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Star Trek Into Darkness

2013, Sci-fi/Adventure, 2h 12m

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Critics Consensus

Visually spectacular and suitably action packed, Star Trek Into Darkness is a rock-solid installment in the venerable sci-fi franchise, even if it's not as fresh as its predecessor. Read critic reviews

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The crew of the Starship Enterprise returns home after an act of terrorism within its own organization destroys most of Starfleet and what it represents, leaving Earth in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) leads his people (Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoë Saldana) on a mission to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction, thereby propelling all of them into an epic game of life and death.

Rating: PG-13 (Intense Seq. of Sci-Fi Violenc|Intense Seq. of Sci-Fi Action)

Genre: Sci-fi, Adventure, Action, Fantasy

Original Language: English

Director: J.J. Abrams

Producer: J.J. Abrams , Bryan Burk , Damon Lindelof , Alex Kurtzman , Roberto Orci

Writer: Alex Kurtzman , Roberto Orci , Damon Lindelof

Release Date (Theaters): May 16, 2013 wide

Release Date (Streaming): May 14, 2015

Box Office (Gross USA): $228.8M

Runtime: 2h 12m

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Production Co: Bad Robot, Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Datasat

View the collection: Star Trek

Cast & Crew

Capt. James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto

Dr. Leonard McCoy

Zoe Saldana

Nyota Uhura

Anton Yelchin

Pavel Chekov

Montgomery "Scotty" Scott

Hikaru Sulu

Benedict Cumberbatch

John Harrison

Carol Marcus

Bruce Greenwood

Christopher Pike

Peter Weller

Admiral Marcus

J.J. Abrams

Alex Kurtzman

Screenwriter

Roberto Orci

Damon Lindelof

Dana Goldberg

Executive Producer

Paul Schwake

David Ellison

Jeffrey Chernov

Cinematographer

Maryann Brandon

Film Editing

Mary Jo Markey

Michael Giacchino

Original Music

Scott Chambliss

Production Design

Ramsey Avery

Supervising Art Direction

Kasra Farahani

Art Director

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Critic Reviews for Star Trek Into Darkness

Audience reviews for star trek into darkness.

While it may rehash some elements from other films in the franchise, Star Trek Into Darkness is still a worthy and very fun installment with a powerhouse villain performance and staying as visually stunning as usual.

I really love the direction that this new "Star Trek" franchise is going. It's not the normal exploration drama anymore, but it's more an action piece. And it's a very good one. I really love this movie. If you take away all the previous movies, this is probably better than the first one, because it really does a lot more than the first one and it does go to new planets, for example Kronos which was a treat to see. The acting is great, especially from Cumberbatch who gives a great performance as the main villain. He gives a scary performance as well as a really emotional and lovable performance. One of the reasons, however, why we need to look at the other movies like canon, is because of a scene featuring Leonard Nimoy. And that's where the movie haults for me. This movie is a soft reboot of the great "The Wrath of Khan," and when the movie tries to be that masterpiece, it really feels sloppy for me. I didn't like the fact that Cumberbatch turned out to be Khan and that they wanted to give the character a little twist. The fact that his blood can bring people back from the dead is the most ridiculous thing that anyone has ever done in a movie and that took me out of the movie and really had a big impact on my final thoughts. But, I still ended up liking the movie very much and, while I can't say that it's better than the first one, I can say that it is definitely a worthy follow-up and a great addition to this new franchise.

Though it feels much more like a Star Wars film than anything Star Trek has ever done, 'Into Darkness' succeeds in most of the areas in sets out to, even if it wasn't the general direction most Trekkies wanted the series to go after a brilliant reboot in 2009. Most of the scrutiny from the film comes from its handling of the character, Spock, and the unnecessary hiding of him for the entire marketing campaign. While the ladder is a fair criticism, it doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the film. Though I can understand a particular third act plot choice that felt like a forced homage to 1982's The Wrath of Khan, this rendition of Khan is still well realized. Most of the credit there should go to the relentless performance from Benedict Cumberbatch. Not as flashy nor as memorable as Ricardo Montalban's Khan, Cumberbatch is far more brutal and deceptive. Even on repeat viewing, I found myself captivated by every scene with Khan, especially those which also involved Kirk and/or Spock. There's something about the dialogue between them that feels vintage good vs evil while also presenting such a tremendous amount of gravitas as well. J.J. Abrams is a genius filmmaker, but I don't think he gets enough credit for what he did with both his Trek films. The series was nearly dead before he came aboard and revamped and refreshed the entire idea of what a Trek film is. Even if it deviates from lore, 'Into Darkness' is a really well made film. The effects have never been better and the way Abrams seamlessly takes us from a CGI or green screen landscape into an integral one on one dialogue battle is very impressive. Though not every key emotional moment feels earned in the third act, it's nice seeing all of the actors start to come into their own as the respected crew members of the Enterprise. Scotty has never been better, Sulu gets more than enough time to shine, Quinto brought a new layer to Spock not seen in 2009, and Chris Pine feels much more like an heir apparent to William Shatner than he did in the first entry. To me, it was much easier to care about the characters this time around. With all this said, there's plenty that I wish the film did differently. The Khan reveal and 3rd act mishandle of the infamous moment are just some of the mishaps that could have been fixed. Or even the entire subplot with the Admirals daughter, but I digress. 'Into Darkness' is a far better film than it probably has a right to be with a fun and exciting direction from Abrams and lively performances from the good and bad side of the coin. +Cumberbatch +Abrams directing style +Great dialogue between Kirk, Khan, and Spock -3rd act mishaps 8.2/10

Before the reboot of Star Trek I hadn't really paid much attention to the Star Trek universe and was excited to see what all the fuzz was about, although trekkies might disagree with this being a good starting point.. I loved it, so I've been looking forward to a sequel ever since the last one. WELL, it has arrived and it KICKED some serious ASS. Star Trek Into Darkness is what modern action filmmaking has evolved into. The movie was fantastic and I absolutely loved it but the script felt dumbed down and JJ did his best with what he was given. The visuals were gorgeous and the score was just amazing through the whole movie. I'm glad they managed to give most of the characters more personality and a moment to grow and develop. Having mentioned that, it's worth to note that Benedict Cumberbatch stole the show with his acting as the ruthless villain and I wouldn't hesitate to give him the title of villain of the year, even if it's still May. (although many people might disagree) Overall I would say this is THE movie of the summer. It brought to the table a great story, outstanding acting, out-of-this world visuals (pun intended) and spotless directing with some lens glare. As I've seen, this is a hit or miss for a lot of people and honestly it's all up to you!

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Star Trek Into Darkness

After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.
When the USS Enterprise crew is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. As our space heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew. — Paramount Pictures
The latest mission of the USS Enterprise crew takes them into deep space to rescue an endangered species from an active volcano. However, once again Captain Kirk's reckless behavior compromises the mission and nearly gets him booted from Starfleet. Turning back to his mentor Admiral Pike, Kirk is demoted to an academy cadet and has to start over. However, when a ruthless warlord attacks Starfleet and shoots Admiral Pike in the process, Kirk takes command and takes the Enterprise deep into the neutral zone and the Klingon homeworld. Unknown to the crew, a Starfleet renegade is manipulating the Federation and the Klingons into a possible war. Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew must stop the war before all hell breaks loose. And what awaits the crew of the USS Enterprise on their forthcoming five-year mission? — Blazer346
The USS Enterprise is sent to Planet Nibiru to observe a pre-warp civilization. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) attempt to save the inhabitants from an imminent volcano eruption which would wipe out the civilization. When Spock's life is jeopardized, Kirk breaks the Prime Directive, exposing the Enterprise to the planet's civilization during Spock's rescue. A number of indigenous people begin to worship the ship as it leaves. Called back to Earth, Kirk is demoted to First Officer and Admiral Christopher Pike re-assumes command of the Enterprise. In London, Starfleet agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) bombs a secret "Section 31" installation. In San Francisco, Pike and his first officer attend an emergency meeting of high-ranking officers at Starfleet headquarters. The meeting is attacked by a gunship piloted by Harrison, who kills Pike. Kirk destroys the gunship, but Harrison flees. With Pike dead, Admiral Alexander Marcus authorizes Kirk to hunt down Harrison, who has used trans warp beaming and fled to the Klingon home world of Kronos. Since Kronos lies deep in Klingon territory and the Federation is on the brink of war with the Klingon Empire, the Enterprise is supplied with 72 long-range prototype photon torpedoes and is ordered to fire them at Harrison's location once he is found. Thinking that the torpedoes could be dangerous to the ship, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott refuses to take them aboard and tenders his resignation (which Kirk accepts), whereupon Pavel Chekov is promoted to Chief Engineer. Admiral Marcus' daughter, scientist Carol Marcus (Alice Eve), joins the crew under a false identity. Arriving at the Klingon home world, the Enterprise's warp core malfunctions. With repairs underway, Kirk, Spock and Uhura use a previously commandeered trader ship to reach Kronos. After being detected by Klingon patrol ships, the three are forced to land. Despite Uhura's attempts to negotiate, the Klingons prepare to kill the trio. Harrison wipes out the Klingons in a show of superhuman strength and confronts the landing party, but surrenders after learning the precise number of photon torpedoes aimed at him. Returning to the Enterprise, Harrison reveals his real identity: Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically augmented superhuman, who has been in Cryo sleep for 300 years after his unsuccessful war to have his superhuman comrades rule the Earth. He advises Kirk to examine the 72 prototype torpedoes and also tells him a set of spatial coordinates. Kirk orders Leonard McCoy to examine the torpedoes, and contacts Scotty on Earth to check the coordinates. The torpedoes are found to each contain a genetically engineered human in Cryo sleep - the remaining members of Khan's colleagues. Khan explains that Admiral Marcus awakened him to use his superior intellect and savagery to develop advanced weapons for a war with the Klingons, keeping his colleagues as hostages. He also says that now Marcus wants to kill Khan to erase every trace of his association with a known war criminal. Kirk realizes that the Enterprise's warp core had been sabotaged on Admiral Marcus' orders, making the covert operation to kill Khan a one-way ticket. Scotty arrives at the coordinates and finds a secret Starfleet shipyard, which he infiltrates. The Enterprise's warp core is repaired, but the ship is soon confronted by an unregistered Federation battleship, the USS Vengeance - a massive vessel built for combat which dwarfs the Enterprise. Admiral Marcus reveals himself as the commander of the Vengeance, demanding Kirk hand over Khan. Kirk refuses, and the Enterprise warps toward Earth, to have Khan stand trial. In Earth's orbit, the Enterprise is attacked by the Vengeance. With the Enterprise severely damaged, Kirk offers to hand over Khan and the 72 bodies in Cryo sleep in exchange for the lives of his crew. Marcus refuses, beams his daughter to the Vengeance, and orders the destruction of the Enterprise-when the Vengeance suddenly suffers a complete power outage, caused by Scotty who had boarded the ship at the secret shipyard. As the Enterprise weapons are too damaged to continue the fight and knowing that Khan was the designer of the Vengeance, Kirk allies himself with Khan and boards the ship. They reunite with Scotty and take the bridge. Meanwhile, Spock contacts Spock Prime to learn of Khan's history and how to defeat him. Khan betrays Kirk and takes control of the Vengeance, killing Admiral Marcus. Khan negotiates with Spock, beaming Kirk and his boarding party back to the Enterprise in exchange for the 72 Cryo torpedoes. Khan plans to destroy the Enterprise, but Spock reveals that real - and armed - torpedoes were beamed to the Vengeance, keeping the Cryo pods on the Enterprise. The torpedoes incapacitate the Vengeance and anger Khan, who believes that his 72 colleagues have been killed. Both ships start descending towards Earth's surface. At the cost of his life, Kirk re-aligns the warp core, enabling the crew to regain control of the Enterprise. The Vengeance crashes into downtown San Francisco but does not kill Khan. Khan tries to escape in the chaos but is pursued by Spock. McCoy discovers that Khan's blood may reanimate Kirk and Uhura prevents Spock from killing Khan, capturing him instead. In the aftermath, Kirk is revived and returns to duty as Captain of the Enterprise. Khan is sealed into his Cryo pod and stored away with the rest of his crew. As the film ends, a restored Enterprise is re-christened and departs for a 5-year mission of exploration.

