Star Trek movie turns back time

JJ Abrams, creator of TV show Lost and director of Mission Impossible III, is to produce and direct the 11th Star Trek film.
The film, produced by Paramount and set for release in 2008, will focus on the early days of Captain James T Kirk and Mr Spock.

The as-yet-untitled feature will tell of their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission.

The most recent Trek film, Star Trek: Nemesis, was released in 2003.

Abrams will write the film with his Mission Impossible co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

The film will be co-produced by Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk.

STAR TREK FILMS
The Motion Picture (1979)
The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The Search for Spock (1984)
The Voyage Home (1986)
The Final Frontier (1989)
The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Generations (1994)
First Contact (1996)
Insurrection (1998)
Nemesis (2002)

The decision to revive the Trek franchise comes a year after the cancellation of spin-off TV series Enterprise, which was axed after four seasons due to poor ratings.

The film Star Trek: Nemesis - which starred the cast of the Next Generation series - also underperformed, making less money than any of its nine predecessors.

However, rumours that the film series would continue in a different form have been circulating since 2003.

Earlier this year, Next Generation star Patrick Stewart told ITV1's This Morning there was "interest in bringing the Next Generation cast together with actors from different Star Trek series".