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Published Jun 1, 2019

12 Things You Should Know About Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

The 'Trek' classic turns 35 years old today

StarTrek.com

The Leonard Nimoy directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock opened in theaters on June 1, 1984 — 35 years ago today. It is illogical to waste time letting this milestone make you feel old, as time marches on, after all (or, in Discovery's case, leaps ). And so, instead, we're choosing to dwell not on the unknown nature of time, but the little known facts that make The Search for Spock an all- time classic Trek film.

Return to Genesis

Just a few days — or even a day, depending on the source — after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan opened in theaters, writer-producer Harve Bennett started typing out what would become The Search for Spock . The title of his initial 20-page treatment/outline was Return to Genesis .

The Beginning and the End

Star Trek III began production on August 15, 1983, starting by filming the opening scene on the Enterprise bridge. Principal photography concluded on October 20, 1983 after wrapping a scene on the Excelsior bridge.

New and Old

Nimoy cast an array of veteran actors and newcomers in key roles. Mark Lenard returned to reprise his TOS role as Spock's father, Sarek, and Nimoy convinced the Oscar-nominated Dame Judith Anderson to play the pivotal role of the Vulcan High Priestess T'Lar. Meanwhile, Robin Curtis was a relative rookie when she took over the role of Saavik from Kirstie Alley, and Merritt Butrick was best known for the short-lived, but cult-favorite series Square Pegs when he reprised the role of Kirk's doomed son, David.

Taxi to the Stars

As anyone who'd seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or The Lady in Red knew at the time, Christopher Lloyd knows his way around a dramatic role. But when the Back to the Future actor was tapped to play the Kruge, the Klingon commander, he was in the midst of generating laughs as Rev. Jim on the comedy series Taxi . According to Memory Alpha , Nimoy's first choice to play Kruge was actually Edward James Olmos (who would later star in Battlestar Galactica) but studio heads said no.

Nimoy, The Director

Star Trek III would be Leonard Nimoy's first stint as a feature film director. Back in a 2011 interview, StarTrek.com asked Nimoy about the experience . He replied:

"I was very comfortable shooting the movie. I did feel that I was being quite controlled, I guess is the word. I was made to justify everything that I did and explain everything that I was doing, which took a lot of energy. And I resented it. It bothered me that I was being so carefully monitored because I really felt that I knew what I was doing. I thought the script was workable and did what it had to do, which was to find Spock and get him back on his feet. I thought it was an interesting idea, the whole idea of the Genesis planet evolving and Spock’s remains evolving with the planet. It may not have been as much fun a film as some would like, but I thought it did the job. It did it what it set out to do. Maybe, in retrospect, we might have found a better story or construct, to get that job done. But we got the job done and the film was OK. At the box office, it did what was becoming the pattern for Star Trek films. It did about the same as was expected, so it was OK. It was not a gigantic runaway hit, but it was not considered a failure. And it was strong enough that they decided to go ahead and make another one after that."

Here There Be Tribbles

What's that we see in the bar scene in Star Trek III — Tribbles! ? They are indeed, making their first live-action appearance since TOS .

The Bottom Line

Star Trek III cost $16 million to make. It grossed $76.5 million at the North American box office. That figure was just below the North American gross of Star Trek II , which beamed up $78.9 million on a budget of $11.2 million.

What are some of your favorite Search for Spock facts or moments? Share them with us and check in on what other fans say @StarTrek !

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - Full Cast & Crew

• 56   Metascore
• 1 hr 45 mins
• Suspense, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
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The commander of a decommissioned starship must locate the body of his assumed-dead science officer, whose spirit resides in a crew member as it waits to be reunited with its body.

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Executive producer, assoc. producer, cinematographer, production company, art director, sound effects, special effects.

15 Directors Who Should Be Considered To Direct 'Star Trek 3'

When the director of the first two Star Trek films went to another Star-oriented franchise, the world waited to hear who would direct the third new Star Trek film. Dozens of names were floated for Star Trek 3 and then Roberto Orci, a co-producer and writer on the first two films in the series, stepped into the seat. This was a controversial decision. Orci had never directed a film; fans were worried. Fast-forward a few months and Orci is out. He's still involved as a producer, but he won't be directing. The search is on once again on for another director.

As Paramount and Bad Robot frantically try and find someone to hit a planned Summer 2016 release date, we figured we'd help. We came up with 15 names who should, could, and actually might direct Star Trek 3 . That means anyone who has an obvious film in the pike is out. Anyone who had passed is out and huge Hail Marys like Spielberg, Nolan or Scorsese are out. What's left is a half wish-list, half possible list of 15 names. Read our Star Trek 3 director ideas below.

Update: Just after we ran this, Deadline dropped a list of five people who supposedly represent the major studio picks for director. They are:  Rupert Wyatt, Morten Tyldum, Daniel Espinosa, Justin Lin , and Duncan Jones . A couple of those names were already on our list of suggestions, which follows as originally presented.

The below list is alphabetical so no favoritism is given. Also, unless noted, none of these names have actually be reported as being in contention. This is just our personal picks. Lastly, we have to sneak in one extra just because. That extra, 16th name is...

J.J. Abrams

Resume: Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Awakens Why should they direct: Abrams directed the first two films in the series and he would obviously be the top choice, if he was available. Could they actually direct: Probably not but maybe. Abrams has finished production on The Force Awakens , which means the next year will be spent in an editing bay and approving effects shots. Hypothetically, he could do that from Vancouver where Star Trek 3 is shooting. Abrams' mentor and idol, Steven Spielberg, is known to make two movies at once, so Abrams could attempt it but I don't think Disney will allow it. Star Wars is just too important. Moving on to the real 15.

