'Star Trek': New...and Improved?

Image credit: Quinto: Zade Rosenthal; Nimoy: Everett Collection

When Abrams was announced as Trek's director, there was some fear of fan backlash. Abrams had endured the wrath of Harry Knowles once before, when, years ago, aintitcool.com leaked his controversial script for a Superman remake (in Abrams' version, planet Krypton never got blown up, among other heresies). But no Last Temptation of Spock controversy appears likely. The fans who've already seen Star Trek — such as the audience in Austin last month who thought they were attending a special promotional screening of The Wrath of Khan, until Nimoy popped into the theater and showed them the entire new movie instead — certainly seemed pleased. ''This is the Star Trek that I've been waiting for,'' Knowles gushed on his website after attending the Austin screening (confessing in the same blog that the sight of Mr. Spock ''in person'' had him blubbering like a baby). ''God bless J.J. Abrams!!!''

That loud swishing sound you hear isn't the turbolift — it's Abrams exhaling with relief. ''People are saying, 'Oh, Star Trek is an optimistic film for the Obama era,''' he says, taking the compliment, even if he doesn't totally agree with it. ''It's a nice idea, but we started making the movie three years ago. Around the same time Obama was considering running for president. So I'm not so sure that theory holds up.''

Maybe not. But there is evidence to suggest that every era gets the Star Trek it needs, if not necessarily the one it deserves. In the '60s, the series helped viewers see the world with fresh, unprejudiced eyes, which made the turmoil of the times easier to digest, and gave reason to hope for the future. In these equally troubled days, perhaps we need Trek to perform a simpler mission. ''We all live in this age of cynicism,'' says Abrams. ''Whether it's terrorism or a sense of conspiracy or the idea of being spun all the time — we're all just exhausted by it. So when we started this movie, we wanted to make an antidote to all of that. The goal was just to entertain. That's all.''

If Abrams pulls it off, Scotty should buy him a drink.

Additional reporting by Jeff Jensen

More Star Trek from EW:
Star Trek: 12 Photos
Star Trek: Capt. Kirk's Best/Worst
Nine Rising Stars to Watch in '09: Chris Pine

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