While J.J. Abrams is currently doing a few press rounds to promote Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (which he produced), he’s obviously being bombarded with a fair share of questions regarding the Star Trek sequel. The film is set to begin filming in mid January, and it’s previously been revealed that the sequel will be in 3D (we also recently learned that no original series cast members will appear). It was unclear whether Abrams would be shooting in 3D or if they would post-convert, but now the director has confirmed that it’s the latter; they’ll be post-converting the sci-fi sequel to 3D. Hit the jump for more.Speaking with MTV’s Josh Horowitz, Abrams said that not only will they be post-converting to 3D, but he’s also considering the IMAX format:

"We're shooting on film, 2D, and then we'll do a good high-end conversion like the Harry Potter movie and all that. Luckily, with our release date now we have the months needed to do it right, because if you rush it, it never looks good...We were talking about [shooting in IMAX] and I would love to do it. IMAX is my favorite format; I'm a huge fan."

While it’s a bit disappointing that Abrams won’t be shooting in 3D, an intense post-conversion is the next best thing. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 looked gorgeous because of the painstaking detail with which it was post-converted, and I see no reason why the Star Trek sequel can’t follow suit.

I’m also happy to hear that Abrams is considering IMAX. After catching Mission: Impossible in the format this past weekend (which looked spectacular), I think IMAX is definitely a great fit for the Star Trek franchise. Besides the pristine image quality, the sound is tremendous. I’m sincerely hoping Abrams shoots a good deal of the film in the format not only so we can see some ginormous lens flares, but also so we can be fully immersed in Michael Giacchino’s sure-to-be bombastic score. The currently untitled Star Trek sequel is set to open May 17th, 2013.