Darren Aronofsky

Resume: The Fountain, Black Swan, Noah Why should they direct: Aronofsky has a wholly unique and exciting visual style. He loves sci-fi and made his last movie at Paramount. Plus, he's been trying to direct a franchise film for a while, from Batman to Wolverine. The bigger issue is, would an auteur like him be okay coming in this late in the game? That's doubtful. Could they actually direct: The director has yet to decide on his next directorial debut. In fact, it was thought he was going to direct The Good Nurse , but it was made clear he has not made that decision yet. It seems he's available.

Resume: The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, Tomorrowland Why should they direct: For Bird's last film, he stepped into an established franchise whose last film was directed by J.J. Abrams. Why not do it again? He obviously has a great relationship with Bad Robot as well as Paramount and just the right amount of geekiness and talent to make this movie very, very special. Could they actually direct: Bird's latest, Tomorrowland , opens in May which means it'll probably be completed in March. That would hypothetically mean he could jump right into Star Trek 3 . Or he could complete Tomorrowland as he was starting Trek . It's a definite longshot though.

Joe Carnahan

Resume: The A-Team, Smokin Aces, Narc Why should they direct: Because a Joe Carnahan directed Star Trek movie would be absolutely insane. His kinetic style lends itself very well to the new world of Trek , plus we've never seen what he can do with a world like this. There's pretty much no way it wouldn't be great. Could they actually direct: Carnahan has a ton of movie he wants to make, but few that are actually happening anytime soon. It's why he's been doing a lot of TV recently. He actually does have a deal right now with Paramount to do a TV show base on Narc so there's a relationship there, but he might be too vocal and prideful to pick up the project this late in the game.

Ava DuVernay

Resume: Selma , Middle of Nowhere , I Will Follow Why should they direct: Selma is an outstanding movie that puts social concepts front and center, and does so through characters and their relationships to the world around them. Working with cinematographer Bradford Young (who also shot A Most Violent Year and Ain't Them Bodies Saints ) DuVernay tells one part of MLK's story with an elegant visual approach, achieved on a tight schedule and with a relatively small budget. With a significant amount of money to play with, DuVernay could create a vision of Star Trek that might hold true to the series' most ambitious ideals. Could they actually direct: Ambitious ideals are great, but let's be honest: that's not what powers most tentpole films. And there's no indication that DuVernay has any interest in doing a film such as this; talking about Selma , she said that even that film seemed pretty far outside her core interests at first.

Anna Foerster

Resume:   White House Down , Anonymous (as cinematographer), Godzilla , Independence Day (in VFX); Criminal Minds , Outlander (as director); The Day After Tomorrow , 10000 BC (as second unit director) Why should they direct: You'd think someone with a resume in VFX and cinematographer for many of Roland Emmerich's movies would be at the top of studio wish lists for a film like Star Trek 3 , assuming that person was actively trying to direct. But gender remains an issue in Hollywood, which may be part of the reason we're just starting to hear Foerster's name connected to big features now. She's got 20 years of experience on exactly this sort of film, and her recent Outlander episodes have been well-received. No matter the project, we're excited to see what movie she makes. Could they actually direct: Foerster was just attached to make Source Code 2 , and is connected to a film called Secret Hunter . We don't know what shape either of those projects are really in, so simple logistics could prevent any other feature attachments now.

Jonathan Frakes

Resume: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection Why should they direct: Frakes is the fan's choice and has already made it public he's campaigning for the job. He knows the world of Star Trek and what it means to the fans. He'd be making the movie with them in mind. Could they actually direct: Frakes keeps busy as a director but he's made it clear he'd drop absolutely everything to do this. The bigger question is if Paramount would trust a man who hasn't directed a studio feature in a decade.

Cary Fukunaga

Resume: Jane Eyre, Sin Hombre, True Detective Why should they direct: Ever since True Detective  season one ended, Fukunaga became the hottest director in Hollywood. His visual language is so interesting, his ability to draw out emotional performances wonderful, and he's been looking to make a big splash. This would 100% be that. Could they actually direct: His latest, Beasts of No Nation, is either done or close to being done. The big rumor is that he's going to film Stephen King's It over the summer – which would mean he couldn't do this – so I have a feeling he's out. But you can almost guarantee Paramount thought about him.

Antoine Fuqua

Resume: Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen, The Equalizer Why should they direct: Fuqua just makes things work. He takes scrips and ideas that you have no interest in and makes them truly special. He's got an adaptable style that could be very cool in the world of Trek too. Could they actually direct: Odds are, even if Fuqua was in the mix, he'd be a little too busy. He's currently finishing the boxing drama Southpaw for a 2015 release and then has a ton of projects that could happen after that. The odds on favorite being the Magnificent Seven which has already been casting. That pretty much knocks him out.

Joe Johnston

Resume: Jurassic Park III, Captain America: The First Avenger, Star Wars Trilogy Why should they direct: Johnston knows have to make a great franchise movie. Period. He's got a stellar resume and a solid ability to jump into a world that's already been created and make it familiar yet unique. He's also great at creating a sense of wonder with memorable characters. That's what Star Trek is all about. Could they actually direct: As far as we know, Johnston doesn't have a feature in his immediate future. There is a pilot called Lumen but the time frame for that is currently unknown. He's most likely available but probably not as "sexy" a choice as you'd think Paramount wants for this huge tentpole.