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Film Review: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’

J.J. Abrams sets his filmmaking to 'stun' with a sequel in every respect equal or even superior to its splendid 2009 predecessor

By Scott Foundas

Scott Foundas

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J.J. Abrams sets his filmmaking to “stun” for “ Star Trek Into Darkness,” a sequel in every respect equal or even superior to its splendid 2009 predecessor, which lovingly and cleverly rebooted Gene Roddenberry ’s long-running space opera following the black hole of 2002’s “Star Trek Nemesis.” Markedly grander in scale, although never at the expense of its richly human (and half-human) characters, “Into Darkness” may not boldly go where no “Trek” adventure has gone before, but getting there is such a well-crafted, immensely pleasurable ride that it would be positively Vulcan to nitpick. Global box office cume should easily warp past the prior pic’s $385 million for this sturdy Paramount tentpole, which opens overseas May 9 before beaming down Stateside one week later.

Abrams, whose last pic was the lyrical “E.T.”/“Close Encounters” homage “Super 8,” here tips his hat to the “Indiana Jones” series, opening with a thrilling setpiece that finds Kirk ( Chris Pine ) and Bones (the sly, loose-limbed Karl Urban ) on the run from a tribe of very angry natives on the planet Nibiru. The natives, decked out in head-to-toe clay body paint, shimmer like human ceramics as they chase the Starfleet officers through a crimson forest, the lush colors of returning d.p. Dan Mindel all but searing the screen. Meanwhile, Spock ( Zachary Quinto ) toils away nearby, attempting to insert a high-tech ice cube into the raging volcano that threatens to destroy Nibiru and its inhabitants — a dangerous mission that quickly goes awry, building to a classic “Trek” standoff between stubborn Vulcan logic and impulsive human emotion.

The Enterprise crew has scarcely recovered from that one when, back on Earth, a terror bombing lays waste to a top-secret Starfleet intelligence facility and brings to the fore a new galactic baddie: a rogue Starfleet officer named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) who claims credit for the attack and, after an equally brazen follow-up, hightails it deep into Klingon-controlled space. The hawkish Adm. Marcus ( Peter Weller ) dispatches the Enterprise in hot pursuit, with this familiar-sounding objective: Shoot first, ask questions later, and avoid starting a war with the locals. Welcome to “Star Trek Into Zero Dark Thirty.”

Only, this John Harrison is a slippery sort who, when given the chance, claims not to be the villain at all, but rather a pawn in someone else’s deadlier scheme. And for much of its running time, “ Star Trek Into Darkness ” makes a good guessing game out of whether this mysterious stranger with the glacial glare and bones seemingly made of steel is friend, foe or — like the “old Spock” of Abrams’ first “Trek” — a little bit of history repeating. It hardly matters, because whatever Cumberbatch is playing, he’s wonderful to watch, infusing the movie with the kind of exotic grandeur Eric Bana’s wan Romulan henchman (arguably the weakest link in the 2009 film) largely lacked. Also making her maiden “Trek” voyage is the lovely Alice Eve as an ambitious science officer who lies her way on to the Enterprise deck and makes goo-goo eyes with the good Captain. She is not, it turns out, the ship’s only stowaway.

Having previously established an alternate “Trek” timeline in which all the events of prior series and movies still happened, but aren’t necessarily doomed to recur, Abrams and returning writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (now joined by “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof) here take that idea and run with it, invoking prior “Trek” lore when it suits them, freely branching off into new directions when it doesn’t. (Hell, there’s even some trouble with a tribble.) It’s a tricky business, balancing reverence with reinvention, but like the young Kirk, Abrams seems altogether more comfortable in the captain’s chair this time — not just in the large-scale action scenes, but particularly in the quieter ones, where you can sense his real investment in these characters and his confident touch with actors.

SEE ALSO: ‘Star Trek’ Premieres in London (Photos)

The film builds particularly well on the burgeoning Kirk-Spock friendship, with Pine showing reserves of vulnerability and doubt beneath his cocksure exterior, while Quinto adds gravitas to Spock’s eternal inner conflict — and his deepening romance with Lt. Uhura ( Zoe Saldana ). But make no mistake: The action, when it comes, is superbly executed, whether it’s giant vessels making mincemeat of one another, or the simpler excitements of old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat and foot chases through crowded promenades.

The best, even-numbered films in the original “Trek” film franchise were shaped by the guiding intelligence of writer-director Nicholas Meyer , who laced the Starfleet jargon with high-toned literary references and a gently self-mocking sense of humor. Abrams, too, manages to keep the mood buoyant even when the fate of the universe is hanging in the balance, more than earning his tears when he finally decides to milk them. But if Meyer’s primary references were Shakespeare, Dickens and Conan Doyle, Abrams’ are Spielberg, John Hughes and Cameron Crowe. In defiance of the self-congratulatory snark that has become de rigueur in Hollywood franchise fare, he brings a shimmering pop romanticism to “Trek’s” stalwart ideals of friendship, heroism and self-sacrifice. There’s something bold about that, indeed.

“Into Darkness” is a beautifully modulated and sustained piece of work across the board, with visual effects that seamlessly meld live-action and computer-animated elements, given further texture by old-fashioned celluloid lensing (with 65mm Imax used for key action scenes). Post-production 3D conversion by Stereo D ranks among the best of its kind. The Enterprise has rarely looked sleeker than it does on production designer Scott Chambliss ‘ sets. Adding the cherry to the top of this cinematic sundae, composer Michael Giacchino ‘s soaring score once again revives Alexander Courage’s immortal Trek theme for the closing credits.

Movie Stills:

Benedict Cumberbatch in "Star Trek Into Darkness."

Paramount Pictures

Reviewed at AMC Loews 34th Street, May 2, 2013. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 132 MIN.

Production: A Paramount release presented with Skydance Productions of a Bad Robot production. Produced by J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci. Executive producers, Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Paul Schwake. Co-producers, Tommy Gormley, Tommy Harper, Ben Rosenblatt, Michelle Rejwan.
Crew: Directed by J.J. Abrams. Screenplay, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, based on “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry. Camera (Deluxe color, Panavision widescreen/35mm/Imax, 3D), Dan Mindel; editors, Maryann Brandon, Mary Jo Markey; music, Michael Giacchino; production designer, Scott Chambliss; supervising art director, Ramsey Avery; art directors, Kasra Farahani, Michael E. Goldman, Andrew E.W. Murdock, Harry E. Otto, Lauren Polizzi; set decorator, Karen Manthey; costume designer, Michael Kaplan; sound (Dolby Atmos/Datasat), Peter J. Devlin; sound designer, Ben Burtt; supervising sound editors, Burtt, Matthew Wood; re-recording mixers, Will Files, James Bolt; visual effects supervisor, Roger Guyett; ILM visual effects co-supervisor, Patrick Tubach; ILM visual effects producer, Luke O’Byrne; visual effects, Industrial Light & Magic, Pixomondo, Kelvin Optical, Atomic Fiction; stunt coordinator, John Stoneham Jr.; assistant director, Tommy Gormley; second unit director, Guyett; second unit camera, Bruce McCleery; casting, April Webster, Alyssa Weisberg.
With: John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Peter Weller, Anton Yelchin, Leonard Nimoy.

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Star Trek Into Darkness

2013 • PG-13

After an unspeakable terrorist act at the heart of the Federation, Kirk, and his crew head off on a manhunt into enemy territory to capture a familiar foe with superhuman abilities.

Movie Reviews

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Less a classic " Star Trek " adventure than a " Star Trek "-flavored action flick, shot in the frenzied, handheld, cut-cut-cut style that’s become Hollywood’s norm, director J.J. Abrams’ latest could have been titled "The Bourne Federation."

The plot pits the Enterprise crew against an intergalactic terrorist named John Harrison ( Benedict Cumberbatch , giving his honeyed baritone a workout), who’s waging war on the Federation for mysterious personal reasons. There’s a joke, an argument, a chase, a spaceship battle, or a brutal close-quarters firefight every five minutes, but all the action is intimately tied to character. The major players, particularly Chris Pine’s James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto ’s Mr. Spock, are as finely shaded as the incarnations played by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy . This new voyage of the starship Enterprise is brash, confident, and often brutally violent, and features the most lived-in production design I’ve seen in a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster since " Minority Report ."

Why, then, is the film ultimately disappointing? I suspect it’s the pop culture echo chamber effect: Abrams and his screenwriters ( Robert Orci , Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof ) are so obsessed with acknowledging and then futzing around with what we already know about Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty and company that the movie doesn’t breathe. "Star Trek Into Darkness" is peppered with nods to past films and episodes: Kirk’s impetuous decision-making and horndog sexual proclivities; Spock’s denial of his half-humanness; Dr. McCoy’s cranky witticisms; Scotty’s protestations of what he and the ship “canna” do; references to tribbles and neutral zones and the Harry Mudd incident. The central plotline refers to one of Trek’s most celebrated storylines — a callback that alternately seems to honor the original, then turn it on its head, then honor it again. The final act includes an homage to one of the most famous scenes in the entire Trek canon — but this, too, is an inversion, or appears to be, until the script springs another whiplash reversal.

The story starts with a " Raiders of the Lost Ark "-like action sequence: Kirk, Spock and the gang are embroiled in a secret mission on a red jungle planet filled with superstitious tribespeople whose lives are threatened by a volcanic eruption. The correct thing to do is leave Mr. Spock behind, because going back to rescue him would violate the Federation’s Prime Directive against messing with the natural development of primitive cultures. It’s in this opening sequence, for better or worse, that the movie establishes a vexing narrative pattern: The characters have urgently necessary arguments about the morally, ethically, and procedurally correct thing to do in a crisis, then one character (usually Kirk) makes a unilateral, straight-from-the-gut decision that worsens everything; and yet somehow at the end he’s rewarded, or at least not seriously punished.

We’re given to understand that it’s always a good thing to prize personal friendship and loyalty above the concerns of one’s crew, ship, federation or species. Sometimes the reward is quite deliberate — as in the end scene, which finds Kirk being celebrated as a hero after making what looked to me like a series of catastrophic rookie mistakes that ended dozens of lives. Other times it’s as if the cosmos itself is rewarding or at least protecting Kirk, as when he loses command of the Enterprise for his behavior on the primitive planet, then gets it back thanks to another sudden plot twist. A good alternate title for this movie would be the name of one of Steven Soderbergh ’s great books about filmmaking: "Getting Away With It: Or, the Further Adventures of the Luckiest Bastard You Ever Saw." The Federation itself seems to have plenty in common with Kirk: Both the opening mission and a subsequent intergalactic act of aggression are presented as having grave consequences if they fail, then the film just sort of writes them off with a shrug, as if to say, “Well, that’s all in the past, and as long as it doesn’t happen again, no harm, no foul.” (Has anyone in the Federation actually honored the Prime Directive?)

Yes, the film’s stumblebum plotting comes from a desire to give the audience what it wants: Kirk in command, flying by the seat of his tight pants; Spock learning it’s OK to acknowledge and act on his emotions, and that there’s more to life than following rules; etc. But surely there were more elegant ways to get us there! Abrams makes the 23rd century look like a place of actions and consequences, in which humans and other creatures might actually live, think and feel, in a world in which a fall of more than ten feet could break a leg, lava can melt flesh, and people who are dead stay dead. But he also tells stories in which various practices, rules and laws, including Starfleet tactical procedures, the Prime Directive, and gravity, have no narrative weight. Too much of "Star Trek Into Darkness" has what I call a “playground storytelling” sensibility: “Lie down, you’re dead. Never mind, you’re alive again — now fight!” This narrative flailing-about isn’t merely amateurish, it’s at odds with the gritty production design and pseudo-documentary camerawork and references to 9/11 and the War on Terror. It takes a great artist to be both serious and silly. Abrams, for all his enthusiasm, ain’t it.

