J.J. Abrams is very good at keeping his plots a secret, and only revealing information when he chooses. He’s done a terrific job keeping his cards close to the vest for Star Trek Into Darkness, but as we count down to the reveal of the first trailer and first nine minutes of the movie (the latter being shown in front of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in IMAX 3D), the official synopsis has been announced.
Hit the jump for the synopsis. The film stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Alice Eve, Peter Weller, Noel Clarke, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Star Trek Into Darkness opens in 3D and IMAX 3D on May 17, 2013.
Here’s the official synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness:
In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes “Star Trek Into Darkness.”
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.
With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
Reading the synopsis, it sounds like a damn good picture. We still don’t know the name of the villain, but we now know that Captain Kirk is out for revenge and on a mission to track down a “one man weapon of mass destruction.” The synopsis also mentions that there’s “an unstoppable force of terror within their own organization”, so I’m left to wonder if that’s why Cumberbatch’s character has the faint outline of a Starfleet insignia on his chest in these set photos.
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Sounds like Abrams is trying to make this his Empire Strikes Back. Everything falls apart, character relationships are tested and huge revelations are possibly in the making. I was on the fence about this one, but I’m excited now.
Good point, Will. Reckon you’re right. I just hope the third installment won’t involve a planet of cute teddy bears that beat the most lethal army in the Universe.
HA!
Only if it involves nuking said planet of plush teddy-bears, preferably in the first five seconds of the film……after all, it’s the only way to be sure!
Villain is definitely Gary Mitchell
Right you are about that. I remember reading the interview where Karl Urban let it slip while doing press fpr Dredd. I remember thinking, “Well, someone is in incredibly deep shit.” Then I remember looling up and watching the old episode that he was in. The only reason that all these sites say, “We don’t have a name yet.” is because it hasn’t been “officially” announced either by the studio or heard in a trailer.
Sounds like Gary Mitchell. Which is damn fine!!! Who does not want to see Benedict Cumberbatch transform to a demigod? But the name is so lame if it is indeed Gary Mitchel. It sounds so… soft? Haha. Or maybe that is the point.
Don’t know or care if it’s Gary Mitchell because it won’t be the original GM from TOS. Does sound interesting though.
Wipes out the whole fleet? Disables Earth Defenses? Sounds like supernatural evil to me. Just have to wait for the HOBBIT now.
Maybe a re-imagining of the Gary Mitchell story from the “Where No Man Has Gone Before” episode from the Classic Trek series?
“He’s done a terrific job keeping his cards close to the vest for Star Trek Into Darkness.” Umm, the phrase is “close to the chest”, not “close to the vest”. In an episode of ‘The Office’, Michael Scott said “vest”, showing the character’s stupidity. Is Goldberg the Michael of the Collider office?
I’m pretty sure it can be both…
It’s usually ‘vest.’ It derives from an era when gamblers and card players usually wore vests at the card table.
First of all, it’s Andy that says it.
Second, it is vest. It could be chest, too, but the correct saying is “close to the vest”.
“He’s done a terrific job keeping his cards close to the vest for Star Trek Into Darkness” The phrase is: “close to the chest”. Michael Scott made the same mistake in ‘The Office.’ Is Goldberg the Michael Scott of Collider?
Google “close to the vest.” Believe it or not, it’s an actual thing.
Erm, I thought this new Star Trek was on a new time line. How can the same event occur in both if it is Gary Mitchell?
Think James Bond reboots. New timeline, with old characters.
Well, that is kinda different. In Star Trek there literally was a time line shift, as Spock made clear in his statement
‘Whatever our lives might have been, if the continuum was disrupted, our destinies have changed.’
Star Trek wasn’t just a reboot; it actually opened itself to new possibilities by placing it out of the original Star Trek timeline. So to suddenly have an old character turn up from the ToS past seems to render Spock’s statement pointless.
Think “Butterfly effect”. It is a different timeline, but the people still exist, and sometimes may come into circumstances similar to what has happened. But in no way did the previous Gary Mitchell do what is happeneing in this film, allowing it to be an exciting plot with a throwback to fans of a character we loved. Just because the timeline has been changed, doesn’t mean they won’t run into the same trouble on occasion.
