Award-winning mega-star Rihanna will be contributing a new song to the STAR TREK BEYOND soundtrack when the film releases this summer, as the news of the upcoming single arrived on the iTunes store last night.
Seen in the “Pop” section of the mobile iTunes app.
In addition, the cover art (in low resolution) has also made its way to the web, featuring the artist appearing as some kind of alien among the BEYOND teaser poster clouds (via Gaga Daily).
This is actually less of a surprise than it might seem, as Rihanna was one of the many Trek fans to appear on-camera at the May 20 fan event, talking about their love for the franchise (video by TrekNews):
This song will most likely appear during the film’s end credits, though we wouldn’t be shocked if Captain Kirk includes Rihanna in his historical music database next to the Beastie Boys.
UPDATE: The new single will arrive Monday, July 27.
I’ve read that we’re [set] before “Next Generation,” after [“Star Trek VI: The] Undiscovered Country,” which is false.
I’ve read that it’s an anthology show, which is not accurate. So it’s interesting to see those suggestions, and seeing the truth mixed in with them and going like, “Oh, they got that part right…”
But it’s sort of on the truth-o-meter on PolitiFacts. It’s sort of like some truth, and a lot of like, “No — pants on fire! That’s not true.”
Fuller’s comments here seem to indicate that parts of what’s been reported around the web may be close to the truth, but it appears that the two big rumors – the pre-TNG era as setting, an anthology series as format – are definitely out.
I think we will be seeing lots of crews in the story. One of the things that is exciting for me is that we are telling a “Star Trek” story in a modern way. We’re telling a 13-chapter story in this first season.
It’s nice to be able to dig deep into things that would have been breezed passed if we were doing episodic and had to contain a story to an episode.
Lastly, he also hinted towards a revisit of previously-seen Trek characters:
MOVIEFONE: Would you like to revisit any characters? Is there a window open to bring in characters that have been established in the canon?
FULLER: Eventually. Eventually.
All right, everybody – time to throw out those rumors and start the speculation fires burning again!
Bryan Fuller, head writer and showrunner of next January’s Star Trek television revival, revealed some details – some we suspected, but others new – about the upcoming series to Collider at last night’s Saturn Awards event.
As we have been expecting, the first season of the show has been set for thirteen episodes, a standard length by which many premium television series operate.
FULLER: We’ve got the arc of the first season entirely written, or arced out, and we’ve got the first six episodes entirely broken.
COLLIDER: I’m assuming this is going to be one story over thirteen episodes.
FULLER: Yes. We start [shooting] in September [through] probably March. I think our runtime is flexible because it’s streaming, [but] they gave us parameters – sort of, “No more than this, no less than that.”
In addition to those behind-the-scenes areas, the writer also spoke to the kind of content that will be part of the new show:
COLLIDER: Star Trek has never filmed certain subject material because it was filmed at a time when showing a gay character or showing certain kinds of characters was frowned on.
What I’m so looking forward to is to see you guys be so progressive and all-inclusive. Are you looking at it that way?
FULLER: Absolutely. I think the progressive audience that loves Star Trek will be happy that we’re continuing that tradition.
[Also,] because we’re CBS All Access, we’re not subject to network broadcast standards and practices. It will likely affect us more in terms of what we can do graphically, but Star Trek’s not necessarily a universe where I want to hear a lot of profanity, either.
Fuller also dipped into a general timetable of when we’ll start to hear more concrete info on the show, later this summer, but it seems that casting isn’t finalized yet.
I imagine [specifics will start] around Comic-Con. It’s interesting because normally I love talking about everything, and I’m sort of relieved I’ve been muzzled by CBS on it because I do less interviews, so I can spend more time writing.
We haven’t booked directors yet. We booked Vincenzo Natali, who will be our producing director, but he’s not directing the first episode. We’ve got stages and we’re very far along. We’re going to be putting sets up in a couple of weeks.
I’ve met with a few actors, and it’s an interesting process. There’s a few people that we like and we want to carry on what Star Trek does best, which is being progressive. So it’s fascinating to look at all of these roles through a colorblind prism and a gender-blind prism, so that’s exciting.
