Star Trek Spoiler Roundup

Ugo.com has compiled all the known rumors about Star Trek. Oddly, while the list seems long it really isn't as JJ Abrams and company have done an excellent job of keeping the lid tight on the production. Really most of the information is just what came out last week between the EW article and the interviews related to the recently released movie stills.

Confirmed
- The studio also needed more time to rehab Trek’s image. ‘’We felt we really need to get out there and educate people that this is a whole new franchise,’’ says Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore.
- The film’s budget is a reported $150 Million. Has a bigger budget and more special effects than any previous Trek film.
- The shoot lasted five months mostly on the Paramount Lot.
- Abrams says he was drawn to the project because he believed in — and wanted to evangelize — Trek’s unabashed idealism. ‘’I think a movie that shows people of various races working together and surviving hundreds of years from now is not a bad message to put out right now,’’ says Abrams, whose infectiously upbeat energy and disdain for cynicism are among his most marked attributes. ‘’In a world where a movie as incredibly produced as The Dark Knight is raking in gazillions of dollars, Star Trek stands in stark contrast,’’ Abrams says. ‘’It was important to me that optimism be cool again.’’
- Cover your ears, Trek purists: writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman said they wanted to “bring more Star Wars into Star Trek,” and director J.J. Abrams is more of a Wars fan than a Trek fan. They hasten to add it’s the “original Star Wars,” not the prequels. So what do they mean? It sounds like they mean the crazy space battles and high-speed action, as opposed to Trek, which “becomes very stately.” At the same time, they respect that old-school Trek is like “sub battles,” and they want to keep that as well. They also describe the movie as “an epic space adventure.”
- Abrams made his perspective clear: ‘’We weren’t making a movie for fans of Star Trek,’’ he said. ‘’We were making a movie for fans of movies.’’
- The storyline is about a Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) who travels back in the past to either severely cripple or eliminate the Federation by killing its greatest starship captain, James T. Kirk, before he could take command of the Enterprise. Kirk’s best friend, Spock, tries to undo the damage caused by Nero by following him through time.
- The movie shows how the whole original series crew came together: McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoë Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Chekov (Anton Yelchin). The adventure stretches from Earth to Vulcan, and yes, it does find a way to have Nimoy appearing in scenes with at least one of the actors on our cover — and maybe both.
- Kirk spends much of Star Trek dressed in respectable black — space-cadet colors in Abrams’ Trekverse.
- Zachary Quinto, 31, campaigned for the part by repeatedly expressing interest in it while doing press for his show. ‘’I saw it as a career opportunity, but I also saw it as a creative opportunity, too,’’ he says. ‘’I have a real interest in where this character lives. I really relate to the duality of a logical mind and an emotional sensibility.’’
- Quinto prepped intensely for his tryout, even binding his fingers with rubber bands to train his hand for the live-long-and-prosper salute. He secured the role soon after Nimoy viewed his audition tape. ‘’I could see Zach had an internal life as an actor, which is important to the Spock character, because there’s so little to show physically,’’ Nimoy says. ‘’I called J.J. and immediately told him he was going to work.’’
- For his part, Quinto shaved his eyebrows and grew and dyed his hair, and found that the makeover helped him connect with Spock’s angst. ‘’I never anticipated how alienated I would feel because of the physical alteration,’’ he says. ‘’That’s appropriate, because Spock is really alienated from himself when we meet him. He’s constantly questioning his place in the world.’’
- ‘’I think Zach had the toughest job, but he gave a performance that totally captured the character without resorting to impersonation,’’ says Simon Pegg (Scotty).
- Anton Yelchin was the first to admit there is Klingon involvment in the movie.
- Randy Pausch, the now-late author of The Last Lecture and avowed Trekker, has a cameo in the film.
- The storytelling is newbie-friendly, but it slyly assimilates a wide range of Trek arcana, from doomed Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to Sulu’s swordsmanship to classic lines like, ‘’I have been, and always shall be, your friend.’’
- History may be mutable in the new Star Trek, but the old characterizations remain the same: Spock is still logical and Scotty is still bitterly complaining about the ship’s overworked engines.
- The Enterprise still has a saucer front section and pronged rear engines, but now comes tricked out with credibility-enhancing details. During turbulence, the crew can now grab handrails to keep from falling. And Abrams has given the blah cardboard bridge a makeover. It still has the oval shape, the captain’s chair, the giant view screen — but it’s now blazingly white and glistening with light and glass. “People would joke, ‘Where’s the Genius Bar?’’’ says Abrams, somewhat defensively. ‘’To me, the bridge is so cool, it makes the Apple Store look uncool.
- The opening sequence is an emotionally wrenching passage that culminates with a mythic climax sure to leave zealots howling ‘’Heresy!’’ But revisionism anxiety is the point. ‘’The movie,’’ Lindelof says, ‘’is about the act of changing what you know.’'
- Star Trek’s time-travel plot is set in motion when a Federation starship, the USS Kelvin, is attacked by a vicious Romulan (Eric Bana) desperately seeking one of the film’s heroes.
- From there, the film then brings Kirk and Spock center stage and tracks the origins of their friendship and how they became officers aboard the Enterprise.
- No longer are their signature Trek weapons boxy plastic toys, but sleek silver gizmos with spring-triggered barrels that revolve and glow in the transition from ‘’stun’’ to ‘’kill.’’
- Two different actors will play Spock: Leonard Nimoy returns to play the character he originated at approximately 150 years of age while Zachary Quinto (Heroes) plays a much younger Spock aged ~ 30 years.
- Cast as the younger versions of the iconic television characters are Chris Pine (Kirk), Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Anton Yelchin (Chekov) and Karl Urban (McCoy).
- There are at least five different time stops where the movie’s story will take place: the late 24th century around 2380; the start of Kirk taking command of the U.S.S. Enterprise (approximately 115 years prior to the events seen in Star Trek: Nemesis); Kirk at approximately ages 10, 20 and immediately prior to his birth.
- The commander of the original U.S.S. Enterprise prior to Kirk, Christopher Pike (played by Bruce Greenwood), is in the film.
- Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice) and Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire) play the younger Spock’s parents.
- Chris Hemsworth is playing George Kirk, James T. Kirk’s father, at approximately 20-25 years of age.
- Clifton Collins, Jr. is playing Ayel, an accomplice of Nero.
- Playwright/director Tyler Perry will play the Head of Starfleet Academy in a scene where Kirk is in hot water for cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test and is about to be expelled from the Academy.
- People confirmed as having small roles or cameos in the film include Chris Doohan (original TOS series star James Doohan’s son) and Stargate Atlantis cast member Paul McGillion.
- Actress Marlene Forte is playing the role of an unnamed Transporter Chief on the Enterprise.
- The look of the Starfleet uniforms and the interior corridors, rooms and bridge of the Enterprise will be similar but also different to the ones remember from the 1960s TV series.
- A variety of alien species will be seen in the movie but the only confirmed races known so far are human, Vulcan and Romulan.
- At heart, Abrams is still more of a Star Wars guy. ‘’All my smart friends liked Star Trek,’’ he says. ‘’I preferred a more visceral experience.’’ Which is exactly why he accepted Paramount’s offer in 2005 to develop a new Trek flick; creatively, he was engaged by the possibility of a Star Trek movie ‘’that grabbed me the way Star Wars did.’’
- The film’s major cast members have signed on for two sequels.
- Paramount is negotiating for director J. J. Abrams, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, to return for a sequel.
- Moviegoers will get a sneak peek when the first full trailer is released with the new James Bond flick on Nov. 14! (EW)

