While J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness is one of the year's most anticipated films, U.K. fans will now get to experience the sequel one week earlier.  It was revealed earlier today that Star Trek Into Darkness will now open in the U.K. on May 9th, while the May 17th debut date in the States appears to be locked in.  The May 9th opening date will see the film in IMAX 3D, 3D and 2D theaters; Star Trek Into Darkness will bow in U.S. IMAX theaters starting May 15th.

Star Trek Into Darkness stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin and Alice Eve.  Hit the jump for more.

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News of the U.K. release date comes courtesy of one Mr. Simon Pegg:

Simon Pegg@simonpegg

Looks like Star Trek Into Darkness will land in the UK first. Release date May 9th. That's about 8 weeks away. Not long considering.

There's no word yet on if the U.S. date will shift to match, but considering fans have already purchased tickets for the IMAX opening on May 15th through the Star Trek app, it's likely the current dates will stick.

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.

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