JJ Abrams has been deftly deflecting questions about the sequel to his Star Trek reboot for some time, with the not-unreasonable justification that all his attention was on Super 8. With Super 8 now out in the big wide world though, Abrams has admitted to MTV that perhaps Star Trek 2 may not make its studio-set release date of June 29 2012.
A twelve-month turnaround, says Abrams, "is not an impossibility... but no one wants to make something that makes its date but isn't necessarily worth your time. I want to make sure that whatever we do and whenever it comes out that it's something that people will have a great time watching."
Despite occasional hints from screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci about the direction and tone, and various interblogger musings on who the principal villain might be, little is yet known about the further adventures of Kirk and co., and despite preliminary work having been underway for some time, it still seems that nothing is set in stone. "We've been discussing everything," Abrams says. "The most important question is how to do something that we get excited about and that is worthy of the audience."
And while those questions remain not-quite-answered, Abrams still doesn't know if he'll be boldly going back to the director's chair: "I want to make sure I know what it is I'm being asked to direct before I do it, although I'd be jealous of anyone else who got to work with that amazing group of actors. We're working on the story and getting there. I'm very excited about what Alex and Roberto have come up with so far."
The hold-up may also have a knock-on effect on the already-long-gestating and much-delayed Jack Ryan reboot: recent reports had Star Trek 2 shooting this autumn, leaving Chris Pine free to fill Ryan's shoes next year. That now seems unlikely, but we can take solace in the fact that Paramount are willing to take the time to get these projects right. Right?
Super 8 is out in the UK on August 5.