Anticipation is nearing a fever pitch for director Ridley Scott’s Prometheus as the eagerly awaited sci-fi pic finally hits theaters next weekend, but co-writer Damon Lindelof has another project on the horizon whose level of anticipation just might eclipse that of the Noomi Rapace-fronted thriller. Production recently wrapped on director J.J. Abrams’ sequel to the fantastic 2009 feature iteration of Star Trek, and fan interest has been so high that a Happy Birthday video Simon Pegg sent from set was scrutinized for plot hints like it was the Zapruder Film.
Steve got the chance to talk with Lindelof about Prometheus earlier today in London, but the scribe also briefly touched on Star Trek 2. Lindelof revealed that they actually connected all the sets for the sequel so that the camera could follow the actors throughout multiple areas of the ship without having to cut. Moreover, Lindelof calls Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as the villain “iconic” and says it’s one of the best sci-fi performances he’s ever seen. He also talks about Chris Pine donning Kirk’s yellow garb and the fun of watching all the characters interact once again. Hit the jump for more.
Steve asked Lindelof what it was like to set foot on the Star Trek 2 stage for the first time, and the scribe opened up about a major production design change that enhanced the crew’s capabilities:
“It was incredible, and I think that Trek 2—there’s certainly an instinct to just go bigger in the second movie and one of the things that we did was we connected all the sets, so you can just basically follow the actors off the bridge, into a turbo lift, down, walking through a plaza, into the med bay as opposed to [having to] cut every time you do that, because when we were shooting on the Paramount stages we just didn’t have the money to connect all the sets. So the first day that I actually walked on the Enterprise, you walked through the Enterprise and it’s a very insular experience of like, ‘Wow I’m actually on a starcraft.’ “
Lindelof also talked about what it was like to see all the actors at work again, especially Pine sporting Kirk’s signature yellow uniform:
“And then when you see all the actors again, and Kirk in his yellow—which we only really see at the very, very end of the first movie—and start playing those interactions between he and Bones, he and Scotty, Spock and Bones, etc. And then bringing in some new blood, Alice Eve is awesome.”
Speaking of new blood, Lindelof had incredibly high praise for Benedict Cumberbatch’s work as the unspecified villain:
“Benedict Cumberbatch, I can already say with a certain degree of confidence that he is gonna give an iconic film performance and one of the best sci-fi performances that I’ve ever seen. And not even having seen the movie yet, just sitting there in video village with the headphones on. So I’m really psyched.”
If you’re familiar with Cumberbatch’s work, like the stellar series Sherlock or his dual stage turn in Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein, it’s not hard to take Lindelof’s praise to heart. If fans weren’t already incredibly excited about Star Trek 2, I’d say Lindelof’s near-giddy enthusiasm here should be enough to push them into rabid anticipation territory. Hopefully we’ll get our first look at some footage at this year’s Comic-Con, because that May 17th, 2013 release date is all of a sudden looking much further off. Watch Steve’s video interview with Lindelof regarding Star Trek 2 below, and look for the full interview soon. The Star Trek sequel hits theaters May 17, 2013.
