Less than two weeks remain until we boldly go where no man has gone before, locking eyes on a reimagining of the most prolific science fiction franchise in history.
In the late 1960s, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy brought "Star Trek's" Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock to life, embodying a future of exploration and optimism where men and aliens of all races and creeds have come together to seek out new worlds and new civilizations. Come early May, it will be Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto's turn.
A prequel to the television series, "Star Trek" will feature a much younger, rougher-around-the-edges Kirk, played by Pine. Whereas Shatner's Kirk was a more refined and experienced leader able to charm enemies and mysterious alien women alike, Pine's incarnation is one still coming into his own, fighting against his father's legacy and the people he picks fights with, as one can see in the trailer.
"He's a bit more brash and arrogant and young essentially ... and I think it's learning - his journey is to learn how to mold this kind of angry energy into . more of a polished commander and leader of men," Pine said in an interview with The Eagle.
Not trying to deliberately recreate or re-imagine the character, Pine concentrated his effort on trying to keep true to the character described on paper.
"[I tried] really paying attention to the script that I was given, making sure that I did my best to bring that character that I read there to life," he said. "And there's certain things that are just characteristics of Kirk . that happen to be the same from the original version to the version."
Of course, the improvisational, emotional Captain Kirk would be nothing without his logical, emotionless counterpart. This time around, he'll be played by a brain-eating supervillain. Best known for his role of Sylar on "Heroes," Zachary Quinto will bring that same enigmatic nature to a young Spock still struggling to balance his human and Vulcan heritage, controlling his emotions and living between the two worlds.
"I feel like there are aspects of the character of Spock that are just inextricable," Quinto said. "You can't really separate, you know, an actor from the character."
His version of Spock is less predictable than the Spock many grew to know and love in the TV series, he said.
"He's less in control of the duality that exists within him," Quinto said. "He's much more in conflict. I think he's struggling with a lot of deeply felt emotions, passion, fear, anger and the struggle."
Quinto's difficulty playing the character of Spock was different.
"The core struggle for me was containing . all of this deeply felt stuff," Quinto said. "And not really being able to express it so humanly was a really fascinating challenge."
It's not only the main characters who are being recreated but also the entire cast. Originally played by James Doohan, Scotty will now be played by the ever-lovable Englishman Simon Pegg, whom Quinto describes as "possibly one of the funniest people on the planet earth."
The villainous Nero will be played by Eric Bana.
"Everybody just fits together really well," Quinto said of the cast.
Re-incarnations don't always receive the warmest receptions, and a series with as strong and long-lived a fan base as "Star Trek" runs a very high risk of offending audiences. This risk is heightened when there is a specific, dictionary-accepted definition of such people. Live long and prosper, my fellow trekkies!
For such fans, Director J.J. Abrams made a movie that die-hard "Star Trek" fans can really look forward to, according to Quinto, who also said "Star Trek" newbies would enjoy the film.
"I think that non-fans can look forward to the fact that this is a movie that's much more about relationships and characters, and challenges than it is about, you know, planets and starships and aliens," he said.
"Star Trek" will hit theaters in wide release May 8.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