A few weeks ago, we reported on a small editing error found in the new Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Director’s Cut Blu-ray, where a short scene duplicated a bit of visual effects footage.
This afternoon, Paramount Home Entertainment shared with us their newly-announced a disc recall and replacement program for this mastering issue, with instructions on how fans can get a new version of the Khan Blu-ray.
It has come to our attention that there is a slight master assembly error on the recent Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Director’s Cut Blu-ray release.
Fans who would like a replacement should contact our customer service department at wrathofkhanreturns@tce.com or toll free at 844-898-4365.
The corrected product will be shipped free of charge. It is always our intention to distribute the highest quality product and we apologize for any inconvenience this error has caused.
When you call the telephone number provided above, the recorded message indicates that once you provide your mailing information, Paramount Home Entertainment will send you a self-addressed return envelope to send them back your disc and Blu-ray case. An estimated replacement timeframe was not included with the announcement, but PHE is sure to replace the discs as soon as they are able.
UPDATE:
Paramount has told us that all future releases of this Khan disc – including the UK and European releases arriving in July – will be the corrected edition of this set.
In addition, the “fixed” version of the film will be identifiable with a yellow UPC barcode on the back of the Blu-ray packaging.
Our mock-up of the pending “yellow UPC” packaging.
It’s very nice to see Paramount’s commitment to correcting this issue in such a relatively short amount of time from the release of the Khan disc on June 7.
Order the Star Trek 50th Anniversary Collection today!
STAR TREK BEYOND composer Michael Giacchino is known for stacking his movie soundtrack releases with titles full of witty puns, and his score for this summer’s new Trek adventure is no different.
Continuing the interviews dropping today from British science fiction and fantasy magazine SFX, STAR TREK BEYOND’s Jim Kirk – actor Chris Pine – spoke with the publication about the captain’s growth leading into this third film, the lead up to production, working with Idris Elba, and if William Shatner might ever appear in the new movies.
On how Jim Kirk has changed in the new movie:
Everyone always talks about the pressure; I never felt one iota of pressure [on BEYOND] at all. In fact, it was the most fun we’ve had. Nine years in, it just gets easier.
What I really enjoy about this part of Kirk’s arc is that he’s relieved of all the onus of trying to live up to his father and the anger of never having met his father, all the stuff that drove the first films.
I think it was very important, especially for the first film, to [see Kirk being a young maverick]. There were fans that were dismayed that he had so much bravado – but there’s no place for the character to go if you don’t start somewhere. And that guy is certainly still in there.
Now he’s an older guy, not a young man anymore… he’s a leader and his priorities and motivations have changed. He’s thinking to himself, “Now that I don’t need [to be like my dad], what else is there?”
On the compressed development time that launched the BEYOND production:
The actors are usually the last people to find out anything; we have no control… they tell me when to show up.
You can bemoan the fact that you’re getting the script so late… you can either dive headfirst into that or you can struggle against it. I decided to dive headfirst into it. I’ve done enough of these [films] to know that, strangely enough, the more money that’s put into a project the more free-form it can be.
Simon [Pegg] and Doug [Jung] have come up with a great story, and Justin [Lin] is a master navigator [of these] big-budget film waters, so I trusted these people. My job is just to bring it to live, and be open on the day for anything to happen.
Krall catches Kirk on the Enterprise. (Paramount Pictures)
Pine also discussed working with Idris Elba – playing the villain Krall – and if he’d ever don similar prosthetic makeup appliances in the future:
He’s a huge guy; I’m not a small guy myself but Idris is a big dude, very charismatic. He came up with this rather extraordinary character. Let’s just say he’s an angry man and Kirk sees in him a lot of his own anger, just like Khan.
The thing that ties all these antagonists together, from Nero to Khan to [Krall] is their anger, obviously, but how it’s reflected off Kirk’s own anger. And Kirk is learning to deal with his anger, whether he’s set off by it or whether he can be zen.
