Today Paramount blitzed six websites with a new image for each (click
here to see) that provides some new inforamtion and lays down new mysteries on the film coming out next year. Star Trek producer Damon Lindelof also provides some hints on what three of the six stills where showing.
From
JoBlo, the first image of Eric Bana in full Nero makeup. Of note is the new Romulan ear design, the bald head and tattoes, features Romulans traditionally don't have.
Is Nero a Romulan?
We can clearly see that Nero has pointed ears and that basically makes him either a Vulcan or a Romulan. And I would be highly dubious that he's a Vulcan. He just does not look very logical in this picture. So draw your own conclusion.
What is the setting for this photo?
This is the bridge of his vessel, which I will not name here.
What's with all the wires, tubing and duct work?
This is sort of the design of the ship. I would say that this is a very specific kind of ship - what it was constructed to do. And as a result of the kind of ship that it is, they are not very interested in the kind of Martha Stewart applications of making it pretty. You see a lot of exposed wires and ducting but it's not like they're having people over for tea. It's a functioning, working ship as opposed to a Starfleet vessel, which has to be shinier because they're ambassadors to the galaxy.
Tell us more about Nero's tattoos.
Nero's tattoos are unique to him and everybody on his crew has similar tattoos in that they're covering their face but no two are the same.
Is that a weapon Nero holds in his left hand? "The word in Romulan roughly translates to 'spork.' Yes, it is a weapon."
Nero's crew had previously been described as pirates. Accurate?
I think that perhaps they look like pirates in a way that they are tattooed and don't wear uniforms but in my own brain, I look at pirates as people who kinda hang around and they rob other ships and they're more interested in booty, plunder and pillaging and those sorts of things. Especially since the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies, they're sort of a fun-loving drinking lot. None of those things would describe this particular group of non-Vulcans. These guys have a very specific mission. They're not interested in material wealth. They're interested in something else entirely.
This does not appear to be typically Romulan. Is it fair to say they're a rogue outfit?
Yes, I think "rogue" would be a good way of describing them.
Is this ship of Nero's actual construction or CGI rendered?
I can tell you that a very significant piece of this shot is 100% set. But in terms of lighting effects - those green beams behind him - I would not be willing to say 100% that ILM didn't add some light rays in there. Although that could just be set lighting. I suspect that this is an actual set shot and not ILM.
Next up, the image from
IGN where it appears that Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) seems to be stuck in an ice cavern caused by an Enterprise emergency escape module.
"This is right around the midpoint of the movie," he said. "One of the things that's at the heart of the Trek universe… is the idea of the away team. The idea that it's not just about people shooting around in a starship, but they also go down to these planets."
"J.J. and Bob [Orci] and Alex [Kurtzman] and Bryan Burk and I all felt in constructing the perfect introduction into the Trek universe as sort of a fresh, new look for people who had never been there before but also playing to the hardcore Trekkers, there would have to be several sequences in the movie that took place on alien worlds, and this is one of them," he explained, clarifying what will regardless become an inevitable point of speculation among fans and potential viewers. "When I say 'alien worlds' I don't necessarily mean that there are aliens on them, but it's not earth."
"If I were to look at this image and know nothing about the movie, I'd say here's what this image tells me: it's an adventure movie. Obviously here's a guy doing some sort of physical activity," he said, perhaps obviously. "Also, he's alone, and Kirk is a lone wolf; he embodies this amazing kind of dichotomy in that he is both a starship captain and responsible for managing this entire crew, but very often he will go rogue and so I think this image sells this idea and it's certainly an idea that Alex and Bob really pushed in the script."
"And then, I'd be very intrigued by what is this hole that he's climbing out of, and what is he going to find when he gets to the top of it?"
Last is the shot of the Enterprise bridge from
MTV with most of the orginial bridge crew on deck.
- The set you see in the photo is the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and not a training room.
- When asked why Kirk was wearing black instead of the standard yellow captain’s shirt, Lindelof said that the black uniform is “significant” to the story surrounding this scene.
- It’s no coincidence that Kirk and Sulu are looking a bit ragged in this scene, and Lindelof hinted that they may have been involved in a fight.
- Abrams was insistent that every piece of equipment on the bridge serve a legitimate purpose — that they all have “functionality.” According to Lindelof, the maps we see in the background near the top of the communications desk were based on the generally accepted layout of the Star Trek universe.
- While Lindelof said the “red shirt” crew member we see in the photo isn’t significant herself, fans can make some predictions about other crew members wearing that fateful color.
Empire Magazine has scored a few new pictures to go with the previously released images for an interview with JJ Abrams in the upcoming issue. 
MTV
