Whatever the outcome is in "Star Trek Into Darkness," the second in director J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek franchise, the anticipated third in the Abrams "Trek" series could be out by 2016 --- in time for the 50th Anniversary of the original "Star Trek" TV series, created by Gene Rodenberry and launched in 1966.
That, at least, is what the "Star Trek" media train is reporting today, compliments of a rather suggestive interview "Into Darkness" producer Bryan Burk gave Digital Spy.
"We're definitely talking about the next one, but we haven't talked about a release date. We don't want to wait four years, the same amount of time between the last one and this one, Burk was quoted. "But it's going to be a big year to celebrate, hopefully."
The phrase "we don't want to wait for years," coupled with "it's going to be a big year to celebrate, hopefully" hints three years from now. Of course, many reckon that will be about the same time Abrams will be fully engaged in revamping the Star Wars saga, so how that's all going to fall into place remains to be seen.
Burk, also in Australia to help out a 40-minute screening of "Into Darkness" footage in Sydney, offered a little more insight into his hopes for the newest "Trek" movies, Adelaide Now reports.
Burk said he and long-time partner Abrams, who also collaborated on the TV hits "Alias" and "Lost," sought to create a "Star Trek" movie for people who didn't necessarily like "Star Trek."
That said, Burk indicated he wants "Into Darkness" to do for the science fiction cinema genre what he feels the "Iron Man" films have done for comic book movies, wresting them from the sweaty clutches of sci-fi geeks and offering them to a much wider audience.
"I think with the first one [2009's "Star Trek"] we got a lot of people who had dipped in and out of the 'Star Trek' universe over the last 40 years and got a lot of new people along the way but that allows us now to go a lot further and open it up to everyone else," Burk said. "People went to see the last film who weren't expecting to like it."
With "Into Darkness," Burk continued, "if people have adamantly avoided 'Star Trek' and thought it wasn't for them, they will be pleasantly surprised. It was really important to make a film where if you hadn't seen the last one, you could just jump in."
Burk and Abrams have each said they were fans of "Star Wars" instead of "Star Trek" as children, so as he follows Abrams to work on what has been announces a new Star Wars film trilogy, Burk describes the experience as "very surreal."
On the differences he sees between the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" traditions, Burk asserted "the worlds couldn't be more different...The only thing they have in common is the word 'star' and they take place in outer space. 'Star Trek' doesn't take place in a galaxy far, far away. IIt's not science fiction, it's science fact. It's one hundred per cent our future. The guy who invented the cellphone said he was inspired by watching 'Star Trek.'"