In the new timeline, there was no Captain Kirk (whom you could argue got his command a tad earlier in the original timeline) to stop Gary Mitchell just as he was acquiring his powers, like he did in ST:TOS. Mitchell was a best friend and co-cadet in Star Fleet originally, so this is where we may find the revenge idea coming from, if Mitchell hurts someone close to them that he cares about. Maybe his brother…?
Pitting them against a Q-like figure makes for some pretty awesome drama, although they may end up with the same problem Dark Knight Rises had–after that, every other villain seems kind of mundane.
Did the plot synopsis sound like the events of “Where No Man Has Gone Before?”
Not quite, but if it is Mitchell, then you can see how it could fit in, as Michael said above. If Kirk wan’t around to stop the events that transformed Mitchell into this walking galactic menace, then, yeah, it will work.
ZERO DARK STARTREK!!!
The biggest crime here is not making that guy a Vulcan. His face is practically destined to sport those ears and eyebrows. (That or a pedophile; yeah I saw ‘Atonement’, I believed that mustache.)
In fact, if Quinto ever pulls out (which I certainly hope he doesn’t), I wouldn’t even mind him playing Spock.
Short film starring Walter Koenig (Chekov) from original Star Trek:
http://youtu.be/MnPS7St19rg
Hope it’s not Khan. New ideas and characters are what the last movie was missing. Sherlock is a hell of an actor irregardless what his characters name will be
Not quite, but if it is Mitchell, then you can see how it could fit in, as Michael said above. If Kirk wan\’t around to stop the events that transformed Mitchell into this walking galactic menace, then, yeah, it will work.
Ignore this post as it got placed here by Collider’s dysfunctional automatic security check.
Interesting that no one has speculated about the “worn torn planet.” Could it be Quo’nos?
Didn’t the fleet get decimated in the last film? Seems like the Enterprise keeps coming out of warp to find their fleet destroyed.
After seeing the first episode of Sherlock, I’m really curious to see what Cumberbatch does in a Star Trek film. In fact, I think he’s the only thing I’m interested in seeing from this film.
I’d actually love to see some star trek film, I don’t care which timeline, that focused on the Q Continuum. Q is the best Star Trek Character there is, hands down. Plus, John de Lancie is awesome.
I know it wouldn’t happen, especially not in the new universe, for many reasons, not the least of which is that the character just lends itself better to an antagonistic jester role, rather than the serious threat needed for a feature film, but still, would like to see it.
Who wrote this synopsis? a 5 year old? “When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.”
J.J should direct The Last Star Chronicles. Star Trek into Darkness could be one of the best films of 2013
Am I the only one who thinks of Khan while reading this synopsis?
Sounds exciting, but, what the hell does “detonates the fleet” mean? He hacks his way into the main computer of every ship and initiates a self destruct sequence? If so, how does the enterprise immunise itself from the effects.
I think the villain is Mitchell, or at least a brand new character closesly based on Mitchell. I can’t see Abrhams having a super villain named Gary Mitchell, might as well call him John Smith or something mundane like that.
I think a character based on Mitchell will infiltrate starfleet and create a divide which will result in a civil war of some sort. In the process we’ll see a much darker side of the federation and human nature in general, maybe a return to our destructive roots and re kindle our love of conquest. That’s where I think the klingons will come into it, they have already been confirmed in the movie after all. A new federation government run by this super villain start wiping out everything in their path and kirk and co have to team up with the klingons to take out the villain.
One thing I’m sure of is a civil war, and internal struggle between good and evil within starfleet. Whets the appetite!
The klingons have
Just a stab in the dark here.
Villain is neither Khan nor Mitchell, BUT, is another character based on Mitchell. After all, I can’t see Abrahms main villain having a lame name like Gary Mitchell, might as well call him John Smith.
I think there’ll be a civil war on earth, the villain will lead some sort of very elaborate coup and present himself as a saviour, but a divide will quickly form leading to civil war. Somewhere in this conflict the klingons will be thrown into the mix to give the story an added layer.
We’ll see the human race revert to it’s old destructive nature and re discover it’s thirst for conquest. All in all, it looks pretty tasty, an internal struggle between good and evil. I can’t wait to see the ‘dark side’ of the federation too, and that’s where I think the klingons will come in to it, I think the villains new federation government are going to batter the klingons leading the good starfleeters (kirk & co) to save them.