[Prosthetics?] No. Seriously, never. I don’t ever want to do it. You’re not sleeping, you’re working 15, 16-hour days and you’re getting force-called every day, which means you’re finishing at 6 or 7 [at night]… you’re in bed at 10 [and] you’re up at 3:30 or 4AM.
Not an effing chance I’m doing that.
I like the idea of [motion capture], the idea of completely creating a [completely CGI character like] Gollum. But with prosthetics you’re just dealing with your sheer force of will. It’s an immense amount of concentration.
Sometimes they can’t even eat [and] have to use a straw… it’s awful!
The actor also spoke about the often-rumored appearance of William Shatner in the ongoing movie series, something he feels would overshadow everything else:
At this point there’s been so much built up about this potential portentous meeting between the two Kirks… [but the movie] would just become about that. The movie can’t be come about that. The movie has to be about whatever story we’re trying to tell.
It’d be fun, it’d be kitschy… but beyond that I don’t know what it serves for our storytelling purposes.
Chekov and Kirk hike through the woods. (Paramount Pictures)
Lastly, Pine addressed what it means to be a Star Trek movie in modern times, and how the films have needed to change to be successful in the current cinematic marketplace – and what he’d like to see in a potential Trek 4.
You can’t make cerebral ‘Star Trek’ in 2016. It just wouldn’t work in today’s marketplace. You can hide things in there – ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ has crazy, really demanding questions and themes – but you have to hide it under the guise of wham-bam explosions and planets blowing up.
The question that our movie poses is, “Does the Federation mean anything?” And in a world where everybody’s trying to kill each other all the time, it’s an important thing. Is working together important? Should we all go our separate ways? Does being united against something mean anything?
[If we get a fourth movie,] I would like a slower film. That’d be kind of fun. Kirk and team land on a planet and go explore.
It’s not going to happen, but it would be fun to make the Merchant Ivory version; a slow, talky film.
Stay tuned for more STAR TREK BEYOND news as it breaks.
A new feature interview with director Justin Lin and the STAR TREK BEYOND cast arrives today from British science fiction and fantasy magazine SFX, conducted this Spring as post-production concludes on the next Trek adventure.
Sulu at the helm of the USS Franklin. (Paramount Pictures)
First up, Sulu actor John Choon the rocky start, and Justin Lin’s onboarding process:
Bob Orci had written a script. [He and the studio] had gotten far along in the process and they decided to part ways. I understand it was amicable, but money had been spent, time had been burned, and Justin was under the gun. The release date was not moving [past July.]
So he went into independent director mode. It was time to get creative and lean on his gut instincts. I think it could lead to something special, because he was having to be mindful of what his instincts were.
Cho’s hopes for Sulu’s development in BEYOND:
I wanted Sulu to advance emotionally. [Having a daughter] complicates the mission in a weird way and makes it personal… his family complicates his belief system as it relates to Starfleet.
McCoy takes aim. (Paramount Pictures)
Karl Urban discusses McCoy’s expanded role:
There’s a lot more McCoy in this movie than probably the last two movies combined. My relationship with Captain Kirk is not inferred – it’s there, you see it. You see him being a supportive friend, a consigliere, even a psychologist in a way.
Also, for a huge part of the film, I get to spend time with Spock, which is something new. [McCoy and Spock are] thrown into great jeopardy and have to depend on each other to survive.
Jaylah in the forest. (Paramount Pictures)
Newcomer Sofia Boutella talks about becoming Jaylah:
Jaylah is a survivor, and she is someone who thinks outside the box. She’s an alien warrior [who] has more in common with Kirk than anyone else in the film; they’re both very independent. She makes her own weapons.
I was attracted to this character because she’s an alien, and she’s a completely original character in the ‘Star Trek’ universe, so I don’t have to compare myself with anyone who came before me – I am Jaylah.
I spent four hours in makeup every morning, and when I put on the prosthetic and saw myself in the mirror, it instantly put me into the character.
Justin Lin directs Chris Pine. (Paramount Pictures)
Director Justin Lin also had a lot to say, expanding upon his previous remarks on the storytelling themes of STAR TREK BEYOND.
