Sartaj Singh
A ‘Star Trek’ prequel is gearing up to begin filming! ‘Star Trek: Origins’ is slated to start shooting in the United Kingdom in January 2025. Toby Haynes is directing the film based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith. The plot reportedly takes place decades prior to the events in the 2009 ‘Star Trek,’ the first movie in the reboot film series. However, further details are being kept under wraps. J.J. Abrams is on board as a producer.
Haynes rose to prominence by helming the Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer ‘Brexit: The Uncivil War.’ He then went on to direct multiple episodes of Prime Video’s ‘Utopia,’ Disney’s ‘Andor,’ and Netflix’s ‘Black Mirror.’ The filmmaker has been very vocal about his love for ‘Star Trek’ and has said that he begged the creator of ‘Black Mirror’ to let him direct season 4’s opening episode, ‘USS Callister,’ which pays homage to ‘Star Trek: The Original Series.’
“I’m probably a bigger Star Trek fan than Charlie (Brooker) is,” said Haynes about directing the episode. “As a kid, I was a super-geek for all things sci-fi on TV, particularly ‘Doctor Who.’ I knew the original ‘60s ‘Star Trek’ show very well. I was such a fan that I’m kind of reverential about it… It was one of the most stressful projects but also one of the most fun. I hope it happens again; it was a magic moment,” the director added.
Grahame-Smith has written or co-written popular projects such as ‘The Lego Batman Movie,’ ‘Dark Shadows,’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.’ He has most recently penned for Disney+’s ‘Just Beyond’ and upcoming projects like ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ and ‘Now You See Me 3.’
Abrams is well-known for launching the reboot film series with the 2009 ‘Star Trek,’ which was followed by ‘Star Trek Into Darkness.’ He also produced all three movies in the series, including Justin Lin’s ‘Star Trek Beyond.’
While Paramount Pictures announced the roadmap for ‘Star Trek: Origins’ at CinemaCon 2024, little mention was made about ‘Star Trek 4,’ the final installment in the rebooted ‘Star Trek’ saga and the follow-up to ‘Star Trek Beyond.’ The film is expected to retain the leading cast from its predecessors, including Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, and John Cho. However, director Matt Shakman stepped back from the project to direct Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot, and there haven’t been any reports about a replacement.
‘Star Trek: Origins’ will be the first film from the franchise to be shot in the UK. The region has housed the filming of memorable works of science fiction such as ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,’ ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ and ‘Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.’
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