We’re some four months into production on J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek 2 (not the official title) – and outside of a few set pics revealing a fight between the film’s mystery villain (Benedict Cumberbatch), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), the filmmaker has proven as successful at keeping his sci-fi project under wraps as he did throughout pre-production. Christopher Nolan is probably feeling pretty envious right now, after all the images that leaked while he was shooting The Dark Knight Rises last year.
But we digress.
Today, we have another (vague) image taken from the Star Trek sequel’s set, which comes with the following description from On Location News, via MTV (sidenote: apparently, OLN has no idea how to spell Spock).
Zachary Quinto as [Spock] filming an action scene for the Untitled Star Trek 2 Sequel. After first rehearsing the scene with a [Spock] Stunt Double Actor Zachary Quinto was then rigged to a wire in front of a large green screen and lifted to a height of 10 stories high then dropped at a high rate of speed as if he was falling. In the scene [Spock] is wearing a “Volcano Suit” and carrying an unknown piece of equipment with the Starfleet Emblem. A Volcano is somehow involved in this scene. The crew had a real fire burning off camera to catch the fire reflections on [Spock's] “Volcano Suit”.
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Admittedly, there’s not a whole lot to take away from this image, other than:
- The Star Trek sequel should offer at least one memorable CGI set piece – something which Abrams has already demonstrated he excels at producing as a director (see: the freight train crash in Super 8, the drill platform battle in Star Trek, etc.).
- At some point in Star Trek 2, the crew of the Enterprise find themselves on a semi-volcanic world – or, perhaps, the “jungle planet” that Abrams reportedly considered modeling after the undeveloped portions of Hawaii (and its volcanoes?).
Whatever the exact circumstances are that require Spock to don his “Volcano Suit,” they should look pretty impressive in complete digital form (and, possibly, shot in IMAX) – as opposed to the somewhat goofy production still of Zachary Quinto working against green screens on the Star Trek 2 set, wearing what kind of looks like fan-made space armor (in raw form, of course).
Star Trek 2 remains scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. on May 17th, 2013.
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Source: MTV
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If they got one or more of the original actors to play cameos in this, perhaps I would be more interested in it. It doesn’t have to be a part as large as Leonard Nimoy’s in the reboot, just a brief appearance in some peripheral role.
Why would you want another original to appear? The cameos have become a bit kitsch. Not to mention, you can’t work them in without time travel, ala Spock in the first movie. It’s time to let the originals, the ones left, rest.
Leonard Nimoy didn’t have a “cameo”, he was playing Spock again. Any original cast members appearing wouldn’t make sense…
Totally agree foopher 2.0
The original Spock is trapped in this universe now, isn’t he??? So he will most probably return in this movie, yes? And wouldn’t he want to go home to his own time eventually? Maybe they will make a Search For Spock 2 featuring the original cast. LOL!
Nimoy will not be returning to any Trek movie.
Despite the fact that I know Nimoy’s retired and more or less said he won’t be coming back, I have an intuition he’ll at least make a cameo, or have some sort of part in this one that they’re keeping under wraps. Maybe not a big part, but to ignore the fact that Spock Prime’s off running around taking an active involvement in re-establishing a Vulcan colony, and that the comics are introducing a group of Vulcans out for revenge against the destruction of Vulcan… to ignore him would be a cop-out and illogical.
Also, I’d like to think that they’ll have the good sense to work the remaining original series actors in for one last cameo send-off, the original series movies did a pretty bad job of that, otherwise I’d feel different. If the new Star Trek films go on as long as they deserve to (and I hope that’s a darn long time) there will come a time when that will no longer be an option. Do it now, or if not soon!
I thought Star Trek 6 did a good job of sending the original cast off, with their signatures.
Okay Kahless, you may have me there. Although I’d still like to see a good send-off or cameo for the remaining actors/characters of the original series, I suppose I’m really just complaining about Kirk’s demise in Generations.
James Doohan nor Deforest Kelley will be returning to any film or cinema anytime soon.
I am not asserting that they should play their original characters, like Leonard Nimoy did, just brief cameos as other characters, possibly the parents of their original characters. It would just make it more interesting for me and other originalists/purists, to see these actors in the franchise again. They, after all, created it, whereas these new actors are just lending their imitation/interpretation of the roles.