For all its sloppiness and blind spots and fanboy pirouettes, though, "Star Trek Into Darkness" is still an involving film with more heart than most summer blockbusters. Abrams’ roots in TV ( Felicity , Alias , Lost ) seem to have made him attentive to the dynamics of groups, and to the repeated phrases and gestures that bond viewers to characters. Pine’s beefy frat-boy Kirk is appealing, especially when he’s being called on the carpet; Pine has several strong scenes opposite Cumberbatch’s Harrison and Bruce Greenwood ’s mentor-father figure, Capt. Pike, in which Pine is overmatched as both character and actor but uses the imbalance to enhance the scene. Sometimes you see terror in Kirk’s eyes as he blusters; his vulnerability makes you root for him even though his “I gotta be me!” philosophy destroys careers and ends lives.

Quinto’s Spock is equal to, but different than, Leonard Nimoy’s incarnation, and it’s a relief to see that Abrams has made the destruction of Vulcan in the first film a key component of the character’s psychology. As Spock explains to communications officer Uhura ( Zoe Saldana ), his main squeeze, it’s not that he can’t feel any emotion, it’s that he’s decided he’s better off not feeling it: this Spock is a Holocaust survivor who has adopted numbness as a survival strategy. Uhura, Simon Pegg ’s Scotty, John Cho ’s Sulu, Anton Yelchin ’s Chekov, and Karl Urban ’s “Bones” McCoy have their moments, too; they behave like plausibly real people even when the script is asking them to do and say things that common sense tells us is horse manure, and their presences lend the film a dignity it doesn’t earn.

* Edited 6/22/18 to remove a reference to a "forthcoming" detailed blog post on the film that the reviewer ended up not writing.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film credits.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Rated PG-13

129 minutes

Chris Pine as James T. Kirk

Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison

Zachary Quinto as Spock

Simon Pegg as Scotty

Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura

J.J. Abrams
Alex Kurtzman
Damon Lindelof
Roberto Orci

Original Music Composer

Michael Giacchino

Cinematography

Daniel Mindel
April Webster

Production Design

Scott Chambliss
Gene Roddenberry

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Movie Reviews

'into darkness,' boldly and with a few twists.

David Edelstein

Zoe Saldana is Uhura and Zachary Quinto is Spock in the new J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek: Into Darkness, the 12th installment in the franchise. Zade Rosenthal/Paramount Pictures hide caption

Zoe Saldana is Uhura and Zachary Quinto is Spock in the new J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek: Into Darkness, the 12th installment in the franchise.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Director: J.J. Abrams
Genre: Science Fiction
Running Time: 132 minutes

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

With: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch

Before I tell you about J.J. Abrams' second Star Trek film, with its youngish new Starship Enterprise crew, let me say that just because I've seen every episode of the original Star Trek and of The Next Generation, and most of the spinoff series, and every movie, I'm not a Trekkie — meaning someone who goes to conventions or speaks Klingon or greets people with a Vulcan salute.

But hey, even President Obama can give the Vulcan salute; it's mainstream. We live — thanks to the Internet — in a fan culture. We can all get up to speed on anything quickly. We can all appreciate the new Star Trek: Into Darkness not just on its own terms but also as a kind of cinematic dialogue among Star Trek s past and present.

The first thing Abrams did in his first Star Trek picture was not so much wipe the slate as alter it. A ship from the future radically changed the early lives of Kirk, Spock and the others. Presto: Kirk and Spock are the same — but different. The fatherless Kirk is a hothead. Spock is having an affair with Uhura. Things change.

Now, in his second Star Trek , Abrams and his screenwriters establish a kind of conversation across time with Nicholas Meyer's 1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — the one with an aging Ricardo Montalban chasing an aging William Shatner around the galaxy, declaiming like Ahab. It's the best of all the movies, the one that found the ideal balance between wonky sci-fi and rousing nautical adventure.

Abrams' No. 2 isn't nearly as good. The plotting is clunky, and the action more relentless and violent than I'd like; there are no pauses for ideas. There are too many self-deflating quips. The movie doesn't hold up to post-viewing scrutiny — which matters if you want to see it again.

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But I found it so much fun to see its variations on an old theme that I found myself having a good time. I surrendered to the bombardment.

The new cast is still disconcerting. By the end of the original Trek , the actors were a collection of paunches and hairpieces; these guys are so trim and tender-skinned, they're like the Baby Looney Tunes .

But the villain is on a different level. The studio doesn't want me to utter his name, though I'll tell you it's not Voldemort. You probably know who it is. In any case, he's played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who made Sherlock Holmes his own and makes this character his, too.

Even without makeup, Cumberbatch looks alien, ravenlike in repose, with a preternatural stillness, his eyes so wide apart they could have twice the peripheral vision of humans. He's beyond pain, beyond good and evil — a Nietzschean superman.

Midway through, he lets himself be captured by Chris Pine's vengeful Captain Kirk, who confronts him in a jail cell on board the Enterprise. The villain tells Kirk he can offer 72 reasons to convince Kirk to listen to him.

Seventy-two? That's the number of things on board that the villain feels protective of. And you probably don't know what I'm talking about. I have to be circumspect. Too many plot details would provoke what I call the Wrath of Comic-Con, and I'm not like the bad guy here — supernaturally impervious.

I do have quibbles. Chris Pine's Kirk might be too much of a pretty boy. And Zachary Quinto's Spock seems one-quarter Vulcan rather than half, his human emotions too much on the surface. The whole Enterprise is staffed with wiseacres and exhibitionists. At least the women are more present: Zoe Saldana's Uhura kicks some butt, and blond Alice Eve has potential as a character from another Star Trek movie, only younger and hotter.

I went with it — it was, as Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock would deadpan, "Fascinating." Familiar lines have peculiar contexts. Alliances get muddled. The narrative never stops twisting.

It can be thrilling to watch familiar characters be strange — if only so you can return to the originals with fresh eyes. Star Trek: Into Darkness is a mixed enterprise, but hail to the prospect of seeing it boldly go where no Trek has gone before.

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Star trek into darkness: film review.

J.J. Abrams returns to direct the crew of the Enterprise as Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana face off against Benedict Cumberbatch.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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Star Trek Into Darkness Still - H 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness , J.J. Abrams ‘s second entry in his reboot of the eternal franchise, has been engineered rather than directed, calibrated to deliver sensation on cue and stocked with just enough new character twists to keep fans rapt. At its core an intergalactic manhunt tale about a traitor to the cause, the production gives the impression of a massive machine cranked up for two hours of full output; it efficiently delivers what it’s built to do, but without style or personality. The widely admired 2009 series relaunch pulled in $385 million in worldwide box office (an unusual two-thirds of that in the American market), and this one should follow very closely in that trajectory.

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Star Trek movies in order: Chronological and release

Untangle the different timelines and get the popcorn: Here are the Star Trek movies in order — both chronological and release.

Chronological order
Prime Timeline

The Original Series movies

The next generation movies.

Kelvin Timeline
Release order

Upcoming Star Trek movies

We've got a guide to watching the Star Trek movies in order, decloaking off our starboard side!

So long as movies stick numbers on the ends of their titles, it’s easy to watch them in order. Once they start branching out, however, things can get a little muddled, especially when reboots come along and start the whole process over from scratch.

You may have heard that the even-numbered ones are good and the odd-numbered ones are not. That’s spot on for the films starring the cast of The Original Series (aka Kirk and friends) falls apart once you reach the tenth entry in the series. It would probably be worth your while to have this list of the Star Trek movies, ranked worst to best around to steer clear of the clunkers. Look, we’re not going to pretend everything here is worth two hours of your day, we’re just letting you know which came out after which.

Should your Trek appetite remain unsatiated after your movie watchathon, feel free to pull from either our list of the best Star Trek: The Original series episode s or best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes . Either one will set you up for a weekend jam-packed with great Trek moments. Consult our Star Trek streaming guide for all the details on where to watch the movies and shows online

Star Trek movies: Chronological order

Below is the quick version of our list if you just need to check something to win an argument, but it comes with a lot of in-universe time travel-related caveats that we'll explain below.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek Into Darkness
Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek: Prime Timeline

The first thing you need to know about the Star Trek films is that while they travel back and forth in time, they also diverge into two (for now) different timelines. The films of the original crew (well, the first iteration of them, anyway – more on that later) are all in what is known as the Prime Timeline.

Within the Prime Timeline, the movies are then split between The Original Series movies and The Next Generation movies.

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Crew in Star Trek: The Motion Picture_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 8, 1979
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

This is the film that brought the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the big screen. An energy cloud is making its way toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk and crew intercept it and discover an ancient NASA probe at the heart of the cloud. Voyager – known as V’ger now – encountered a planet of living machines, learned all it could, and returned home to report its findings, only to find no one who knew how to answer. It’s a slow-paced film, and the costumes are about as 70s as they come, but there’s classic Star Trek at the heart of this film.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Ricardo Montalban in Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (1982)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: June 4, 1982
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban

Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star Trek movie is and more often than not, you’ll get Khan as your answer. A sequel to the events of the “Space Seed” episode of The Original Series, Khan is a retelling of Moby Dick with Khan throwing reason to the wind as he hunts his nemesis, James T. Kirk. Montalban delivers a pitch-perfect performance, giving us a Khan with charisma and obsession in equal parts.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Walter Koenig, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, and George Takei in Star Trek III The Search for Spock (1984)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: June 1, 1984

Spock might have died in The Wrath of Khan, but this third entry set up the premise for his return, with the creation of the Genesis planet. Essentially a heist movie in reverse, Search for Spock has the crew defying orders from Starfleet in an attempt to reunite Spock’s consciousness with his newly-rejuvenated body. It’s not a great movie, but it does include two very important events: the rebirth of Spock and the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons. That’ll be important a few flicks from now.

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (1986)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: November 26, 1986
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks

If Star Trek fans don’t say Khan is the best Star Trek movie, odds are very high they say Voyage Home is. It’s a funny film where the mission isn’t destruction, but creation – or more accurately, repairing the devastating effects of humankind’s ecological short-sightedness.

A probe arrives at Earth, knocking out the power of everything in its path as it looks for someone to respond to its message (yeah, it happens a lot). This time, however, the intended recipient is the long-extinct blue whale. To save Earth, Kirk and co. go back in time to 1980s San Francisco to snag some blue whales. The eco-messaging isn’t exactly subtle, but it doesn’t get in the way of a highly enjoyable movie.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, and Laurence Luckinbill in Star Trek V The Final Frontier (1989)

Release date: June 9, 1989

A writers’ strike and Shatner’s directorial skills (or lack thereof) doomed this film before a single scene was shot. The core plot is actually pretty good: Spock’s half-brother hijacks the Enterprise so that he can meet God, which he believes to be… himself. Some Star Trek fans have an odd fondness for this movie, as it showcases the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they’re off-duty.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Christopher Plummer in Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country (1991)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 6, 1991
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer

Right, so if that Star Trek fan you’ve been talking to doesn’t choose either Khan or Voyage Home as the best Star Trek movie ever, they almost certainly name Undiscovered Country (and if they don’t, they have highly questionable taste, frankly). The Klingon moon of Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon race at risk. The Enterprise hosts a diplomatic entourage of Klingons, much to Kirk’s discomfort.

Remember how Klingons murdered Kirk’s son? Well, he certainly hasn’t forgotten. Kirk’s lingering rage makes him the perfect patsy for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor, sending him and McCoy to a prison planet and setting the stage for war. Christopher Plummer is perfection as a Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general with no taste for peace.

7. Star Trek: Generations

Malcolm McDowell, Brian Thompson, and Gwynyth Walsh in Star Trek Generations (1994)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: November 18, 1994
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

And thus the torch is passed from the crew of The Original Series to that of The Next Generation. It’s a bit of a fumble, to be honest, but they all did their best to get Kirk and Picard into the same film and have it make sense. Malcolm McDowell plays Soran, a scientist who will stop at nothing to control the Nexus, a giant space rainbow that exists outside of space-time.

Soran lost his family when his home world was destroyed and he wants to re-join them (or at least an illusion of them) in the Nexus. He’s not so much a villain as a tragic figure, but the Nexus makes a meeting between Kirk and Picard possible. Not all that sensible, but possible.