Resume: Fast and Furious 3-6 Why should they direct: Lin knows big action, he know franchises and he knows how to top something that was seemingly unbeatable. He's great at upping the ante, which is exactly what Star Trek 3 needs to do. He also infuses fun into every shot of his films. Could they actually direct: Lin is currently working on the second season of True Detective, but he's only doing that for a few episodes. After that, he's attached to a bunch of different movies, including possibly a return to the Fast franchise, so it's doubtful he's available.

Lesli Linka Glatter

Resume:   Amazing Stories , Twin Peaks , The West Wing , ER , Mad Men , Homeland (as director and exec producer) , The Leftovers (as director and co-exec producer) Why should they direct : Do you love any of the major dramatic TV series from the past 20 years? If so, you've seen the work of Lesli Linka Glatter, who put her stamp on Twin Peaks and has directed significant episodes of many other television series. She can work fast on a tight budget and not lose sight of character and story concerns that go beyond the immediate questions at hand. There's no reason at all to think she couldn't knock Trek out of the galaxy. Could they actually direct:  Glatter has a great TV career, and she may not be interested in features, especially if she's carrying on with Season 2 of The Leftovers .

Julius Onah

Resume: Upcoming Warner Bros. film Brilliance and Bad Robot's God Particle Why should they direct: One of the people who'll have a lot to say on this decision is producer J.J. Abrams and Abrams loves Julius Onah. A director of multiple impressive shorts, Onah is already set up to make one Bad Robot movie and has that kind of fresh eye/low salary expectations that Hollywood love. Could they actually direct: Onah was looking set to direct the sci-fi film Brilliance at Warner Bros., but his star – Jared Leto –  was just cast as The Joker in Suicide Squad . What does that mean for that film? If it's delayed, he could have a year or two free. We just don't know yet.

Dean Parisot

Resume: Galaxy Quest, Red 2 Why should they direct: Imagine if the director of Galaxy Quest , arguably one of the best Star Trek movies ever, actually directed a Star Trek movie. That would be amazing. He's obviously a fan of the world and has an understanding of what it takes to blend all the different tones that makes a great Star Trek movie. Could they actually direct: Parisot is attached to a few things, but nothing seems 100% set in stone just yet. That means he's hypothetically available and after doing another franchise sequel as his last movie, you think he'd be interested if contacted.

Edgar Wright

Resume: Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, The World's End Why should they direct: An Edgar Wright directed Star Trek movie would be just about the greatest thing ever. Plus, we know his name was mentioned when the news of Orci leaving first broke. He's got all the tools one would need to make this movie great and, if hired, would alleviate any trepidations fans have about the film. Could they actually direct: Wright hasn't come out and publicly said whether or not he's interested in the film, but his Twitter has shown that he recently has been in multiple cities where movies are regularly made these days: Cleveland, New Orleans, etc. Odds are that means he's already location scouting his next project, so he's probably out.

Rupert Wyatt

Resume: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Gambler, The Escapist Why should they direct: Wyatt was one of the names mentioned before Orci took the gig and Abrams likes him very much. He's got a knack for great visuals yes, but also a real focusing on story and character. He's also expressed a desire to make a sci-fi movie in the past so, this could fit. Could they actually direct: Wyatt is just about to release his latest film, The Gambler, and doesn't have a new project immediately set. That means he could be down if Paramount and Bad Robot come calling.

Obviously, these are just a few of the names possible. Who do you think is missing from this list? Let us know below.

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

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Watch Star Trek III: The Search for Spock with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

Though it may be short on dazzling special effects, The Search for Spock is still a strong Star Trek installment, thanks to affecting performances by its iconic cast.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Leonard Nimoy

William Shatner

Admiral James T. Kirk

DeForest Kelley

Commander Leonard H. McCoy, M.D.

James Doohan

George Takei

Commander Hikaru Sulu

Walter Koenig

Commander Pavel Andreievich Chekov

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Platinum dunes & blumhouse set ed weeks for christopher landon’s thriller ‘drop’, breaking news.

‘Star Trek 3’ Director Search Narrows To Five Including Rupert Wyatt

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EXCLUSIVE : Paramount Pictures, JJ Abrams and Skydance Productions are eyeing five top directors to replace Roberto Orci as the Star Trek 3 helmer, I’m told. This is the hot open directing assignment of the moment. Studio is high on and has met with Rupert Wyatt , who helmed Rise of the Planet of the Apes , and the new remake  The Gambler with Mark Wahlberg for Paramount. He seems to be atop this list, but he’s got company. Morten Tyldum , director of the Oscar bait film The Imitation Game , is on a list that also features Safe House helmer Daniel Espinosa, who has wrapped Child 44 with Tom Hardy; Justin Lin , the Fast & Furious helmer who became available when his Bourne Legacy sequel with Jeremy Renner got pushed back to make way for another Bourne Identity with Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass (Lin could return to the Fast series, making multiple movies in a single shoot, to wrap up that race car franchise); finally there is also Duncan Jones, the Source Code helmer.

Now, when you aim for the hot emerging directors in town, there are a lots of variables including schedule conflicts and this list might not be an all-inclusive list. For instance, Espinosa is expected to next direct Boston Strong , the film about the bombing of the Boston Marathon and the manhunt for the terrorist siblings, that is supposed to shoot in time to include footage from the upcoming Boston Marathon; and Jones is working on Warcraft , a huge Legendary Pictures effort based on the video game. Deadline broke the news that Orci exited the directing chair earlier this month. He was tapped to replace JJ Abrams, who left to revive the Star Wars franchise. Orci remains a producer with Abrams and others, and Orci helped craft the first two Trek installments that Abrams directed. At the time of the Orci exit, I’d heard Edgar Wright. Not hearing his name in this mix. Stay tuned.

