LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Mission
Impossible III'' director J.J. Abrams is going from Cruise control to warp
speed.
Abrams has committed to produce
the 11th "Star Trek'' feature film and there are plans for him to direct as
well, Paramount Pictures announced Friday.
Abrams also will write the
script with his "Mission Impossible III'' co-writers Alex Kurtzman
and Roberto Orci, Paramount spokeswoman Nancy
Kirkpatrick said.
The studio is hoping to
release the film in 2008.
No plot for the movie has
been nailed down and no one has been cast for the film.
The
Star Trek
franchise covers several centuries of a future in which humans make their
way in a universe populated by a bewildering variety of aliens, from the
ultra-logical Vulcans to the merciless, hive-like Borg.
The
starship Enterprise in various incarnations was the focus of the original
series and many of the movies. Two Star Trek series followed the exploits
aboard a space station called Deep
Space Nine and a marooned spaceship, Voyager.
Abrams created the hit ABC
series "Lost'' and Paramount hopes that "Lost'' producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk will produce the movie, Kirkpatrick
said.
William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
portrayed Kirk and Spock in the original "Star Trek'' TV show in the 1960s and
in numerous movies but "they have not yet been approached,'' Kirkpatrick said.
Shatner, 75, currently stars in the hit
series "Boston Legal'' and won an Emmy for his role as an egotistical attorney.
"Star Trek'' movies have
grossed more than $1 billion (euro81 million) but the last one, "Star
Trek: Nemesis,'' four years ago did relatively weak box office and got
tepid reviews, while the last TV incarnation, "Star Trek:
Enterprise,'' was a flop and was canceled
last year.
With the new movie, "we
certainly are hoping to bring 'Star Trek' back to its former glory,''
Kirkpatrick said.
A story about the revival
plan first appeared in the trade paper Daily Variety.
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