Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek is an American science fiction film directed by J.J. Abrams. It was produced by Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment and Abrams' production company, Bad Robot. It was released theatrically in the United States on May 8th, 2009. Star Trek is the eleventh film in the evergoing Star Trek feature film franchise and the only one to go by the name of simply Star Trek. Though marketed as a re-imagining or remake, the setting of Star Trek actually takes place in an alternate timeline from that of the remainder of the franchise. The common element between the two timelines is the character of Spock, played one more time by actor Leonard Nimoy, who travels into his own past in pursuit of a Romulan vessel intent on avenging itself for transgressions that took place in the future. All of the original characters from the first Star Trek television series are re-introduced in this alternate timeline with the focus centering on that of young James T. Kirk and his rise from cadet to captain of the USS Enterprise. This iteration of James Kirk is played by actor Chris Pine, while the younger Spock is played by Zachary Quinto. New Zealander Karl Urban takes on the role of Doctor Leonard McCoy while British actor Simon Pegg assumes the part of engineer Montgomery Scott. The role of Ensign Sulu is played by Harold & Kumar star John Cho and Avatar 's Zoë Saldana takes on the part of Communications Officer Nytoa Uhura. Finishing out the main cast is Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Supporting characters include Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike and Ben Cross as Spock's father, Sarek. On March 30th, 2009, more than three months before the release of Star Trek, Paramount Pictures announced that a sequel film would be produced with a tentative release date of Summer, 2012. The release date was later pushed back to 2013.