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Den of Geek

Comparing The Three Versions of Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Is there a definitive version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture at last? We compared all the different versions of this misunderstood movie to find out.

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Some 44 years after it went into production, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is finally complete.

We don’t say that frivolously. Star Trek: The Motion Picture is one of Hollywood’s most famous “unfinished” films. Rushing to meet a December 7, 1979 release date, with many of the visual effects being completed right up until the last possible minute by Douglas Trumbull (who had replaced the previous VFX supervisor), director Robert Wise ( The Day the Earth Stood Still , The Sound of Music ) pretty much just stopped working on the film, carrying the first available print on a plane to the movie’s Washington D.C. premiere.

The complicated story of how ST: TMP – the first major motion picture based on an existing TV series — was developed, written, filmed, and released is a long, winding one that has been told before. It’s also well-known that the original theatrical version of the film – the one that Wise had to deliver finished or not – was not well-received by either fans or critics, although it became a sizable box office success.

Yet Star Trek: The Motion Picture steadily grew in stature over the years, gradually beginning to hold its own with fans even as later favorites like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ascended to the top of the franchise.

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With fans and even critics constantly reappraising the original film, Paramount Pictures – with the encouragement of two members of Robert Wise’s production company, David C. Fein and Michael Matessino – allowed Wise and his team to revisit the movie in 2001, reconstructing it to finally adhere more closely to Wise’s original vision.

The release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition in November 2001 on home video (DVD and VHS) confirmed for many fans that there was a far better film after all hidden inside the “rough cut” (Wise’s own words) released in 1979. Scenes were excised or trimmed, a few were reinstated, and most importantly, the visuals were spruced up with the help of CGI. The legendary Wise, who passed away four years later in 2005, got the chance to finish the movie the way he wanted.

But the story wasn’t over yet.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Reborn

Earlier this year, Paramount+ premiered a 4K Ultra HD (high definition) version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition . Prepared over the course of six months by Fein, Matessino, and a visual effects team with access to Paramount’s archives, this iteration of ST: TMP stayed true to the vision established by Wise for The Director’s Edition in 2001, while doing a further, extensive, HD restoration and upgrade of the entire film.

Now the Ultra HD Director’s Edition , along with 4K Ultra HD versions of the original theatrical cut and the “Special Longer Version” that was created for broadcast television in 1983, are available in a newly released set called The Complete Adventure , which gives us a definitive document of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in all three versions, looking perhaps the best they’ll ever look ( The Director’s Edition is also available on its own or as part of a set containing Ultra HD upgrades of all six films starring the original Trek cast).

Having seen the film in its original theatrical release, then on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, we were always put off by the seeming drabness of the image and the colors. To our eyes, Star Trek: The Motion Picture – despite the occasionally awe-inspiring visuals it did manage to pull off against all odds – never seemed to pop off any screen or medium we watched it on.

That problem is now solved, and overpoweringly so: the film in 4K Ultra HD looks absolutely magnificent, as if we’re truly seeing the film for the first time.

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Yes, many of the VFX have been digitally enhanced or even freshly recreated, but they’re integrated almost seamlessly into the original aesthetic of the film, while many of the rough spots in the original release have been repaired or replaced. Now the 4K image really does leap off the screen in amazing color and detail. To watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture in this way is to watch a 44-year-old science fiction movie that looks in many ways like it was made last year.

And now that all three versions of the movie are here in this beautiful, pristine form, which one holds up the best and do they differ?

The Original Theatrical Cut

It may look better than it ever has, but the original theatrical cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture still has all the issues it had when it first came out. It’s slow-moving to the point of being inert, it spends way too much time on endless visuals (the first sight of the refurbished Enterprise , the lengthy flyover of the massive V’Ger spacecraft – heck, even Spock’s neck-pinch of some poor slob guarding an airlock takes way too long), and it leaves certain plot information and character motivations ambiguous at best and absent at worst.

What ST: TMP does retain is a sense of grandeur, and occasionally a sense of wonder, that often marked the best of the original series and has been sadly lacking in so much filmed science fiction ever since, including later Trek movies and TV series.

So many of the later movies – especially the J.J. Abrams-conceived Kelvin trilogy , but some of the classic and Next Generation films have the same problem – revolve around fairly simple bad guy/revenge motifs.

The original series had its share of those simple action-adventure episodes, but so much more of it was dedicated to great ideas – whether it be truly alien encounters, mirror universes, or moral quandaries posed by the Enterprise sticking its saucer in a new planet’s business.

And yes, even though Star Trek: The Motion Picture is in some ways a rewrite of the original series episode “The Changeling,” it’s much more expansive and even cosmic in its implications. While several later Trek films are superior in many ways, few of them have matched ST: TMP in its ambitions and pure science fiction concepts.

The acting is inconsistent, to say the least, although all our old favorites each have a memorable moment or two, and the glacial pacing really is at odds with the imagination glimpsed in the storyline and the visuals. In many ways, the theatrical cut remains a slog, but it’s also a one-of-a-kind Trek movie.

The ‘Special Longer Version’

Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered on American network television – ABC, to be exact – on February 20, 1983. Not only was this the first TV showing of the movie, but it also introduced a different cut of the film that came to be known as the “Special Longer Version.” Running for two hours and 24 minutes (without commercials), as opposed to the theatrical cut’s two hours and 12 minutes, the “SLV” essentially incorporated a number of scenes that were left unfinished and kept out of the picture by director Robert Wise in 1979 – who apparently did not approve of this version.

A lot of the scenes that were added back into the movie for the “SLV” were and are clearly extraneous, although in some cases amusing to watch.

