We know for quite some time now that big folks at Paramount have greenlit the sequel to J.J. Abrams’ new STAR TREK movie. With an opening weekend of $76.5 Million and an estimated $116 Million after this weekend, can you blame them? And previously, it was revealed that writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will get help from Lost genius Damon Lindelof for the second installment and the thought of Khan crossed their minds.. with the possibility of Javier Bardem as the star. No confirmation yet if that’s the direction they’re going to take but Director J.J. Abrams talked to MTV and is completely open to the idea of Khan.. plus bringing back William Shatner
“Believe me, whether it’s William Shatner or Khan … it would be ridiculous to not be open to those ideas.”
“It’ll be fun to hear what Alex and Bob are thinking about Khan,”
“The idea, now that we are in an independent timeline, allows us to use any of the ingredients from the past — or come up with brand-new ones — to make potential stories.”
“The fun of this timeline is arguing that different stories, with the same characters, could be equally if not more compelling than what’s been told before.”
“[Khan and Kirk] exist — and while their history may not be exactly as people are familiar with, I would argue that a person’s character is what it is,” “Certain people are destined to cross paths and come together, and Khan is out there … even if he doesn’t have the same issues.”
“I wouldn’t rule out anything,”
What J.J. Abrams meant with ‘history may not be exactly as people are familiar with’ is that the way he might bring Khan and Shatner will not the ones that Trekkies grew up with but in a complete different look, vision, and manner because once again.. it’s Abrams’ STAR TREK, a result of alternate universe, an origin story with a twist which reminds me of the concern that Rama’s SCREEN reader Moviebuff123 expressed in his comment on my review of the movie..
“Sad Sad Sad. I REALLY wanted the origin story of the original characters. Now we’re at the mercy of J.J. Abram and what HE wants to do with these characters. They’re not Gene Roddenberry’s characters anymore… they’re Abram’s.”
As far as Shatner goes, we don’t know how Abrams might incorporate him into the storyline but for now, we know how Shatner would’ve appeared in STAR TREK.
STAR TREK 2 is set to open in 2011