8. Star Trek: First Contact

U.S.S. Enterprise battling the Borg in Star Trek First Contact (1996)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: November 22, 1996
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige

Okay, no, for real, if your Star Trek pal didn’t pick Khan or Voyage Home or… oh, nevermind. Cueing off the iconic two-part episode “Best of Both Worlds,” in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg, First Contact sees the collective traveling back in time in order to disrupt First Contact, the day Earth’s first foray into space attracted the attention of the Vulcans, kicking off the events that would eventually lead to Starfleet’s victory over the Borg. The Borg Queen torments Picard with visions of the past and tempts Data with humanity, going so far as to give him some human skin.

The fight with the Borg aboard the Enterprise is thrilling, and the work on the surface to get first contact back on track is fun. Plus, there’s just nothing like Patrick Stewart turning it up to 11 as he lashes out at the enemy that haunts his dreams.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection

Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek Insurrection (1998)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 11, 1998
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham

Essentially an episode inflated for the big screen, Insurrection is about the Federation conspiring to displace a planet’s population in order to harvest the planet’s unique resource – super healing metaphasic particles. In addition to the rejuvenating natural resource, the Ba’ku also have access to exceptional technology, which they shun in favor of a more simple lifestyle.

Data malfunctions, the villains are Federation allies (and former Ba’ku!), Picard gets to knock boots with a local – Insurrection is the very definition of “fine.” Chronologically, Insurrection is relevant for rekindling the romance between Riker and Troi, but not much else.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis

Patrick Stewart and Tom Hardy in Star Trek Nemesis (2002)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 13, 2002
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy

Before he mumbled his way into our hearts as Bane, Tom Hardy was Shinzon, a clone of Picard the Romulans created in an eventually abandoned attempt to infiltrate Starfleet. Shinzon is dying, and all that will save him is a transfusion of Picard’s blood. Unfortunately, Shinzon also happens to be a megalomaniac who happens to want to destroy all life on Earth and maybe a few other planets, too, if he’s feeling saucy.

Nemesis is notable mostly for killing Data with a noble sacrifice, only to resurrect him moments later in a duplicate body found earlier by the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline

The last of the Prime Timeline movies failed to impress at the box office, so it was a few years before anyone tried to bring the Enterprise back to the big screen. Rather than lean on any of the TV crews, this new slate of movies would serve as a reboot, welcoming new audiences while honoring long-time fans. Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline. (For all the ins and outs, check out our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article).

11. Star Trek

John Cho, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, and Chris Pine in Star Trek (2009)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: May 8, 2009
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban

Back to the beginning! Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk, Spock, and “Bones” McCoy as they meet and join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the plot is a relatively straightforward affair of a Romulan named Nero trying to destroy the Earth. His anger borne out of grief, what matters most is how it all came to be. In the future, Spock – the Prime Timeline version – tries to save Romulus from being destroyed by a supernova, but fails. Both his ship and Nero’s are kicked back in time, setting off a chain of events that diverge from the original, “true” timeline.

The name “Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the ship heroically captained by Kirk’s father, which is destroyed in the opening moments of the movie.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and Chris Pine in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)_© Zade Rosenthal_Paramount Pictures

Release date: May 16, 2013
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch

The benefit of the Kelvin Timeline is that it not only allows Star Trek to explore canon material – such as Khan (he of the Wrath) – but to do something completely new with it. Khan features heavily in Into Darkness, but he has no beef with Kirk. Instead, a Starfleet Admiral is threatening the lives of Khan’s crew, forcing them to craft weapons of mass destruction.

Khan inevitably eludes captivity and strikes out against Starfleet, killing Captain Pike (and a bunch of others) in the process. Kirk and company eventually take Khan down, but not before Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew. Don’t worry, these things don’t last in either Star Trek timeline, as Kirk gets better moments later thanks to *checks notes* Khan's super blood.

13. Star Trek Beyond

Idris Elba and Chris Pine in Star Trek Beyond (2016)_© Kimberley French_Paramount Pictures

Release date: July 22, 2016
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba

Beyond leans into the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy now that they’ve had some time together, much to the movie’s benefit. The Enterprise is lured to Altamid under false pretenses, leading to much of the crew being marooned on the planet. The architect of the deception was Krall, who wants an opportunity to return to a galaxy where war is the order of the day.

Beyond is a significant point in the timeline for two reasons. First, it sadly marked the death of Spock Prime due to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. Second, it culminates in the Enterprise embarking on the five-year-mission that started everything back in 1966.

Star Trek movies: Release order

If you can't be bothered remembering two different orders for the Star Trek movies then we've got good news for you — the release order is identical to the chronological order that we've shown above (accounting for the Kelvin timeline as it's own entity anyway).

The full run of Star Trek films currently tops out at 13 entries; the fate of the 14th was hidden within a nebula of conflicting information. “Star Trek 4” was slated for December 22, 2023, but given that filming had yet to begin as of July 2022, it seems inevitable that date will change. Back in February 2022, Paramount that the principal cast would be returning for the fourth installment of the Kelvin timeline, a claim quickly disputed by the agents of those selfsame actors. Awkward.

Soon after, however, Chris Pine eventually signed on the dotted line, and his shipmates reached their own agreements. As of right now, Kirk (Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy (Karl Urban, assuming he can make it work around filming of The Boys), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), and Sulu (John Cho) are all ready to beam up and get filming. Sadly, this will be the first of the Kelvin films to not feature Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Yelchin died in an accident at his home in 2016. It’s currently unclear if Chekov will be recast or if a different character will take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Though the Kelvin timeline is often referred to as “J.J. Abrams Trek,” he won’t be directing Star Trek 4; Matt Shakman will take on that responsibility, leaving Abrams to produce. As for what it will be about, that’s anyone’s guess, but Chris Pine told Deadline he hopes this one tells a smaller story that appeals to the core Trek audience. “Let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek,” he said. “Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great.” It’s a strategy that makes sense; the disappointment with recent Trek films hasn’t been their content so much as their box office. A Trek film with a smaller scope (and budget) would almost certainly have a very healthy profit margin while also resonating with the fanbase.

With no new announcements coming from San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it seems that we’ll have to wait for any more insight into the next Star Trek film. Sill, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety .

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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Darren is a TV Critic. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFranich for opinions and recommendations.

Next year’s Star Trek sequel has been kept tightly under wraps in the J.J. Abrams Sphere of Secrecy, but Paramount just released an official plot summary for the movie that is guaranteed to whet your brain-appetite. The synopsis is totes abstract in vintage Abrams form, but it nevertheless features some teasing mega-hints about the film… and about the still-unannounced villain, played by cerebral sex guru Benedict Cumberbatch. Check out the official synopsis below:

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness . When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Some bullet points to ponder, with completely off-the-cuff theories:

“From within their own organization” — So somebody in Starfleet has turned traitor? That’s a pretty bold departure for the series, considering that the general tendency in most of Trek lore is to portray the galactic peacekeeping force as a well-oiled machine. (Though there are exceptions. I.e., traitorous pointy-eared Kim Cattrall in The Undiscovered Country .)

“Detonated the fleet and everything it stands for” — We’re going post-apocalyptic! Except in space!

“With a personal score to settle” — The Kirk of the Rebootverse only had one score to settle, and he settled it pretty effectively in 2009’s Star Trek . Will this “personal score” blend some of the history of the original Star Trek series with the new continuity? It will have been four years between movies, technically longer than the original series ran for. Perhaps Kirk and the gang will have embarked on various adventures that will come into play in Into Darkness .

“A one man weapon of mass destruction” — Clearly Cumberbatch. This description could run along with rumors that Cumberbatch is playing Khan Noonien Singh, a genetic superman. Or that could also describe plenty of other villains in the original series. Charlie X? Harry Mudd? Okay, probably not Harry Mudd.

“Epic chess game of life and death” — Oh god, I hope that Cumberbatch actually says that exact phrase in the movie.

“Love will be challenged” — Spock and Uhura are going to have relationship problems.

“Friendships will be torn apart” — Kirk and McCoy are going to have friendship problems.

“Sacrifices must be made” — Somebody on the supporting cast is going to die. Probably Chekhov. Maybe McCoy. Definitely not Scotty. Hopefully not Sulu. Or maybe just whoever Alice Eve is playing. Death in franchises: So hot right now.

Follow Darren on Twitter: @DarrenFranich

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Exclusive: First Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer Also Premiering Dec. 14th [UPDATED]

| November 15, 2012 | By: Anthony Pascale 415 comments so far

UPDATE 3: Wolverine report denied

This morning The Wolverine director James Mangold ( via Twitter ) debunked the report that a trailer for his film would be showing in front of The Hobbit . TrekMovie has reconfirmed that the 9 minute preview is still showing with the IMAX screenings of The Hobbit and we have reconfirmed that there is separate trailer being developed for release at the same time (for non-IMAX screens). We are still double checking on what film or films will be showing the Star Trek trailer.

UPDATE 2: Wolverine not Trek?

Another website ( Lebanese Cinema Movie Guide ) has reported that Star Trek: Into Darkness trailer wont be shown with non-IMAX screenings of The Hobbit, but instead there will be trailers for Man of Steel and the new Wolverine movie. TrekMovie is looking into this as we speak and should have another update when we get more. It is possible that plans have changed since this report. I am certain there is a trailer currently being developed and separate from the nine-minute preview. Stay tuned for an update.

Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer To Show With (non-IMAX) Hobbit Movie

TrekMovie has exclusively learned from multiple trusted sources that the first trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness will premiere with screenings of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on December 14th. To be clear this Trek trailer is a completely different thing than the 9-minute preview of the beginning of the new movie which will be shown at IMAX screenings of the Hobbit film. Also TrekMovie has confirmed that the IMAX screenings will not be showing the trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness . So if you want trailer see non-IMAX Hobbit and if you want preview of opening 9 minutes see IMAX Hobbit .

Details are still sketchy on the trailer itself, however TrekMovie has confirmed it is not a condensed version of the 9-minute preview showing on IMAX. Specifically sources confirm the trailer contains material from many parts of the movie. We have also learned that this is a traditional theatrical trailer and not just short teaser trailer.

While the trailer will show exclusively with non-IMAX screenings of The Hobbit on the weekend of December 14th, it should be available with additional films by the following weekend, including Paramount’s new Jack Reacher film opening December 21st. It is also expected to be available online. If JJ Abrams sticks with tradition, the trailer would be released online after the first weekend. However, this is not the case for the 9-minute preview of Star Trek Into Darkness showing on IMAX screens. Sources tell TrekMovie the opening sequence preview will not be made available online.

Abrams continues to follow in Nolan’s footsteps

Before even their first Star Trek film was released, the JJ Abrams team have pointed to Christopher Nolan’s revival of the Batman series as a model of what they hoped to do for Star Trek. This approach appears to cover many aspects of how Nolan successfully reimagined the Bat, including marketing. For Nolan’s second film (Summer 2008’s The Dark Knight) a preview of the opening sequence showed with IMAX screenings of I Am Legend which (coincidentally) opened December 14, 2007. And the first theatrical trailer premiered with non-IMAX screenings of I am Legend .

Hey JJ. If Christopher Nolan jumped off a bridge…. I keeeed.

Stay tuned to TrekMovie for more updates about the trailer and the preview for Star Trek Into Darkness .

UPDATE: Damon Tweets TrekMovie

Star Trek Into Darkness co-writer/producer Damon Lindelof has sent out a tweet to his followers linking to our story about the trailer. Just in case you needed even more confirmation.

No.You don’t have to see it in IMAX to get a look-see. trekmovie.com/2012/11/15/exc… #IntoDarkness — Damon Lindelof (@DamonLindelof) November 16, 2012

This just made my day!

And the great thing about that? I come back from my trip to the US and Canada on the 13th. I basically drop into the Hobbit on my way home ;)

Yay! I already have my tickets for the Hobbit for the 15th!

No Imax in my area, but the trailer will be just fine!

So much excitement!!

Had a funny feeling this might happen after hearing the news yesterday. It’s a pretty good movie to pair with considering there is actually quite a large percentage of the general population that got hooked on the LOTR films besides the fantasy/fiction fans. So this will be good exposure to both the “regular” Star Trek crowd and the moviegoing public at large.

Look for a preview of the trailer on Entertainment Tonight maybe in the week or days before.