There are a couple of exchanges between Sulu (George Takei) and the Deltan navigator Ilia (Persis Khambatta) – whose species is apparently quite sexually attractive and active – that are possibly meant to suggest Sulu is coming under her spell, although they were jettisoned to focus on Ilia and Decker’s (Stephen Collins) relationship (there is also more of that present in this cut).

Other sequences – like a moment in which Spock (Leonard Nimoy) weeps for V’Ger and a quick scene of Ilia helping to relieve Chekov’s (Walter Koenig) pain after he is injured – actually made it into the Director’s Cut and work well there as improved character moments.

Most infamously, the original release of the “SLV” contained a literally unfinished shot of Kirk (William Shatner) leaving the Enterprise airlock in a spacesuit to pursue Spock as the Vulcan himself spacewalks deeper into V’Ger’s interior. When the “SLV” was first shown, parts of the soundstage around the airlock set were still visible, as a result of the effects for the scene never being completed (the new 4K Ultra HD version of the “SLV” rectifies that, although the incomplete version is provided as a bonus feature).

Importantly, the new version of the “SLV” has restored it to its theatrical matting – the movie was cropped to the old TV screen ratio of 1.33: 1 for broadcast (and for several subsequent home video releases), turning Wise’s widescreen compositions into a nightmare of forced zooms and pan-and-scanning. At least now this version of the film is restored to its proper ratio.

That said, the “Special Longer Version” is in many ways the worst version of the film. While it’s always interesting for completists to see footage left out of a theatrical movie, this iteration simply pastes all that material back into the film – ostensibly to fill a three-hour “network movie premiere” slot, back in the day when such things mattered – without any consideration of whether it should be there. If the pacing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture has always been a bone of contention for you, the “SLV” doubles down on that.

The Director’s Edition

Ironically enough, the Robert Wise-supervised “Director’s Edition” of Star Trek: The Motion Picture runs for two hours and 16 minutes – four minutes longer than the theatrical release. It also includes some of the scenes Wise left out initially, which surfaced in the interim in the TV version of the movie (a detailed list of alterations and additions can be found here ).

But while it still suffers from pacing issues, they’re less of a detriment. The Director’s Edition still moves slowly, but doesn’t feel like it drags, and there’s more of a stateliness to it that is befitting the movie’s larger themes – which are also given more clarity in this version.

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Perhaps the most important edition in that sense is the scene in which Spock weeps for V’Ger – a scene that makes it much clearer what V’Ger is seeking as it returns to Earth, and why its quest has reached a potentially catastrophic dead end.

More importantly, the scene also brings Spock’s own character arc in the film into much better focus – he realizes that his desire to purge all remaining emotion from his own life (the kolinahr ritual) could lead him to the same cold, empty existence that V’Ger now faces, which he firmly rejects.

Also retained is Ilia’s healing of Chekov, adding a little more nuance to what is mostly a blank slate of a character, as well as some brief interactions between the supporting crew members.

What is left out are, most notably, the full-length travelogues along V’Ger’s exterior and interior (although we do get a neat shot of the entire V’Ger vessel emerging from its cloud above Earth). The scenes are still there, but this material – and a number of other visuals – is trimmed and sharpened to give the movie a little more forward motion. Along with that, so many subtle visual and audio touches have been added – whether it’s better matte or CG backgrounds or original sounds from the TV series – to create more ambiance and an overall more fulfilling cinematic Trek experience.

When Wise and his team took the movie back into the shop in 2001, they overhauled the visuals and the sound mix with the best available technology at the time – yet the limitations back then in terms of resolution meant that the Director’s Edition was only available on DVD for the next 20 years. With the new upgrade, all the visual and sonic enhancements (plus new ones) have been rendered so that they can now be seen in 4K Ultra HD – thus giving Star Trek: The Motion Picture the most up-to-date restoration possible.

The result is an often eye-popping science fiction spectacle that looks fresher and better than ever before. As rushed as the original production was, it’s a tribute to Wise, Trumbull, and the team that completed the film in 1979 that so much of their work still holds up and was able to mesh so well with the enhancements of both 2001 and 2021.

But just as importantly, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is now about as close as it will ever come to being the visionary sci-fi epic that it was first conceived as. The new version of The Director’s Edition retains all the narrative revisions that Wise made more than two decades ago, while adding the visual grandeur that such a cerebral story needed in the first place. Yes, there are still flaws in the film, and it may never replace, say, The Wrath of Khan at the top of Trek movie rankings, but more than four decades after it first came out, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is now finished.

This film’s journey is at last complete, but the human adventure is still just beginning.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition – The Complete Adventure is out now on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.

Don Kaye | @donkaye

Don Kaye is an entertainment journalist by trade and geek by natural design. Born in New York City, currently ensconced in Los Angeles, his earliest childhood memory is…

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William Shatner in early talks for Star Trek 3

The original James T Kirk has mooted the possibility of a return with threequel director Roberto Orci, though his character died in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations

• Blog: Is Shatner boldy going to Star Trek 3 a stellar idea?

William Shatner has confirmed talks with the makers of the new Star Trek film regarding a return to the long-running science-fiction saga.

Shatner, the original Captain James T Kirk, dating back to Star Trek’s 1966 debut on the small screen, told the Associated Press he had met with director Roberto Orci, who is taking charge on the forthcoming Star Trek 3.

“I had a talk with him the other day,” said Shatner. “So there’s talk, simply talk about the next movie.” He said he would take on the project providing it featured “a role that had something to do with the turning of the plot”.

However, Shatner said he had no idea how Orci and his team proposed to bring back the elder Kirk after the character died on screen in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations. “That was so long ago. How do they bring me back physically like this? I don’t know,” he said.

