Monday, September 16, 2013

Editorial: The Future of "Star Trek"

“MISSION TO WHERE?” : MUSINGS ON “STAR TREK”’S NEXT VOYAGE
by Bennett Campbell Ferguson
“What’s next?”  That was one of the first things I thought as I finished watching “Star Trek Into Darkness” (which was just released on DVD) for the third time.  Indeed, while I enjoyed the movie more than I had previously, it was hard not to wonder what might befall the adventuring crew of the starship Enterprise in the future.  What new adversaries might they encounter?  What new planets might they next explore?  And of course, what new hookups might cause emotional strife throughout the crew?

            We won’t know the answer to any of these questions until the next film’s rumored 2016 release date.  But for now, there are plenty of intriguing hints and setups in “Into Darkness” to begin pondering the possibilities.  So here, for your pleasure, is analysis of what might be next for the heroes of the twenty-third century.


EXPLORATION In the first two films, the Enterprise crew (including Chris Pine’s reckless Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto’s coolly logical Commander Spock) spent most of their time fighting vengeful maniacs with a taste incinerating everything from San Francisco skyscrapers to entire planets.  But that’s likely to change in the next film.  At the end of “Into Darkness,” Kirk announced that he would be leading his crew on a five-year mission into uncharted space to seek out new life and new civilizations (just as he did in the original “Star Trek” television series in the 1960s).  

Considering this new mandate, it seems likely that the new film will be less focused on war and more on the exploration of the unknown.  Of course, all of the “Star Trek” films have focused on action, but Kirk’s new mission opens up the possibility that the crew’s next trek could be a blockbuster in the vein of “Inception”—violent but philosophically complex.  Keep your fingers crossed.

THE RETURN OF KHAN “My name…is Khan!”  With those words, actor Benedict Cumberbatch sent a chill through Kirk and company as he revealed his character’s true identity in “Into Darkness.”  Khan, it turned out, was not a mere terrorist as Kirk initially thought, but a genocidal supremacist hell bent on exterminating anyone he believed to be “less than superior.”  Indeed, Khan turned out to be so clever and powerful that it was only through sheer determination and luck that Kirk and Spock managed to defeat him.

            That’s when things got interesting.  Unlike most “Trek” villains, Khan did not perish in the film’s climax.  Instead, he was taken into custody by the authorities and cryogenically frozen to prevent him from doing anymore damage.  Unfortunately for Kirk and Spock (but fortunately for us), this left the door wide open for Khan to return and resume his role as “Star Trek” villain in chief in future films. 

If we’re lucky, the next “Trek” (or potentially the one after that), could involve Khan’s untimely escape to wreak further havoc, with the help of his followers (who have remained mostly off screen thus far).  This is the most interesting possibility of all.  “Into Darkness” stressed Khan’s emotional attachment to his people heavily, leaving us to wonder what the nature of their relationship with Khan might be like and how they will affect the course of future events.


KIRK AND CAROL MARCUS It’s no secret that in the original series that Kirk had a child with his colleague, Dr. Carol Marcus.  Considering that history and Carol’s presence in “Into Darkness,” the prospect of entwining the lives of the good captain and doctor once more seems too good to resist. 

Perhaps the most enticing thing about this potential romance is the fact that the new “Star Trek” movies do not follow the storylines of the original TV series.  In that version of events, Carol concealed her pregnancy from Kirk and as a result, the captain didn’t meet his son for some time.  But with a clean slate, writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (who are reprising their duties as “Star”-scribes for the next film) could change things drastically.  They could even have Kirk and Carol get married if they wanted. 

If anything, the future of Kirk and Carol is what excites me most about the continuation of “Star Trek.”  The idea of an explorer/action hero who is in a serious relationship (or even married with a child) while on a five-year mission through deep space could shake up the series’ status quo and that of blockbuster cinema itself, as our beloved heroes and heroines trek further and further into the unknown. 

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