I hope we get to hear some of the new score with the trailer as well.

Hey MJ (the original)…

Still think it’s because of Star Wars? a couple of months ago (or was it last month?) Bob Orci said we would be getting a trailer during the Holiday season movies. And… bingo! Right on schedule. I think both the trailer and the 9 minute preview were already planned before the Star Wars announcement. Sorry, Charlie. ;) You know I like to tease you.

Good News. I wanted to avoid the 9 minute preview. Now,I can see the trailer and The Hobbit. I hope there will be a spoiler area to discuss the preview so that we can avoid spoilers if we want to.

a bone…FINALLY!

Things have been tight around here with the Mrs laid off. At least this will be a little more affordable than a long trip to an IMAX theater! Great News!

Hobbit was already my most anticipated movie of the holidays, now I am even more excited for it. I saw Cloverfield just for the teaser trailer of Star Trek 09 so I’m glad that this time its actually attached to a movie I want to see :p

Outstanding! The nine-minute sneak peak is cool, but too limiting at just IMAX theaters. Now the whole country (not just Trek fans) will finally know STAR TREK is returning to theaters next May! Woo hoo!

#9. (the real) Montreal_Paul – November 15, 2012

It’s one thing to have plans:

http://trekweb.com/articles/2012/08/15/JJ-Abrams-Says-He-Had-Massive-Budget-Issues-on-His-Star-Trek-Movies.shtml

Quite another to have a major SW news event “stimulate” Paramount into releasing funds to allow you to implement them.

Looks like Trekmovie is back in action along with Anthony. I like this site!. it’s Exciting!. I so can’t wait to see the first 9 minutes and to see the Trailer. When that happens. Trekmovie will blow up like a Warp Core breach!!!!!.

Awesome news!!!

15. Disinvited

Ummm… Huh? The article didn’t mention anything about that.

Funny thing. Cumberbatch is playing Smaug in The Hobbit and a Villian in Star Trek Into Darkness. That guy is on top of Middle Earth and the Federation. Lol

And we have lift off. Trekmovie.com when your good, your flipping brilliant. Less than a month to go and the wait is over. Think I might just crack open another bottle of romulan ale

It’s going to be so funny to read these forums the day after the premieres … Half the people will have seen the 9-minute preview but have no idea what else is in store for the rest of the film, the other half will have just seen the trailer and know about things in the rest of the film the others won’t, but not the details contained in an entire 9 minute segment. I can’t wait to watch the exchange of information unfold.

Hey Curious Cadet. You just might make Engisn one day.

Mr. Pascale is on fire.

Good to hear we’re a month away from a trailer (The ST09 trailers were works of art in their own right). Hopefully, we’ll get the trailer in glorious HD QuickTime to watch on our devices while we wait for May.

Anthony Pascale was given a clean bill of health by one Dr. McCoy.

The Pascale is Back in Action!!!!!

As if I needed MORE reason to go see The Hobbit…

Hey Anthony … so glad you’re back!… ;-) :-)

btw… I want to see the preview of 9 minutes, the trailer and whatever else becomes available!

@9…of course, Mr. Bob was able to spill those details because he knew Disney was buying Lucasfilm!! it was all part of the grand master plan….

I kid…but there isn’t any connection between the Disney purchase and the marketing plan. The domain names were probably purchased prior to the announcement, too. All timed to come together in December.

the latest ongoing Trek comic about Keenser was actually good too. Makes you feel a little different about the character (althought I never thought he was as cringe worthy as some would like to make him out out to be).

Anthony, don’t ever scare us the way you did the last almost couple of months; some of us thought you’d dropped off the face of the Earth. (Because, as we all know, the Earth is flat, and beyond this place, over there be dragons.)

Good get on these stories. I’m enjoying coming here more and more every day.

Needless to say, I cannot wait to see the trailer, although nine minutes of IMAX Trek does beat it by a nose. Or a Vulcan ear.

and his connection to the pre-altered timeline was a nice touch too.

Top 5 reasons to see The Hobbit. 5. Cumberbatch is in both The Hobbit and Star Trek. 4. Great Story 3. It’s Shot in 3D. 2. Can’t wait to get to Middle Earth once again. 1. Star Trek Into Darkenss 9 Minute Trailor. Need I say more.

I have a legit question for Anthony: Will “LIEMAX” screens have 9-min preview or just regular trailer?

Yes Anthony Pascale glad to have you back, can’t belive how long i have been coming to this sight. I was just before my mid 20’s and now pushing 30, love this sight so much. I don’t post often, but i do love the banter and the bitching between the posters lol

Hope its a full trailer and not a teaser.

OK, so we’re getting both a preview AND a trailer.

What will people complain about now?

When will we get a poster. Someone on twitter said he’d already seen it. Hope Cumberbatch is on it.

It came out today that Cumberbatch is recording Neil Gaiman’s cult story Neverwhere. Also if the Monty Python story is true thats another sci fi project.

#18. (the real) Montreal_Paul – November 15, 2012

What’s to say?

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/14/entertainment/la-et-ct-jj-abrams-budgets-star-trek-20120814

“Paramount Pictures, which has developed a reputation as the most frugal and conservative of Hollywood’s major studios”

JJ used Disney’s big news to get the Paratightwads to part with a buck. It didn’t hurt that he was on LA’s local morning news program declaring what a HUGE STAR WARS fan he was, either. As the article states, JJ feels the Paramount way causes him to be more “creative”. And after he got what he needed, he gives an interview saying he’d have to pass on directing Disney SW. Darn clever.

@ 33. ronald:

That’s how they’re releasing this, in digital LIEMAX 3D. You didn’t think they would actually make 15-perf 70mm prints just for this 9 minute sneak peak did you? :)

Part of me almost wishes theyd hold the trailer to the end of the the hobbit. gonna be having a geekgasm after the trailer and have to calm down the hobbit. Dont blame me Im the one who sat thru phantom menace s credits to hear Darth breath..

I guess we can hold off on the title of the movie. The Search for Anthony Pascale. He was found back at work. Lol.

Wadda you mean a FULL trail, damnit!!! Where’s the teaser trailer??? I want it now now Now NOw NOW NOW NOW whahhhhhhhhhhh….

I’m bad. Sorry.

Do we know if the 9 minute preview is ONLY showing on Dec. 14th, or that weekend, or longer?

Not surprising. Had to figure they would launch a trailer around the same time as the IMAX preview. Seems likely that a poster and official website will follow soon. For all of the complaining, patience (and impatience), and angst over the lack of Star Trek news, things are going to hit warp speed in the next few weeks.

so how long until the first 9 mins is “Unofficially Released online” by a Pirate

I am almost embarrassed to tell my friends this “news.”

Do you have to see it in 3D IMAX to see the 9 minute preview, or can you just go to a 2D IMAX and still see the 9 minute preview? I really don’t want to see The Hobbit, or any movie, in 3D.

Ahhhh yeah. :)

Yeah, I’ll try my hardest to avoid that 9 minute preview, difficult as it may be.

Screen Rant

I'm glad star trek into darkness deleted kirk lying in his captain's log.

Star Trek Into Darkness deleted a scene where Captain Kirk lies in his Captain's log that painted Jim in a truly terrible light.

Deleting the scene of Captain Kirk lying in his log was a wise move by J.J. Abrams, as it painted Kirk in a poor light.
Spock emerges as the true hero in Star Trek Into Darkness, adhering to Starfleet values while Kirk falters repeatedly.
Kirk's actions in the film make him harder to root for, as Spock shines in his ability to effectively manage escalating crises.

Star Trek Into Darkness deleted a scene in which Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) publicly lies in his Captain's log, which painted him in a terrible light. The second Star Trek reboot film directed by J.J. Abrams pits Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise against two foes: the genetically engineered madman Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the diabolically corrupt Starfleet Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller). But in many ways, Captain Kirk's worst enemy in Star Trek Into Darkness is himself.

Before Captain Kirk tangled with Khan and Marcus to prevent all-out war the Klingons, Star Trek Into Darkness opened with the USS Enterprise's disastrous mission on the planet Nibiru. Ordered to simply survey the primitive world, Kirk allowed the natives to see the Starship Enterprise as he tried to rescue Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) from a volcano. While Kirk's intentions to save Nirbiru from a planetary apocalypse were noble, Jim's reckless actions grossly violated Star Trek 's Prime Directive . Worse, Kirk lied about it.

Star Trek Into Darkness Ending & Problems Explained

Kirk lying in his captain's log in star trek into darkness' deleted scene makes him worse, falsifying a captain's log in front of his crew is indefensible..

A deleted scene from Star Trek Into Darkness posted by @AosdailyBTS on X shows Captain Kirk composing his Captain's log about the Nibiru mission on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Kirk blatantly lies about what transpired on Nibiru, claiming he "thought it wise to stay off the planet altogether" and calling the catastrophe "uneventful." Making matters worse, Captain Kirk spun his falsities and mockery of Starfleet's code of honor in full view of his appalled bridge crew . Check out the scene below:

J.J. Abrams was wise to leave this scene out of Star Trek Into Darkness' final cut. The arrogant way Kirk lies in his Captain's log is indefensible, and it casts James in a poor light. As it plays out in Star Trek Into Darkness , Kirk does lie in his log, and he's called out by Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) immediately after Spock filed a truthful report in his log. But to actually see Kirk so flippantly lie in front of his crew is a blight on his character , and makes Kirk harder to root for in Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness Made Spock A Better Enterprise Captain Than Kirk

Spock rose to the occasion in star trek into darkness.

In many ways, Chris Pine's young Captain Kirk is at his nadir in Star Trek Into Darkness, while Spock shines as the hero Kirk ought to be . Star Trek Into Darkness paints Spock as unable to "break a rule," but the Vulcan Science Officer acts honorably throughout the film, and maintains Starfleet's values while Captain Kirk repeatedly falters. It's Spock who told the truth about Nibiru because ethics demanded it, and Spock again successfully argued against the immorality of Kirk firing torpedoes to kill Khan instead of apprehending him for a trial.

Spock rose to the occasion and captured Khan with Lt. Nyota Uhura's (Zoe Saldana) help.

Kirk admitted to Spock that, "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I only know what I can do." Comparatively, the Vulcan didn't take a false step as he effectively managed Star Trek Into Darkness ' escalating crises. To Kirk's credit, he did align the Enterprise's warp core to save the ship , which led his (temporary) death by radiation poisoning. Without Kirk, Spock rose to the occasion and captured Khan with Lt. Nyota Uhura's (Zoe Saldana) help, bringing the madman to justice and resurrecting Kirk with Khan's "super blood." Vulcans cannot tell a lie, unlike Captain Kirk, and Star Trek Into Darkness was better for Spock doing what Kirk could not.

Source: @aosdailyBTS on X

Star Trek Into Darkness is streaming on Paramount+

Here’s How Much Each Star Trek Movie Made at the Box Office Upon Release

Star Trek is one of the most lucrative franchises of all time. Let's look at each film's box office numbers.

Star Trek is a fascinating franchise. Originating as a television series that was canceled after three seasons, it quickly grew into a cult classic when it hit syndication, inspiring some of the first fan conventions. The series then made the leap to the big screen and is one of the most successful film franchises based on a television series. The film series has been both a continuation of the original series, a spin-off for Star Trek: The Next Generation , and a reboot.

There is a perception that Star Trek has never been mainstream, and it is certainly more "geeky" than other pop culture properties. Yet the box office results of the Star Trek franchise show that the franchise, for most of its history, was able to captivate mainstream audiences, even those who had never watched an episode of the television series.

The film series has had its ups and downs, and while it was never the box office sensation that Star Wars was, it was and still is popular. While fans wait for news on Star Trek 4 , here is how much every Star Trek film made at the worldwide box office adjusted for inflation.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) - $595,630,333

Star trek: the motion picture.

*Availability in US

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Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered in 1979, 10 years after Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled. The movie originated as a new series titled Star Trek: Phase II before being upgraded to a feature film following the box office success of Star Wars . With Academy Award-winning director Robert Wise at the helm, the movie follows James Kirk, now an admiral, assuming command of the recently refitted Starship USS Enterprise to lead a mission to save the planet and determine the origins of a new cosmic threat that they soon will discover have ties to Earth. The movie was highly anticipated, but it also had many problems behind the scenes and did not even have test screenings due to the film being edited to the last minute.