Orci, who is taking over from JJ Abrams for the third film in Star Trek’s ongoing reboot following the latter’s departure to rival space-saga Star Wars, has previously refused to deny the rumour that there is a place for Shatner in his plans. “Not in my interest to confirm or deny anything because it limits my options while maintaining my integrity as a truth teller,” he wrote on a fan forum, adding (in a Trekkie nod to the original Star Trek II): “love no win scenarios. In theory, damned either way”.

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'Star Trek 3' has found its director

By Jacob Kastrenakes , a deputy editor who oversees tech and news coverage. Since joining The Verge in 2012, he’s published 5,000+ stories and is the founding editor of the creators desk.

Source Variety

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With J.J. Abrams moving from Star Trek to Star Wars , it's been unclear who will fill the director's chair on Star Trek 3 . But now, Variety reports that a name has been chosen: Roberto Orci — a newcomer to directing, but a longtime TV and screenwriter behind almost a decade of blockbuster hits , including the first two films in the new Star Trek series.

Orci has writing credits on some of the biggest films of the past decade That's potentially good news for the next film: Orci, along with his writing partner Alex Kurtzman, has shown that he knows how to make an action-filled story, with his writing credits touching everything from Transformers to Fringe . Of course, that's potentially a bad thing too, as it also puts Orci's name on convoluted plots and some big misses, including Cowboys & Aliens and this summer's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 .

Orci will also be co-writing Star Trek 3 . Having written for J.J. Abrams' two films, there's no doubt that he knows the series well. And even though those films moved away from the origins of Star Trek , they managed to balance smart science fiction and big action fairly well nonetheless .

That one of the names behind that move away from the series' origins is now both writing and directing certainly signals the potential for that distinction to continue — something that Orci has been somewhat antagonistic about toward fans pining for a return to form in the past. Still, Star Trek 3 will be his first big exposure. He knows what a blockbuster looks like, and certainly, he'll want this one to be big.

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• " Plato's Stepchildren " ( TOS Season 3 )
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• " And the Children Shall Lead " ( TOS Season 3 )
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• " The Man Trap " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Naked Time "
• " Court Martial "
• " The Menagerie, Part I "
• " The Menagerie, Part II " (uncredited)
• " Space Seed "
• " Who Mourns for Adonais? " ( TOS Season 2 )
• " The Doomsday Machine "
• " The Changeling "
• " Mirror, Mirror "
• " I, Mudd "
• " A Private Little War "
• " By Any Other Name "
• " Assignment: Earth "
• " Spock's Brain " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " Operation -- Annihilate! " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Savage Curtain " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " Charlie X " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Empath " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " The Galileo Seven " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " Requiem for Methuselah " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " Where No Man Has Gone Before " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " What Are Little Girls Made Of? "
• " Mudd's Women " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Lights of Zetar " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " A Piece of the Action " ( TOS Season 2 )
• " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " The Ultimate Computer " ( TOS Season 2 )
• " Elaan of Troyius " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " The Enterprise Incident "
• " The Squire of Gothos " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " Balance of Terror " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " Dagger of the Mind "
• " Patterns of Force " ( TOS Season 2 )
• " The Omega Glory "
• " Spectre of the Gun " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " The Gamesters of Triskelion " ( TOS Season 2 )
• " Errand of Mercy " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " Tomorrow is Yesterday " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Conscience of the King " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Alternative Factor "
• " The Enemy Within " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " Arena " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Return of the Archons "
• " A Taste of Armageddon "
• " The Devil in the Dark "
• " The City on the Edge of Forever "
• " Catspaw " ( TOS Season 2 )
• " Friday's Child "
• " Amok Time "
• " Wolf in the Fold "
• " The Apple "
• " The Deadly Years "
• " The Trouble with Tribbles "
• " Journey to Babel "
• " The Immunity Syndrome "
• " The Corbomite Maneuver " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " This Side of Paradise " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " Metamorphosis " ( TOS Season 2 )
• " Bread and Circuses "
• " Obsession "
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• " Is There in Truth No Beauty? " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " The Tholian Web " (uncredited)
• " Shore Leave " ( TOS Season 1 )
• " The Paradise Syndrome " ( TOS Season 3 )
• " Wink of an Eye "
• " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield "
• " The Mark of Gideon "
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Roberto Orci Lobbying to Direct STAR TREK 3 as Film Partnership with Alex Kurtzman Ends

Star Trek and Transformers co-writer Roberto Orci is lobbying to take over for J.J. Abrams as the director of Star Trek 3, making his directorial debut.

For better or worse, the writing duo of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman has been responsible for some of the biggest franchise hits of the past decade.  Orci and Kurtzman penned the scripts for the first two Transformers films, Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness , Mission: Impossible III , and they were recently brought into the Spider-Man franchise as the scribes behind The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 3 .  However, it appears that the two have decided to part ways in the feature world as they have their eyes on making the move to director—separately.

Kurtzman already has one feature under his belt as director, the 2012 dramedy People Like Us , but Orci is thinking big for his directorial debut as he is currently vying to take over for J.J. Abrams on Star Trek 3 .  More after the jump.

Variety reports that Orci and Kurtzman are parting ways in the film world, but will be sticking together on the TV side via their various producorial efforts like Sleepy Hollow and Hawaii Five-0 .  They still have a number of projects in the works on the feature film side, including Spider-Man 3 , but it’s currently unclear how those will be divided between the two and their K/O Paper Products banner.   The reason for the split is due to their separate desires to direct.  Kurtzman is already attached to helm the Spider-Man spinoff film Venom , but Orci has his sights set on the director’s chair for Star Trek 3 .