[‘Star Trek’] had the ultimate mission statement – which is to try new things.
I think that sometimes gets lost. Let’s sometimes go to places where we’re not that comfortable. IF anything, this is the one franchise where you can do that.
Part of the deconstruction was that we needed to take the security blanket away, which is the Enterprise. That’s always been there and I felt like we should just take it away pretty early on. Not in a disrespectful way, but let’s find a way of doing it so that is launches our characters into their most uncomfortable places without their ship.
On casting Idris Elba as the film’s villain, Krall:
When I talk about deconstructing the Federation, obviously a big part of that is to have an opposing view. Idris [Elba] was my top choice by far, because antagonists don’t really have a lot of screen time.
You need someone who can command a presence and be able to fully commit and carry that through very surgically. We had a great conversation, but at the end, he paused – he goes, “It’s gonna be four hours of makeup every morning, right?”
It was, and he was awesome. He’s delivering 100% every time.
Lin also touches on the somewhat-controversial nature of action sequences in Star Trek films.
I knew why they came to me [to direct the film]. They know i can make big-budget movies. But at the same time, I had to find the appropriate journey for this movie.
So yeah, there is a lot of action, but it can’t be action for action’s sake. In a very short amount of time I had to maek sure that they understoon that I know that that’s where commerce and art collide.
It’s my job to make sure that the action is appropriate, it’s organic, it’s something that can be embraced by people who like ‘Star Trek.’
‘Star Trek’ is, I think, the only franchise that’s been able to cross over from TV with a limited budget to mega-franchise; that’s part of the DNA of ‘Star Trek.’ So for Simon and Doug [Jung] and I, our challenge was to bring that.
We know this is a big-budget movie, but at the same time let’s not forget that we can have two characters in a room talking, and if we do our job right it’s equally compelling. That’s something we definitely took to heart.
Scotty, Jaylah, and Kirk on the USS Franklin. (Paramount Pictures)
The director also reveals a bit of on-set improvisation:
The scene in the trailer where Sofia sits in the captain’s chair – that happened during rehearsal. It was not scripted. We hadn’t rehearsed it. The camera was set up, she came in an sat down, and she said, “This is my house.”
I looked at Simon [Pegg] and said, “This has to be the scene.” So we re-crafted it… and now it’s one of my favorite moments in the movie.
Finally, Lin addresses critics ahead of the STAR TREK BEYOND release, standing behind the content of the film:
I had Simon and I had Doug and I had JJ [Abrams]; it was a great team. But when it comes down to it, at the end of the day, if you watch a movie and you hate it, it’s on me.
For several weeks, Paramount Pictures has been planning a June 22 publicity event at the Cannes Lions advertising exhibition in France, where STAR TREK BEYOND cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, and Simon Pegg would not only talk about the film, but also participate in a live-streamed Q & A session with fan questions.
Lions Live – Star Trek Beyond: Retelling an Iconic Story for a New Generation
How much do you get to create in the realm of an iconic movie? And how do you re-tell a story in a way that’s relevant for today’s audience?
Featuring the co-writer and cast of Star Trek Beyond, they’ll explore their creative processes in approaching this iconic franchise: how they use technology to bring their characters to life across different mediums and how new innovations will change their approach to telling stories in the future.
All of us are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend Anton Yelchin. Out of respect, we are withdrawing our participation in the previously announced Star Trek Beyond event at Cannes Lions this week.
This decision is certainly one that we can respect, as putting the cast in front of press just three days after their friend and co-star’s passing would surely be difficult.
Worf and Alexander encounter K’mtar – an old family friend of the House of Mogh – after an assassination attempt at Klingon outpost, where the elder warrior saves the security officer’s life. But while he attempts to coax Alexander to adopt a more traditional Klingon lifestyle, his secret is revealed: K’mtar is Alexander, back in time from a dark future!
With this morning’s shocking news of Anton Yelchin’s passing, the tragic loss has been felt heavily within the Star Trek family, with top voices of the past, present, and future sharing their thoughts and feelings on social media.