Rumored
- Nero may make multiple attacks throughout the time stream, possibly trying to assassinate Kirk or discredit/discourage him from entering Starfleet service.
- Jennifer Morrison (House) may be playing Winona Kirk, Jim’s mom—and she’ll be very pregnant with little Kirkie.
- Spock MAY witness the birth of James Kirk.
- Jimmy Bennett has reportedly been cast as an 11-year-old James Kirk while Spencer Daniels is reported to be playing George Samuel Kirk, his 15-year-old brother.
- Younger Spock meets older Spock and may even mind-meld with each other.
- An incidental character with the surname “Picard” may be mentioned.
- Scenes showing the construction of the Enterprise (as witnessed in the January ‘08 teaser trailer) MAY also be seen in the final cut of the film.
- Alex Kurtzman, one of the Star Trek writers, let it slip to us earlier this year that “Nero isn’t necessarily a Romulan.”
- There are battles with the Klingons, and we will get to see the maiden voyage of the original Enterprise: NCC-1701. Finally, none of the film takes place at all at Starfleet Academy.
- Simon Pegg’s Scotty gets a lot of scenes with Leonard Nimoy’s Spock.
- As expected, the primary location of the film is the Enterprise NCC-1701 with the bridge being the key location on the ship. About three to four out of the twenty weeks of shooting took place on the bridge set. We will see the ship under the command of both Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) and James Kirk (Chris Pine).
- In addition to the bridge, other locations for the ship seen in the film will be: sickbay, crew quarters, engineering, a transporter room plus corridors and turbolifts. All sets were built at Paramount with the exception of engineering which was done on a redressed industrial location.
- The Kelvin is a Federation starship from a generation before the Enterprise and smaller than the Enterprise. It is of a new ship class never seen before. The ship is commanded by Captain Robau (Faran Tahir) with George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) as first officer. Locations seen on the ship include the bridge (which reflects an earlier design than the Enterprise and is a lot ‘busier’), corridors, sickbay and engineering.
- TrekMovie.com previously reported that the primary villains of JJ Abrams Star Trek are the Romulans, who come from the 24th century. They travel through time in a ship, but the ship is not necessarily built for time travel. The ship is commanded by Nero (Eric Bana). The design of the interior of the ship is apparently different than traditional TNG era Romulan design and said to be ’surreal.’
- As reported before, the Star Trek film involves time travel and elder Spock (Leonard Nimoy) traveling through time. However (contrary to previous rumors about the Guardian of Forever) Spock uses a Vulcan ship specifically built for time travel. The ship is small and has a crew of one (Spock). The film will feature the bridge and also the ship’s ‘time core.’
- In addition to the above four ships there are some other ship locations that will be seen (and had sets built). These are: Medical shuttle (from the USS Kelvin era), Transport shuttle (from Kirk’s time at Academy), Federation Ship Bridge Simulator for Kobayashi Maru Test (redress of USS Kelvin bridge).
- A source tells TrekMovie that more ship interiors were created for this film than any other Trek film before. And unlike previous Trek films there is a minimal amount of ‘redressing’ being used. The USS Kelvin and the USS Enterprise are totally unique. All this means that Star Trek will truly be (as co-writer Bob Orci said in one interview) ‘a starship adventure.’
- Keep a lookout for a quick appearance from a Tribble.

Debunked
- William Shatner does not appear in the new Star Trek film.
- The Guardian of Forever is NOT the method that Nero and older Spock use to time travel.
- Apart from Leonard Nimoy, there are no other appearances from cast members of the original Star Trek. No George Takei, no Nichelle Nichols, no Walter Koenig.