They’d be more like grandparents.
Well the problems with this are:
Leonard Nimoy – Officially retired from acting (although they did manage to convince him to do a voice cameo on the Big Bang Theory recently.)
James T. Kirk – Dead
Deforest Kelley- Deceased
James Doohan – Deceased
That leaves us with Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), George Takei (Sulu) and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura)
The primary cast are all gone so how do you propose they work those three 2nd-3rd tier characters into the story? (assuming they would even agree to do it)
Playing the parents and/or relatives of their original characters is just one idea. They could be cast in any cameo roles, which would satisfy legions of original fans. Stop pretending it would be so difficult to do. It would literlally just take a telephone call to solicit interest…
I agree it could be done, and it would be cool to see them on the screen again. I would hope for a roll as some high ranking Star Fleet officer or official of the Federation. They would get real face time on screen, make a pivotal statement needed for the plot, and everyone in the audience would come away starry-eyed and go home happy!
Let it go… you will never see the originals as their star trek characters ever again. live with it Jeff, embrace it.
Embrace it? Not nearly as easy as it was for you to choose an appropriate pseudonym. (Just kidding.)
I was just thinking…. (Risky, to be sure!)….
“Jungle planet”, volcano diving…. Genesis Planet maybe?
OK, I’m kidding! Lets not start that whole Kahn thing again….Please!
Excalbia maybe? Has President Lincoln signed on yet?
just curious, how were they spelling spock?
and also, how long is this supposed to be filming for? they should be getting near to being done after 4 months shouldnt they?
Every time you see [Spock] in that description, it was originally written as “Spok” – not a big deal at all, of course, just kind of funny.
As for the filming schedule: principal photography was scheduled to take place for about six months, so it’s about 2/3rds of the way done.
Why is Spock wearing an Iron Man suit? Anybody else think it looks like that?
kinda, except for the helmet of course
Inceram insulated plasteel can never be made fashionable. Just another unfortunate fact about the future…
It looks kinda like the space suits they wore in the first Star Trek movie…when they were going into Vger
Or like an updated version of the suits used in ‘Tholian Web’ and ‘The Naked Time’. Which were much the same as the ones used in TMP.
Is it me, or does Spocks head look (comically) two sizes too small for that helmet?
think how stupid actors must feel hanging from wires in front of a green screen predenting to be acting with something that is not there at all. just look at how silly that picture looks.
Not being a Trekke (I did like the many versions though) I hadn’t actually seen any Star Trekk for quite some time. I for one really liked another go around, and I also like that that go around was a pre-qual…I mean things like how Kirk passed the exercise by basically cheating had been mentioned in one of the originals, and there we got to see it. I know some have been saying they’d like to see some of the original members on the next addition….I’d rather see more scenes like that one that gave tribute to some of the stories in the originals….It gives it sort of a complete circle feel…
Okay, so… which planet from the original series could this be, one with volcanoes et al, and what would Spock be trying to retrieve or rescue in/from it?
Anyone else notice whats wrong with that picture of Spock? The last (Abrams) movie has a clue in it.
Other than it looks like his helmet has no visor/faceplate-thingee (?), I don’t see what you’re referring to. Gonna let us off the hook…?
He’s wearing RED! Spock’s a gonner!
Oh no!! It is the Genesis Planet! Spock won’t make it out of there alive. the volcano will erupt and scatter his atoms all over the planet. A million Spocks will arise to rebuild the Vulcan civilization!
KAAAAHHN!!…..Thanks Dude.
Pon Farr is gonna be a b**** for a few generations.
Red only works if you’re not one of the stars. Come on dude, get your Trek rules right!!
Ha hah!
…hey wait, I’m wearing red and I’m not a star of Star Trek…?
How could I forget.
Scotty was always in red, and he made all the way to the next generation…oops…that’s The Next Generation.
They are filming today (4/24/2012) at the Crystal Cathedral in Orange, CA. Security is telling everyone that it’s a wedding. But it looks like a space-congress scene or something. And you can hear Abrams yelling in the background about wanting ‘jets’. He keeps wanting more jets.