A Disappointing Box Office Hit

At the time of its release, Star Trek: The Motion Picture set a box office record for the highest opening weekend gross , making $11.9 million in its first three days, beating the record set by Superman: The Movie , which opened the previous year. The movie was the fifth-highest-grossing movie of 1979, and it sold more tickets than any other Star Trek film until 2009's Star Trek . Adjusted for inflation, the movie's worldwide gross would be $595 million. Despite all that, Paramount Pictures saw the movie as a disappointment compared to expectations and marketing costs.

The movie's massive opening weekend was offset by the fact that it was the most expensive movie at the time, with a budget of $44 million. The movie received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. It did make enough money to warrant a sequel, but it was clear they would need to go back to the drawing board. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - $308,074,930

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan looked to get the franchise back on track, with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry having less creative control than he did on the previous film. The movie brought back Ricardo Montalbán as Khan from The Original Series episode "Space Seed", with the movie acting as a continuation of that episode.

Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise must stop Khan from gaining control of the Genesis device, a machine that can restore or destroy planets. While Kirk defeats his former enemy, it comes at great cost as Spock sacrifices himself to save the crew. This moment shocked fans and helped make the movie a must-see. The Wrath of Khan still influences the franchise to this day.

Star Trek Truly Returns

Much like Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan broke the opening weekend box office record when it opened in theaters on June 4, 1982, grossing $14 million over the three-day weekend. The film ended its run with $78 million domestically and $96 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that is $308 million worldwide.

Despite bringing in less money than Star Trek: The Motion Picture , due to the fact that The Wrath of Khan cost less to make, it was a more profitable film as Wrath of Khan had a budget of $12 million, a cost it made back in its opening weekend and was almost four times less expensive than Star Trek: The Motion Picture . It also received stronger critical reviews from fans and critics alike, with the movie still considered the best Star Trek film yet. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) - $259,849,489

Star trek iii: the search for spock.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock looked to undo the bold ending of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . While this certainly would anger fans today, what helped was the fact that Leonard Nimoy stepped into the director's chair and was the man who guided the resurrection of his popular character.

The movie centers on the crew of the Enterprise looking to bring Spock back from the dead after they discover he left part of his soul inside Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, while a Vulcan named Kurge (Christopher Lloyd) looks to take the secrets of the Genesis device. Kirk is able to resurrect Spock but pays a heavy price as Kurge kills his son, leaving Kirk with a hatred for Vulcans that will carry over into the sixth film.

Star Trek Is Here to Stay

Star Trek: The Search for Spock cost $16 million, which is also what the film made back in its opening weekend to take the number one spot. The movie grossed $76.5 million domestically and $87 million worldwide (adjusted for inflation $259 million), so it did gross less than Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and cost more, but it was not seen as a disappointment.

The movie did face heavy competition that summer, as it was released the week after Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and a week before Ghostbusters and Gremlins. The film turned a healthy profit due to its low budget and the high demand for Star Trek , which the creators would capitalize on by beginning development on a new series, Star Trek: The Next Generation , which would air in 1987. Stream on Paramount+.

Related: Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) - $376,581,733

Star trek iv: the voyage home.

Even if one has not seen Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , they most likely know it as "the whale movie." When an alien probe threatens to destroy Earth as it attempts to contact now-extinct humpback whales, the crew of the Enterprise travels to Earth's past to find whales who can answer the probe's call.

In contrast to many of the films in the franchise, there is no villain, and it also takes place in the then contemporary present of 1986. Leonard Nimoy returned to direct the film in what would become one of the biggest films in the franchise.

A Breakout Hit with Non-Fans

The less sci-fi heavy premise, fish-out-of-water comedy angle of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home made it a big hit with audiences, for both hardcore Star Trek fans and even those who never watched the original series or movies . Opening over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend of 1986, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home made $39.6 million in its first five days of release, ending the eight-week run of Crocodile Dundee .

By the sixth week of release, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sold more tickets than the previous two films and was close to approaching the total of Star Trek: The Motion Picture . By the end of its run, it grossed $109 million domestically, which made it the highest-grossing Star Trek film domestically until 2009's Star Trek . Combine that with an impressive $133 million worldwide total ($376 million adjusted for inflation) against a $21 million budget. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is one of the biggest hits in the franchise and is still beloved by fans today. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) - $175,684,558

Star trek v: the final frontier.

After Nimoy got to direct the previous two Star Trek films, Shatner would only return for a fifth film if he got to direct, so he was given the reigns of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . Inspired by the phenomenon of televangelism at the time, the film focuses on the crew of the Enterprise confronting Spock's half-brother Sybok, looking to contact God at the center of the universe. The film was rushed into production during the 1988 Writer's Strike, which resulted in a mess of a movie that almost killed the franchise .

Disappointment Both Critically and Financially

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is often seen as both the worst entry in the origina l Star Trek films but also in the wider franchise. It opened in the summer of 1989, the poor audience and critical reaction, combined with competition from films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters 2, Honey I Shrunk the Kids , and, of course, Tim Burton's Batman , made Star Trek V: The Final Frontier look worse by comparison.

The film had a budget of $30 million and grossed $52 million domestically and $70 million worldwide, which was not only a major fall from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home but also the second and third film. Even with the $175 million adjusted for inflation, it is still a big disappointment. With The Next Generation now on the air and becoming the new face of Star Trek , it was clear the original cast time might be coming to an end, but they wanted to make sure the cast got to go out on a high note. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) - $220,757,522

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country looked to give the crew of The Original Series the final farewell they deserved. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer returned to helm the movie with a story by Leonard Nimoy that looked to be the space version of the Berlin Wall coming down and the end of the Cold War as the Federation and the Klingons, two sworn enemies, finally make peace.

Kirk, blinded by his hatred for the species after one of them killed his son back in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , is easily framed for the murder of the Klingon ambassador, and the film becomes a conspiracy thriller to find the real killer, clear Kirk's name, and assure peach between the Federation and Klingon Empire.

A Fitting Farewell

Released in December 1991, hoping to repeat the same success Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had during the holiday season, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country had a budget of $27 million and grossed $74 million at the domestic box office with a $96 million worldwide total which is $220 million adjusted for inflation. The movie grossed $18 million in its opening weekend, setting the three-day opening weekend record for the franchise.

Released to tie in with the franchise's 25th anniversary, the movie received a large amount of publicity, which included Leonard Nimoy appearing on Star Trek: The Next Generation 's two-part episode "Unification," which aired a month before the film's release. Combined with strong reviews, it was a worthy final installment for the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series , and the stage was set for a new crew: The Next Generation. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Generations (1994) - $247,237,111

Star trek: generations.

Star Trek: Generations saw the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation take over the film franchise. The movie premiered only six months after the last episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired. The film's big hook was the meeting fans had been hoping to see for years: William Shatner's James T. Kirk would meet Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard. The two most famous Captains in the history of Star Trek would finally meet and that was enough of a pitch to sell the movie to audiences and would also kill off Captain Kirk .

Passing the Box Office Torch

Star Trek: Generations got a big marketing push, including being the first movie ever to have an official website to market a feature film. The movie opened number one at the box office with $23.1 million in its opening weekend. The movie grossed $75 million at the domestic box office and $118 million worldwide, which, adjusted for inflation, would be $247 million worldwide.

With a budget of $35 million, the movie was a box office hit and set the stage for The Next Generation cast to have their own Star Trek film series, with the sequel set to be even bigger. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) - $288,822,500

Star trek: first contact.

Star Trek: First Contact looked to combine the two most popular Star Trek films, The Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home , into one movie. It featured a revenge story with The Next Generation 's biggest enemies, The Borg , similar to The Wrath of Khan , bringing back the character of Khan mixed with a time travel story like The Voyage Home .

The crew of The Next Generation travels back in time to stop the Borg from conquering the planet, while Jean-Luc Piccard also confronts his own PTSD from being assimilated by The Borg back in the Next Generation two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds."

Star Trek Feels Bigger Than Ever

Putting the most popular villain of Star Trek: The Next Generation front and center in the marketing certainly helped as Star Trek: First Contact opened with $30 million and then went on to gross $92 million and a worldwide total of $146 million, which was the best box office for the franchise since Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ten years prior.

Until the release of Star Trek in 2009, it was the highest-grossing Star Trek film at the worldwide box office. With an adjusted worldwide total of $288 million, this certainly painted the picture that The Next Generation cast could go for as many years as the original crew, but sadly, they would face two disappointing sequels that would kill any momentum. S tream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) - $214,348,942

Star trek: insurrection.

Star Trek: Insurrection follows the crew of the USS Enterprise -E as they rebel against Starfleet after they discover a conspiracy with a species known as the Son'a to steal the peaceful Ba'ku's planet. Insurrection is known for having a troubled production, as the movie underwent many rewrites and even major changes following test screenings. While two other Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine and Voyager , were on the air, this was the beginning of the Star Trek franchise beginning to lose audiences.

Audiences Start to Lose Interest

Star Trek: Insurrection was seen as a big stumble. Despite taking the number one spot in its opening weekend with $22.1 million, that was below the opening weekend of Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact . The film received mixed negative reactions from fans and critics, who felt that the movie felt more like an expensive episode of the television show than a big-screen epic.

The movie did gross $70 million domestically, but that was also the price of its production budget, so this movie needed the $117 million worldwide to be deemed a hit. Unfortunately, things were only about to get worse for Star Trek . Stream on Paramount+.

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

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)-$116,154,849

Star trek: nemesis.

Star Trek: Nemesis saw the Star Trek franchise enter the 21st century in a rough way. The film had a big hook, with a clone of Jean-Luc Picard named Shinzon ( played by a young Tom Hardy ) taking control of the Romulan Empire as he declares war with the Federation and with the original Picard. The movie looked to be the darkest entry in the franchise, with an ending that killed off Data in a manner similar to the death of Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .

The Film That Killed The Franchise (For a While)

Star Trek: Nemesis was a box office disaster in many ways. It grossed $18 million in its opening weekend, which was not only lower than the previous three Star Trek films but also the first time a Star Trek movie did not open to number one at the box office as the movie was beaten by the Jennifer Lopez/Matthew McConaughey rom-com, Maid in Manhattan . It grossed $43 million domestically, the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, and that is unadjusted for inflation.

With just $67 million worldwide, it barely made more than its $60 million budget, which made the movie an outright flop. Facing stiff competition from films like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Die Another Day, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , and The Santa Clause 2 , Star Trek: Nemesis 's failure kept the franchise off the big screen for seven years. For the series to properly return, it would need to be rebooted. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek (2009) - $557,883,582

Director J.J. Abrams looked to update Star Trek for a modern audience, rebooting the series with new actors taking on the iconic roles of the crew of the Enterprise. The film's script features a clever twist as it is a reboot, but also is a prequel, as it features younger versions of the characters, but also a sequel to The Original Series, as the film's rebooted timeline is kicked off by an older Spock (Leonard Nimoy reprising his role) creating the new timeline by traveling back.

The movie gave Star Trek a summer blockbuster infusion, with big bombastic trailers and state-of-the-art visual effects that looked to give fans the Star Trek of the original series on a budget like never before.

Star Trek Blasts Off Into a New Era

J.J Abrams's Star Trek roared into the summer movie season with a $75 million opening weekend, which was the biggest opening weekend for the franchise but adjusted and unadjusted for inflation. The movie became the highest-grossing entry in the Star Trek film franchise, unadjusted for inflation, with $257 million, which also made it the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2009.

Worldwide, it had a total of $385 million ($557 million adjusted for inflation). The film was originally supposed to be released on Christmas 2008 but was delayed to summer 2009, a decision that paid off as the movie looked even better by comparison as it was a blockbuster that got rave critical reviews due to not being impacted by the 2007-2008 writer's strike such as other summer movies that year like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen or G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra . Star Trek was back in a big way. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) - $622,585,229

Star trek into darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness was the sequel to 2009's Star Trek . The movie used the rebooted timeline to put a new spin on The Wrath of Khan , featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as this new incarnation of Khan while dropping the new young crew of the Enterprise into a mission that involves a political conspiracy regarding a secret black ops subsection of Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, and a push for war following the events of the destruction of Vulcan.