With Abrams busy on Star Wars for the foreseeable future, a new director was needed to take over the Trek franchise.  Orci and Kurtzman had already begun to splinter as Orci took up principal duties on Trek 3 as producer and co-writer with his protégés Patrick McKay and John D. Payne , and Variety adds that he is heavily lobbying to direct the film.  Apparently Bad Robot and Skydance Productions—co-producers on Trek 3 —are in favor of this idea ( as is Abrams himself ), but Paramount is being cautious.

The studio first approached Attack the Block helmer Joe Cornish about taking over for Abrams on Trek 3 , and while he considered the offer, he subsequently decided he’d rather direct something from the ground-up rather than step into an existing franchise (he’s now onboard the spy thriller Section 6 ).  It’s unclear if Paramount has any other directors under serious consideration right now or if they’re currently focused on making a decision with regards to Orci taking the helm.

Orci has long been the Trek expert on the franchise’s team, but I’m dubious of him taking the reigns of the franchise as director.  It’s no secret that he was the primary driving force behind the “false flag” and conspiracy angles of Into Darkness , and I’m not crazy about seeing what a Trek film looks like without the counter-balance of Abrams and Kurtzman.  If he gets the job, this would be 100% Orci’s baby.

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Star Trek: Discovery

Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien. Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien. Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien.

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• Trivia The Starfleet vessels seen in the first season, including the Discovery, the Shenzou and the redesigned Enterprise, were all designed by production artist John Eaves. Eaves' work with Star Trek spans three decades. Probably his most notable contribution was the design of the Enterprise-E for Star Trek: First Contact (1996) .
• Goofs With Michael being the adoptive sister of Spock, the series has many flashbacks to their childhood and upbringing on Vulcan. Spock's Vulcan half-brother, Sybok, does not appear nor is mention during these scenes. In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) , Spock says that he and Sybok grew up together. However, since it's never stated when Sybok joined Sarek's home - only that he did so following his mother's death - or when he was exiled from the family, it's not impossible Sybok moved in after Burnham, and left before she graduated (the two extremes of the flashbacks). Also, since Sybok was never mentioned before Star Trek V, it seems reasonable the family never spoke of him again after his estrangement.
• Alternate versions The serif-font legends and subtitles in the "broadcast" episodes are absent from the DVD versions, where they are replaced with the standard DVD subtitles.
• Connections Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Female Lead TV Shows You Should Be Watching in 2017 (2017)

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• September 24, 2017 (United States)
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Why William Shatner Allegedly Blocked Kirstie Alley From Returning For 'Star Trek 3,' According To A Trek Documentarian

Posted: May 11, 2024 | Last updated: May 11, 2024

Space may be the final frontier in the "Star Trek" world, but apparently, earthbound grudges can still travel quite keenly through the vastness of space. "Icons Unearthed" director Brian Volk-Weiss knows that firsthand, as an interview he conducted for another project involving Gene Roddenberry’s “Wagon Train to the stars” saw "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’s" Kirstie Alley tell a story about how William Shatner allegedly blocked her from returning for the next film in the series that gave us some of the best sci-fi movies.

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Chris Pine got his movie-star education from Denzel Washington

The director, cowriter, and star of "Poolman" reflects on his rise through Hollywood's ranks, from his rom-com days to playing Captain Kirk.

"Is this on camera?" Chris Pine asks me as we stare at each other through the magic of Zoom.

Sporting a graying beard, perfectly combed shoulder-length hair, and a loose-fitting yellow and white cardigan, Pine certainly appears camera-ready. But once I tell him that video won't be recorded, he slouches back in his chair, seemingly pleased that he can keep a toothpick dangling from his mouth during our conversation.

Whether he's playing the handsome leading man in a rom-com or an intensely focused franchise star, Pine has the uncanny ability to adapt into the movie star that's needed at any particular moment. And right now, with the cameras not technically rolling, he doesn't have to be one at all.

Pine didn't want to be a movie star growing up, either. A third-generation actor, he first avoided going into the family business. As a die-hard Yankees fan thanks to his East Coast-raised father, a teenage Pine dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player like his idol, Yankee great Don Mattingly.

When that phase passed ("Kids were starting to pitch faster," he said), he dabbled in theater. But it wasn't until he returned home from a stint studying abroad in the UK during college that he decided to pursue acting in earnest.

"It wasn't a passion," Pine says. "It's something that I found."

But the childhood memories of both his parents struggling to find work as actors stayed with him. His mother, Gwynne Gilford, eventually gave up acting to become a therapist. Though his father, Robert Pine, is still working as a veteran character actor best known for playing Sergeant Getraer on the late-1970s hit series "CHiPs," he was keeping the family afloat gig by gig during Pine's childhood.

Those Hollywood anxieties are present in Pine's directorial debut, "Poolman," in theaters Friday. Though the film is hardly autobiographical — Pine stars as a burnout pool cleaner in LA who's trying to uncover a city scandal — his character gets support from two parental figures in his life, who are struggling showbiz types played by Danny DeVito and Annette Bening.

"There's a scene at the end when Danny's character, Jack, says that his agent finally called back and offered him a sitcom for $75,000 an episode, and he turned it down," Pine says. He looks down in his lap, almost reliving what he's describing. "And Annette's character has a conniption fit."

Pine finally looks up.

"That's my childhood," he continues. "The dream was for my father to get a television show that paid $70,000 an episode, and that would finally get us out of financial distress."

