His mother, Carol, too, ended up as a producer, via stints in real estate and law school. His sister, Tracy, is also a screenwriter.

As a child, with a simple Super-8 camera given to him by his beloved grandfather, Abrams would shoot his own movies, often thriller-type plots in which his sister would die a cinematic death. He would write fan letters to Hollywood figures, especially the behind-the-scenes wizards who made the movies work. He developed a correspondence with the make-up genius on The Exorcist and Abrams ended up being given Linda Blair's prosthetic tongue.

So dedicated was Abrams that his first break came as a child when he and best friend Matt Reeves (still a staunch ally and collaborator) took their Super-8 to a young film-makers' festival. Amazingly, a local newspaper profiled the pair and – in a moment straight out of Hollywood – the article caught the eye of Steven Spielberg , who was looking for someone to edit some of his own old teenage Super-8 footage. Spielberg gave Abrams and Reeves the job and, though the youngsters did not then meet their hero, it was the beginning of a relationship that is now firmly entrenched.

For someone who had already worked for Spielberg while at high school, it was perhaps no surprise that before he had graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, Abrams had already sold his first screenplay. Writing with friend Jill Mazurky, daughter of director Paul Mazurky, the script became the 1990 Jim Belushi comedy Taking Care of Business . Other hits rapidly followed, flowing easily across genres and type and attracting the biggest names in the business. There was Regarding Henry , which starred Harrison Ford, and the Mel Gibson vehicle Forever Young and Gone Fishin ' with Danny Glover and Joe Pesci.

Abrams was barely 30 and he was already a runaway success. But his big break came in 1998 when he co-wrote the mega-smash Armageddon . That earned him a big enough pay cheque to have a bit of freedom. The result – defying all expectations and traditions – was that he and Reeves headed into television and made Felicity .

The show was at the time a ground-breaking series about a young college girl adrift in New York. It was so well made that it struck a chord with a generation of women. After that came 2001's Alias , starring Jennifer Garner as a lethal spy, and then in 2004 he put out Lost . That last drama fully cemented Abrams as a TV genius. It was a serious, adult mystery, full of twists and turns that still to this day infuriates and delights legions of fans.

The tale of a group of aeroplane-crash survivors marooned on a mysterious island provided ample scope for Abrams's imagination to run riot in a way that is becoming a trademark. Few practitioners of the art of modern mass entertainment have his sheer delight in the plot twist, the feint and putting layer upon layer of intrigue into their creations.

Indeed, in person, Abrams can come across as a sort of Willy Wonka or Oz, furiously pulling the strings in a palace of playful wonders. He talks fast and enthusiastically, not hiding his joy in his work and ideas. His office in Los Angeles is famed for having its lavatory hidden behind a book case, which can only be opened by tugging on a magic book. A sign on the outside of the building reads: "Are you ready?"

In some ways, it is no wonder he gets on so well with Spielberg. The pair both cleave to an almost old-fashioned sense of visual storytelling that has served each of them well. The main project that they worked on together, the movie Super-8 , is a sly reference to the first time their paths crossed. Yet, in its tale of a young boy making home movies who accidentally films a monster, the movie celebrates the two men's child-like love of film-making. Abrams has not disguised his feelings about the older man. "He's my idol, but he's also my real mentor and confidant," he told one interviewer.

For the moment, Abrams is back making movies. His first attempt at direction – the Tom Cruise action epic Mission: Impossible III – was a major hit. He then made Cloverfield and took on Star Trek and accepted the mantle of Star Wars from George Lucas and Disney. All have been hits.

Yet Abrams seems to remain immune from the egos and ambitions that often make Hollywood such an ugly place. In a 2007 talk at a TED conference, Abrams gave a hint as to how he has managed to do that. He used his speech to explain his love of mystery.

He revealed that when he was a child visiting Manhattan he had bought a box of tricks from a magic shop that had a question mark on the front and whose contents were unknown. More than 35 years later, he revealed, the box remained unopened.

He explained why. "It represents infinite possibility. It represents hope. It represents potential," he said. For Abrams, even a simple unopened magic box can contain a whole world of untold stories.

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