Like many of J.J. Abrams's films, the movie put a great deal of emphasis on mysteries and secrets, even hiding the fact that Cumberbatch was playing Khan despite fans calling it early on.

A Mixed but Successful Result

Star Trek Into Darkness opened to $84.1 million over its extended four-day opening (it was released on a Thursday as opposed to a Friday). While it grossed less than its predecessor domestically, with $228 million, worldwide, it actually outperformed the previous movie. Star Trek Into Darkness grossed $467 million worldwide, with $238 million coming from foreign markets.

Considering how Star Trek had always been a franchise that never translated well overseas to big box office numbers, this was a big win for Paramount Pictures as, to date, the film is the highest-grossing Star Trek film worldwide. Stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek Beyond (2016) - $444,104,691

Star trek beyond.

Despite being a box office hit, Star Trek Into Darkness was seen as a disappointment for many, and the studio wanted to go in a different direction for the next film, putting the emphasis on new plots and villains to celebrate the franchise's fiftieth anniversary. J.J. Abrams would move on to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens , allowing Justin Lin to step into the director's seat for Star Trek Beyond .

The film looked to be the true big-budget version of an episode of The Original Series that the films had never actually done, with the plot involving the crew of the Enterprise investigating a strange message on a deserted planet only to be stranded by a mysterious villain with ties to the Federation. Split up on the planet, the crew will need to reunite and test the unity of the Federation against a threat that believes unity has made the galaxy weak.

A Disappointing Box Office for a Strong Movie

Despite the Star Trek 50th anniversary push and strong positive reviews, Star Trek: Beyond disappointed at the box office. While it claimed the number one spot in its opening weekend, it grossed $59.3 million, which was well below the $70 million plus opening weekends of Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness . It finished its domestic run with $158 million, $99 million below 2009's Star Trek .

Worldwide, it brought in $343 million (adjusted for inflation $444 million). Star Trek Beyond was just one of many high-profile box office disappointing sequels released in the summer of 2016 , including X-Men: Apocalypse, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Independence Day Resurgence, and Jason Bourne .

While Star Trek Beyond certainly looked better by comparison to them, it was still a major hit to the franchise and one it has not been able to shake as Star Trek 4 has languished in development hell for eight years now, making for the longest gap between Star Trek films in the franchise's history. Stream on Paramount+.

The Next Star Trek Movie Will Be An Origin Story For The Entire Franchise

When a franchise has lasted for upwards of half a century and is still going strong, the decision-makers in charge will inevitably run into one pressing question above all others: Where do we go next? "Star Trek" became a beloved institution among the nerdiest of fans for a pretty good reason, largely because of its wholesale commitment to treading new ground and envisioning a new future. But with the franchise firing on all cylinders these days (on television, at least) and no signs of slowing down anytime soon, writers have become increasingly hard-pressed to boldly go where no others have gone before ... literally speaking, that is, since recent "Star Trek" shows like "Strange New Worlds," "Lower Decks," "Discovery," "Picard," and more have filled in all sorts of gaps in the official canon.

It's no secret that Paramount is eager to get back in the big-screen business for "Trek," however, and one of the more intriguing productions currently in the works seems to have settled on its main focus. We previously knew that "Black Mirror" and "Andor" director Toby Haynes had been tapped to lead an untitled upcoming "Star Trek" movie – one that's not meant as a continuation of the alternate-universe (aka Kelvin Timeline) movies starring Chris Pine and the rest of those films' cast. The studio is still playing its cards close to the chest on this, but a new report has shed a little more light on what we can expect from this mysterious motion picture.

The key phrase, apparently, is "origin story."

An origin story ... 'of sorts'

Variety has the scoop on the future of "Star Trek," unveiling a flashy new cover story covering practically every corner of the (fictional) universe. One tidbit buried among the rest, however, paints a rather interesting picture of what one of the movies in development could end up focusing on. With names like Toby Haynes and writer Seth Grahame-Smith ("The LEGO Batman Movie," "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter") attached, there's clearly no shortage of creative talent looking to put their stamp on future plans for the franchise. Figuring out what exactly that direction should be, however, is another story altogether.

According to the report, fans can expect the movie to "serve as an origin story of sorts for the main timeline of the entire ['Star Trek'] franchise ." What that means, of course, is anybody's guess. In terms of the timeline, the best guess is that this will take place long before the events of the 2009 J.J. Abrams semi-reboot and that of "The Original Series" as well. Discounting time-travel adventures that placed contemporary "Trek" characters on, say, 20th Century Earth, the earliest era of the canon that we've seen was previously explored in "Star Trek: Enterprise," which is set a full century before the likes of Captain James T. Kirk or Mr. Spock ever stepped foot on the USS Enterprise.

Trekkies already know how events like First Contact between humanity and the Vulcans unfolded or how events like the Eugenics Wars ravaged the Earth and set our civilization on a course for the stars, so could this in-development movie tackle the formation of Starfleet and the Federation as a whole? At this point, your guess is as good as ours. We'll definitely be keeping a close eye on this one.

Star Trek: Best Book-Only Characters

The Star Trek novels introduce unique characters like Akaar and Treir, adding depth to the expansive Starfleet universe.
Characters like Nick Keller and Elias Vaughn bring new perspectives to the post- DS9 era, facing challenging galactic events.
Mackenzie Calhoun leads the USS Excalibur in a new hero ship series, showcasing tactical genius in the New Frontier books.

Just like the universe itself, the Star Trek franchise is huge and far-reaching, encompassing several television shows, and numerous video games, movies, and books. While many of Star Trek 's most iconic characters appear in various series and films, there are many other great characters who only feature in alternative media sources. For instance, the final frontier has spawned some memorable video game-based characters .

Star Trek: 8 Most Powerful Federation Starships, Ranked

Yet perhaps the richest source of characters is the now questionably canon series of books that take place following The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine . From fresh takes on classic species like the Andorians and Orions, to some of Starfleet's finest officers, the Star Trek novels are a treasure trove of notable figures.

Leonard James Akaar

First appearence: star trek mission gamma book one: twilight.

Author: David R. George III
Publication Date: September 2002

Leonard James Akaar is unique among novel-only characters in that he does, in fact, make a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on televised Trek . "Friday's Child," an episode of The Original Series , ends with his birth; however, the Capellan royal would not be seriously fleshed out until 2002's Mission Gamma: Twilight . By the time of the Deep Space 9 novels, Akaar had risen through the ranks of Starfleet to become an influential admiral with the ear of the Federation president.

Akaar's strategic mindset and steely resolve proved essential in preserving the Federation through some of its darkest periods, including the Borg invasion depicted in the Star Trek: Destiny series. The Starfleet legend may have been born in The Original Series , but the Star Trek novels were where he made his name.

First Appearence: Star Trek: Demons of Air and Darkness

Author: Keith R. A. DeCandido
Publication Date: September 2001

Star Trek features many inspirational female characters, from Kira Nerys to Katherine Janeway. However, few are as resourceful or as motivated as Treir , an Orion Dabo girl who transformed Quark's Bar into a highly successful business during the post- DS9 novels. Following her escape from Orion servitude, Treir earned her place as Quark's right-hand woman by implementing a series of radical reforms, including hiring a Dabo boy to attract more customers.

Star Trek: The Fates Of Every Live-Action TV Show's Main Character

Treir may not play a significant role in the canon-shattering events depicted in the Deep Space 9 novels, but this ruthless businesswoman helped to make Star Trek 's prose universe feel like a living, breathing place. If anyone is capable of giving Quark a run for his latinum, it's her.

Nick Keller

First appearence: star trek new earth: challenger.

Author: Diane Carey
Publication Date: August 2000

New Earth , a series of six novels that take place between Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan , was intended to act as a backdoor pilot for a new narrative focusing on Commander Nick Keller . In the final novel, Keller takes command of a makeshift starship in order to defend the human colony of Belle Terre from alien attack. Keller was conflicted between overthrowing his inept captain and preserving the lives of his comrades, and it's a great shame that a full series based on the space cowboy's adventures never emerged.

Interestingly, author Diane Carey based Keller's appearance on Scott Bakula, who would go on to play Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise . Keller, however, would make only two more appearances in the Star Trek universe, with both being part of the multi-series Gateways crossover event.

Elias Vaughn

First appearence: star trek: avatar (book one).

Author: S. D. Perry
Publication Date: July 2001

Elias Vaughn was a Starfleet officer and intelligence operative who joined Deep Space 9's command staff following the end of the Dominion War . Despite only holding the rank of commander, Vaughn's expertise proved a boon to the Federation outpost, and he played a role in several key events, including the USS Defiant 's post-war exploration of the Gamma Quadrant (depicted in the Mission Gamma sub-series).

Star Trek: 8 Impressive Things Kirk Did Before Joining The USS Enterprise

Vaughn was haunted by the death of his wife, Ruriko, and his troubled relationship with his estranged daughter, Prynn. This relationship was complicated by the fact that Prynn was also assigned to Deep Space 9. However, father and daughter were eventually able to reconcile–but not without some bumps along the way.

Christine Vale

First appearence: star trek: the belly of the beast.

Author: Dean Wesley Smith

While William Riker's USS Titan has made notable appearances in Star Trek: Lower Decks , the starship's adventures were originally chronicled in a series of spin-off novels. These books featured Christine Vale , a former detective turned Starfleet officer, as Riker's second-in-command. Vale was initially unwilling to take the post, as she disliked the idea of Riker working so closely with his wife, Deanna Troi.

Luckily, Vale took the post, which allowed her to act as a counterweight to any of Riker's Troi-related biases. During her time aboard the USS Titan , she helped to explore the Beta Quadrant and fend off a Borg invasion. Indeed, her record was so good that, following Riker's promotion to admiral, she took command of the Luna -class starship.

Thirishar ch'Thane

From their initial appearance in 1967's "Journey to Babel" and 2001's "The Andorian Incident," references to Star Trek 's Andorians were true and far between. One important detail was disclosed in The Next Generation , however: Andorians have four sexes , with all four required for successful reproduction.

The character of Thirishar ch'Thane (or "Shar") was a response to this premise. Shar served as Deep Space Nine's science officer following the end of the Dominion War, but was torn between his commitments to Starfleet and to his mating group, who wished him to return to Andor. This dilemma was further complicated by a dangerous decline in Andorian fertility, which threatened to cause the Andorians' extinction in the long term. Shar was eventually able to use his scientific knowledge to help solve the Andorian fertility crisis.

The Jem'Hadar are one of Star Trek 's most iconic creations , a powerful race of warriors motivated by their addiction to the chemical ketracel-white. During the Dominion War of 2373–2375, the Jem'Hadar were central to the Dominion assaults which nearly overwhelmed the Federation Alliance.

8 Best Starfleet Ships During The Dominion War

After the war's conclusion, Taran'atar , a Jem'Hadar without a ketracel-white dependency, was sent to Deep Space Nine as a cultural observer. Taran'atar's struggle to adjust to the Alpha Quadrant during peacetime makes for fascinating reading, as does seeing the fearsome warrior growing closer to his former enemies. Taran'atar's story takes some strange twists and turns, but he remains a fascinating character.

Mackenzie Calhoun

First appearence: star trek new frontier: house of cards.

Author: Peter David
Publication Date: July 1997

In 1997, Pocket Books published the first of Peter David's New Frontier books. While these novels included several characters from TV Trek (mostly notably Commander Shelby from "The Best of Both Worlds" ), they focused on a new hero ship, the USS Excalibur , and a new captain: Mackenzie Calhoun . Calhoun, an alien warrior modeled after Mel Gibson, was depicted as a tactical genius capable of beating Starfleet's toughest challenges–including the infamous Kobayashi Maru test.

Calhoun soon became a fan-favorite, with his New Frontier series including over 20 volumes. The Xenanian captain was even popular enough to be made into an action figure, the only example of this honor being bestowed on a character originating from any of Star Trek 's novels.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek Beyond

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Creation Year 1966

Are you a nudist? Knitter? Golden Girls fan? There’s a cruise for that.

