“After the second film, there was a huge audience backlash over how McCoy was largely marginalised”, the Kiwi actor tells TimeOut from Los Angeles. That’s not to say the film is cerebral, mind you; the Abrams reboot pretty much did away with the allegorical, topical angle of Gene Roddenberry’s creation, cross-breeding it with Star Wars-style space opera.
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So much so, he almost turned down a third outing with the franchise, which hits New Zealand cinemas today.
He said: “He was an incredible guy and this is for him tonight”, noted Beyond star and co-writer Simon Pegg, referring to the pin.
“I nearly didn’t do the picture”.
It’s a trap, of course, and before you can say, “Beam me up, Scotty”, the ship is destroyed and the crew taken hostage on a hostile planet.
Obviously, the announcement of the producer of Beyond, who also directed Star Trek’s first two films, in 2009 and 2013 was not far-fetched as the black command insignia lapel pins of Star Trek could be seen on every cast and crew member on the red carpet. I didn’t want him to feel that we had reduced him to his sexuality by sort of borrowing this bit, if you will, from his life. I thought the cultural stigma was the thickest on the Asian boys I knew.
“Oh my God”, said Urban on the red carpet. “See, I still do this when movie stars show up”. When the character was introduced in the original film he was coming through a horrendously traumatic and painful divorce and I didn’t know anything about that. But, at the same time, the movie might not have anything surprising in it, when comparing it to previous episodes and most blockbuster films.
The Starship Enterprise, led by Captain Kirk (Chris Pine, looking more natural in the role), is lured through a nebula where a would-be rescue mission turns into a trap set by the villain Krall, whose spectacular army of mechanical drones (“bees” he calls them) attack in an overwhelming swarm. That would be Pegg, who clearly understood the need to set this adventure in medias res, as feeling like these characters have served together for years endows their interactions with more meaning.
That’s not a spoiler because it is in trailers for Star Trek Beyond and is the basis for the entire story.
So which Star Trek character would Dr Hancock be? “I think it’s really unfortunate”. This is the dominion of Krall (Idris Elba), a reptilian fascist who seeks an artifact that may be the key to unlock an ancient weapon – and it just so happens to be aboard the Enterprise.
The pop-culture celebration is kicking off Wednesday evening with the festival’s preview night, where con-goers with four-day passes have first crack at the collectables, free swag and photo opportunities on the San Diego Convention Center floor. Hopefully Star Trek will go on for another 50 years.
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“I’m so excited to work with Taika”. I’m a huge fan of Elba’s work, but his mysterious Krall feels under-baked.
