It's Star Trek Jim, but not as we know it. Spock's in charge of the bridge, Kirk's a dropout rebel who almost gets left behind when the Enterprise begins its five-year mission, and Scottie's a genius inventor. Early footage screened for the press yesterday of the new Star Trek movie, a prequel which is being directed by Lost creator JJ Abrams, suggested it would be a very different beast to previous films in the franchise.
The new movie, titled simply Star Trek, shows how James T Kirk came to be captain of the Enterprise. All the famous characters from the original 1960s TV show are present, but played by newcomers. The little-known Chris Pine takes the William Shatner role as Kirk, Heroes villain Zachary Quinto plays Spock, Lord of the Rings' Karl Urban is Bones, and Britain's Simon Pegg is Scottie. Fans of the original series and its subsequent 10 films will have plenty to engage their warp drives.
The film, to be released in May, centres on a Romulan invasion of Vulcan, Spock's home planet, and features a time-travelling subplot which was written to allow original cast member Leonard Nimoy to reprise his role as the Enterprise first officer.
Abrams' team also tried but failed to find a role for the notoriously outspoken Shatner, who has subsequently made clear his disappointment at not being included.
"I couldn't believe it," the 77-year-old actor said in October 2007. "I thought, what a decision to make, since it obviously is a decision not to make use of the popularity I have to ensure the movie has good box office."
Abrams responded by pointing out that Shatner's Kirk died on screen in his final film in the series, 1994's Star Trek: Generations. "Maybe a smarter group of film-makers could have figured out how to resolve that," said Shatner.
Shatner's absence isn't the only Abrams alteration. The director may have borrowed the look of the original Star Trek - the crew of the new Enterprise are dressed in primary-coloured, figure-hugging spandex - but times have changed and it's cold out in space: the miniskirts worn by female crew members of the Enterprise are said to be just that little bit longer than those worn by their 60s predecessors.