Whether you’re a swinger or just want to practice your golf swing, theme cruises have something for everyone.

Kaity Talley saw the announcement and knew she had to get on board: A cruise exclusively for Hallmark Christmas movie fans? With cookie decorating, tree lighting, movie marathons and karaoke ?

“I got super lucky,” said Talley, 36, of Ontario, Calif. She landed a booking time that got her a spot on the cruise that turned out to be Taylor-Swift-concert- level popular. After it sold out quickly, organizers added a second voyage, which also sold out.

Talley, a Costco manager who also makes TikToks about cruises, expects to bring an entire Christmas wardrobe, ugly sweaters and all: “I’m going to be very corny on this cruise.”

The Hallmark cruise will make its maiden voyage in November, but it’s hardly the first event to gather an extremely niche community of fans and send them out to sea. Theme cruises have catered to groups as diverse as cat lovers , headbangers , Trekkies , conservative activists and zombie aficionados .

There are clothing-optional cruises, faith-based cruises, swingers cruises and cruises for people who want to practice their golf swing .

“If there’s something out there that people like to do, there’s probably a cruise about it,” said Chris Gray Faust, executive director of the news and review site Cruise Critic .

Theme cruises can take many forms, from a small group tucked into a larger sailing to a full-ship takeover. Some are put on by the cruise lines, but most are organized by a travel agency or production company that blocks rooms and venues or charters the entire ship. Those sailings must be purchased through that third party.

Trips are often scheduled during off-peak times, such as January through March or October and November. Prices are higher than a standard cruise, generally reflecting the extra programming or additional perks that passengers get.

Experts say specialty sailings have exploded in recent years as cruise lines have expanded and consumers have sought out more meaningful ways to travel.

“Overall, the travel industry is getting so much more experiential in a number of ways, and theme cruises are the ultimate experiential vacation,” said Chris Hearing, a partner and executive director at Entertainment Cruise Productions , a major organizer of theme cruises. “You get immersed, in our case, in week-long theme cruises where from the moment you walk on the ship, you are surrounded by people that are completely into Star Trek or Comic-Con or motorcycles or ’80s or ’90s music.”

Another producer, Sixthman , got its start in 2001 with a rock-themed event featuring Sister Hazel. This year, the group will pull off 23 cruise events, and the schedule calls for 27 next year, said CEO Jeff Cuellar.

A gateway for cruise newcomers

As the cruise industry builds more ships and tries to cultivate new audiences to fill them, Gray Faust said theme cruises often serve as an entry point.

“It brings a lot of first-time cruisers into the fold,” she said. “They’re fans of whatever the theme is. The fact that it’s on a cruise is almost secondary.”

Howard Moses, a travel adviser, created a site called themecruisefinder with a business partner several years ago and said there are more than 700 cruises listed at any given time, from small groups to full-ship charters.

“It has blossomed in the last I would say 10 to 12 years,” he said.

Talley, who booked the Hallmark Christmas cruise, said theme cruises got her hooked on sailing. She spoke to The Washington Post from Miami after departing a chef-focused cruise and right before boarding a regular sailing on another cruise line. She has been on the Sail Across the Sun cruise, featuring Train and several other acts, four times.

“There’s just concerts happening the entire time,” she said.

Swifties, Trekkies and crafters

Some event production companies sell the opportunity to be in close quarters with the objects of fan affection. Sixthman, which is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line, pitches the events to singers, chefs and others as a way to interact with their die-hard fans who will follow and support them anywhere. And for those fans, it’s a tough chance to pass up.

“You’re not just spending an afternoon, you’re spending your vacation with them from breakfast to lunch to dinner to cocktails and activities,” Cuellar said.

Even though the Hallmark Christmas cruise — which is being put on by Sixthman — hasn’t named the stars who will sail, Cuellar said the event was the fastest sellout in the company history.

“Within like 48 hours of the first sellout, there were people already putting mugs on Etsy that said, ‘I survived the Hallmark presale,’” he said. “You talk about a passionate audience.”

Other cruises are entirely fan-driven, without the presence of any stars.

Jessica Malerman and two friends and fellow travel agents came up with the “In My Cruise Era” trip in October during another group cruise with their agency, Marvelous Mouse Travels . There’s no affiliation with the Taylor Swift empire, but the trip has already sold the maximum 199 staterooms it reserved on megaship Allure of the Seas in October 2024.

Events will include dance parties, trivia, cocktail parties, friendship bracelet swapping and karaoke.

“What people want is the connection and they want to make friends and they want to go on vacation and have a sense of community,” Malerman said.

Chad Kampe, the owner of Flip Phone Productions, put on the first — and second — Golden Fans at Sea cruises in early 2020 after organizing a “Golden Girls”-themed bar crawl several years before. The company produces drag shows across the country.

The sailings have included themed dances, costume contests, caftan welcome parties, scavenger hunts, performances from the Golden Gays drag troupe, appearances from people with ties to the show and some very competitive trivia sessions.

“The ‘Golden Girls’ trivia is the most intense trivia you’ve ever seen,” Kampe said.

The events take place on regular voyages, meaning passengers might end up surprised by the surplus of Blanches, Dorothys, Roses and Sophias. In year one, Kampe said a biker group was also on board.

“They loved us,” he said.

Many theme cruises are organized around hobbies or other special interests.

Melissa Gower, founder of Craft Cruises , organizes an average of 10 knitting cruises a year. The knitters and their needles don’t take over the whole ship, but the sailings include instructors, social gatherings and “private fiber-related tours,” she said.

“I have people who traveled with me in 1999,” Gower said. “They’ve been on 30-plus knitting cruises, and they’re still booking travel with us.”

How to find (or avoid) a niche cruise

The Theme Cruise Finder website allows people to search according to category for upcoming trips. Often, sales will open up during an event for the people on board, so it can be difficult to get a reservation on a popular repeating cruise.

Gray Faust said travelers will often comment on Cruise Critic forums about their surprise at being on the same ship as some kind of group. She said a friend ended up on a cruise with Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans “and she hates Tampa Bay.”

In 2016, more than 1,500 vacationers who thought they were taking a regular Bahamas cruise ended up sharing space with then-Patriots player Rob Gronkowski and fans on Gronk’s Party Ship.

Gary Bembridge, a cruise YouTuber who runs the site Tips for Travellers , recommends people search online for the name and date of a cruise they’re considering to see if a theme cruise shows up at the same time.

Moses, one of the founders of the theme cruise site, is co-president of a separate business, The Cruise & Vacation Authority , which organizes theme cruises as one of its services.

“In general, theme cruises are way more fun than a regular cruise because you’re traveling with like-minded people,” he said.

And if someone isn’t like-minded on a shared ship, he said the theme group tries to be understanding.

“We try to be very respectful of the other guests on board,” he said.

More cruise news

Living at sea: Travelers on a 9-month world cruise are going viral on social media. For some travelers, not even nine months was enough time on a ship; they sold cars, moved out of their homes and prepared to set sail for three years . That plan fell apart, but a 3.5-year version is waiting in the wings.

Passengers beware: It’s not all buffets and dance contests. Crime data reported by cruise lines show that the number of sex crimes has increased compared to previous years. And though man-overboard cases are rare, they are usually deadly .

The more you know: If you’re cruise-curious, here are six tips from a newcomer. Remember that in most cases, extra fees and add-ons will increase the seemingly cheap price of a sailing. And if you happen to get sick , know what to expect on board.

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Star Trek Into Darkness
Star Trek Into Darkness is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. It is the 12th installment in the Star Trek franchise and the sequel to the 2009 film Star Trek, as the second in a rebooted film series. It features Chris Pine reprising his role as Captain James T. Kirk, with Zachary Quinto, Simon ...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Into Darkness: Directed by J.J. Abrams. With Leonard Nimoy, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana. After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable ...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Menu. Movies. ... first assistant photographer: second unit Scott Hatley ... second company rigging grip Michael Hester ... rigging grip foreperson Patrick Hoeschen ...
Star Trek Into Darkness
With a personal score to settle, Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) leads his people (Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoë Saldana) on a mission to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction, thereby ...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) attempt to save the inhabitants from an imminent volcano eruption which would wipe out the civilization. When Spock's life is jeopardized, Kirk breaks the Prime Directive, exposing the Enterprise to the planet's civilization during Spock's rescue. A number of indigenous people begin ...
Star Trek Into Darkness: Review
Film Review: 'Star Trek Into Darkness'. J.J. Abrams sets his filmmaking to "stun" for " Star Trek Into Darkness," a sequel in every respect equal or even superior to its splendid 2009 ...
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http://www.joblo.com - "Star Trek Into Darkness" - Official TrailerSource: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrekintodarkness/In Summer 2013, ...
Star Trek Into Darkness
Synopsis. 2013 • PG-13. After an unspeakable terrorist act at the heart of the Federation, Kirk, and his crew head off on a manhunt into enemy territory to capture a familiar foe with superhuman abilities.
Star Trek Into Darkness movie review (2013)
For all its sloppiness and blind spots and fanboy pirouettes, though, "Star Trek Into Darkness" is still an involving film with more heart than most summer blockbusters. Abrams' roots in TV ( Felicity, Alias, Lost) seem to have made him attentive to the dynamics of groups, and to the repeated phrases and gestures that bond viewers to characters.
Star Trek Into Darkness
The voyages continue: Star Trek for people who don't like Star Trek. A big, dumb summer popcorn flick with zip, wiz, bang action, lots of explosions, fist-fights and running around. One of the most beloved 'Trek instalments (The Wrath of Khan) gets the prison shower treatment by the conclusion of Into Darkness. Unintelligent, formulaic ...
Movie Review
Movie Review - 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' - Exploring Familiar Territory, Boldly And With Twists The 12th film based on Gene Roddenberry's '60s sci-fi TV show is the second to star a new group of ...
Star Trek Into Darkness Official International Trailer #1 (2013)
Watch the TRAILER REVIEW: http://goo.gl/TIlQmSubscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6hSubscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUnLike us on FACEBOOK: ht...
Star Trek Into Darkness: Film Review
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Star Trek Into Darkness Official Trailer #3 (2013)
Check out the ULTIMATE TREK TRAILER:http://goo.gl/GUgxnSubscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6hSubscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUnLike us on FA...
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Logo for the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise that started with a television series (simply called Star Trek but now referred to as Star Trek: The Original Series) created by Gene Roddenberry.The series was first broadcast from 1966 to 1969. Since then, the Star Trek canon has expanded to include many other ...
'Star Trek Into Darkness': Read the official synopsis
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Exclusive: First Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer Also Premiering Dec
Yesterday brought surprising news that the first nine minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness will be shown as a preview before IMAX screenings of the new Hobbit movie. But what about
Wikipedia Star Trek Into Darkness debate
Debate. Director J. J. Abrams planned to release the film Star Trek Into Darkness in April 2013. Its title did not contain a colon after "Star Trek", such as in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and eight other Star Trek films. The "I" was to be capitalized in Abrams's April release, but Wikipedia's manual of style stipulates that prepositions ...
I'm Glad Star Trek Into Darkness Deleted Kirk Lying In His Captain's Log
Star Trek Into Darkness deleted a scene in which Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) publicly lies in his Captain's log, which painted him in a terrible light. The second Star Trek reboot film directed by J.J. Abrams pits Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise against two foes: the genetically engineered madman Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the diabolically corrupt ...
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According to the report, fans can expect the movie to "serve as an origin story of sorts for the main timeline of the entire ['Star Trek'] franchise ." What that means, of course, is anybody's ...
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The Star Trek novels introduce unique characters like Akaar and Treir, adding depth to the expansive Starfleet universe.; Characters like Nick Keller and Elias Vaughn bring new perspectives to the ...
Are you a nudist? Star Trek fan? Knitter? There's a theme cruise for
As the cruise industry builds more ships and tries to cultivate new audiences to fill them, Gray Faust said theme cruises often serve as an entry point. "It brings a lot of first-time cruisers ...
Star Trek: Into Darkness
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Film Review: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’

Scott Foundas

Reviewed at AMC Loews 34th Street, May 2, 2013. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 132 MIN.

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