First the teaser trailer hit for Star Trek Into Darkness, and now 9 minutes of footage will be playing before Peter Jackson’s Hobbit in IMAX screenings.
However, the first nine minutes have already been screened for several people in the press already, with some requested guidelines about what to reveal and not reveal, and here’s what we’ve learned so far.
The teaser that’s been released to the world looks terrific, and the first 9 minutes of the movie are supposed to be pretty cool too. We also found out that the villain may not be anyone from Star Trek’s past at all. For a long time the speculation was the bad guy was Khan, then some believed it was Gary Mitchell, who was the very first villain on the show.
Now reports tell us it could indeed be somebody brand new named…John Harrison. There is a John Harrison who’s worked extensively with George Romero as a composer and second unit director, he also wrote the Children of Dune mini-series, although it’s not clear if the character’s name was taken from him.
As Cinema Blend reports, the footage was shown at an IMAX theater, and JJ Abrams spoke a little bit before the nine minutes played. He said the film would have plenty of “doom, gloom and intensity,” but also a lot of fun for long time Trek fans as well. Abrams also asked that fans not give a blow by blow account of the first nine minutes, but it will obviously be in theaters soon enough for anyone to check it out.
What we will say is even watching the footage you don’t know who the villain is, but he is in the film from the very beginning. The bad guy is in the first two minutes, then after that the focus of the footage shifts to the Enterprise gang. Blend also tells us, “The footage did an impressive job showing off the power of IMAX and 3D…the amount that the giant format adds to the scope is unquestionable.”
Collider also felt, “The first nine minutes has a Raiders of the Lost Ark feel to it…If you loved Abrams’ first Star Trek, you’re going to be extremely happy watching this footage, and it’s something you should definitely seek out this weekend.”
So far the early word in the geekosphere on the footage is indeed very positive. There’s certainly plenty more film geek punditry to come once the first nine minutes are officially out in the wild, and the anticipation, as well as the villain speculation, should continue well into the new year.