With a filmography that charts an impressive ascension from heartthrob to the face of IP-fueled blockbusters to prestige fare, it's safe to say that distress is now behind him.

In Business Insider's latest Role Play interview , Pine discusses why he refuses to watch some of his rom-coms, learning how to be a movie star via Denzel Washington, and the untimely end of the "Wonder Woman" franchise.

On hating working at restaurants and refusing to watch his old rom-coms

Early Chris Pine is a trip to watch. You played a hard partier in an episode of "E.R." You cried in front of David Caruso in "CSI: Miami." At that time in your life, were you just going after anything?

Fuck yeah! Don't be a waiter. Actually, I was a host at a restaurant and just hated it. Could not have hated it anymore. I was not a people person. It was all about just getting work.

You started getting noticed thanks to romantic comedies — "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," "Just My Luck," "Blind Dating" — would you watch any of those titles now? Like, if you're in a hotel room flipping through the channels and it comes on.

I mean, not a chance. And that's for most of my films. It's too difficult because then you're thinking, "God, why did I fucking do that?" Or "Why did they pick that take?"

What I will say, though, is I get more people coming up to me about "Princess Diaries 2," and I think that's because it's played for so many generations of young girls now. So that's a trip.

On being comfortable playing Captain Kirk — by movie No. 3

Playing Captain Kirk in the "Star Trek" movies must have been daunting — not only were you taking on an iconic IP, but the actor who originated the character, William Shatner, is still so synonymous with Kirk. Were you ever comfortable in that role?

It's interesting. Karl Urban decided to go head first into McCoy because Karl loved "Star Trek." With Spock, you have to do Spock-like things, plus Zach [Quinto] kind of looked like Leonard [Nimoy]. And then Kirk is a tricky one. You are the lead of the band of characters, so you don't want to occupy too much space. It's fine if they are doing a thing, but you don't want to. And J.J. [Abrams] never asked me to do a thing, though I did do little nods to Shatner because it was fun.

But I would say I felt most in his shoes in the third movie. By that point, I think I mellowed into it and didn't feel like I was trying too hard.

Has the ship sailed to do Kirk again?

I honestly don't know. There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it's always been with "Trek," I just wait and see.

On getting a crash course in being a movie star from Denzel Washington and playing a 'non-charming' leading man

"Unstoppable" is the moment, I feel, where you're not fucking around anymore. Tony Scott, working across from Denzel Washington —

Youth really is wasted on the young [ laughs ]. It's such an awesome moment. It's one of the biggest films of the year; all the lights are shining on you, all the possibility of you being able to do whatever you want. I really wish I took more effort to enjoy that moment. 

I was reading a lot of scripts at the time, and I was on a plane when I read this one. And I didn't want to like it because it's a train. It's like, what is my job in this fucking film? The train is going to explode and then it's not. You know exactly what is going to happen.

But Mark Bomback wrote this incredible script, and I was on the plane, and I couldn't stop reading it. I would push it away — No. Buuut. No, nope. Buuut. I just could not turn away from it. Plus, Tony Scott was a god to me. He'd done "Days of Thunder" and "Top Gun," and then you add into that mix Denzel, plus that it's a two-hander that takes place in one location. From an acting class standpoint, I'm getting paid a lot of money to learn at the feet of one of the best who has ever done it. It was out of control cool. I learned more from that set about what it means to be a movie star than probably anything else. 

Before "Hell or High Water," you'd worked with Ben Foster in "The Finest Hours." How much of the praise you received for that movie do you attribute to the comfort you two had in working together?

I think it's more than that. Taylor [Sheridan] wrote a banger script. That script is one of the five best scripts I've ever read in my entire life. So you have the writing. Then you have David [Mackenzie] coming off of making "Starred Up," which is an incredible film, and then you have the Jeff Bridges of it all.

I think I held my own there, but you have these two incredibly dynamic actors: Jeff is the legend, and Ben is a caged animal of an actor. I had a lot of fun because up until that point, I hadn't played a closed-off, non-talkative, non-charming leading man. So I was really stoked to take that on. I think it was all the pieces coming together, not just one thing.

On turning down 'Wonder Woman' twice before director Patty Jenkins convinced him by bringing up 'Casablanca'

By the time you did the "Wonder Woman" franchise, you had done your fair share of blockbusters. Was there a moment in filming the first movie when you realized this one was different than the others?

I got pitched the film and didn't want to do it. Patty came on board and I still didn't want to do it. I had no interest in playing the boyfriend, and it sounded like second fiddle. Then, in talking to Patty, the way she described it was, "Forget the superhero of it all, this is a romance, this is "Casablanca," that's the movie I want to make." And I was like, oh, now that is very cool, because when had you seen a superhero film that was a love story, ultimately? That had nothing to do with blowing shit up.

For me, the pivotal moment is the scene on the tarmac; it's "Casablanca" by a different name. So when I saw that film, man. Film is not an actor's medium, it's a director's and editor's medium, and shit can go wrong really fast, and that was a movie where you're in the theater and you get lost in it. You forget you're in it. That's when you know it's gold.

Do you or Gal Gadot or Patty feel that there's unfinished business with the franchise not doing a third movie?

Me? No. Homie is dead. Steve is gonzo. It would be ridiculous to try to bring me back.

I'm stunned that they said no to a billion-dollar franchise and decided to pivot elsewhere. I don't know what the reasoning was behind that; it's above my pay grade, but Wonder Woman is an incredible character, and Patty is such a thoughtful director. Even think of "Wonder Woman 1984" — that's a blockbuster movie that is a hero's journey not about revenge. I mean, wow. People poo-pooed it, but wow!

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

"Poolman" is in theaters May 10.

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