It is interesting, given that a reboot could theoretically go off in any direction it chooses, that the relaunched Star Trek has begun to repeat events from the first Star Trek movie series. Star Trek Into Darkness was essentially a revisitation of The Wrath of Khan; the movie not only reintroduced the title character, it also flip-flopped the famous end of Wrath of Khan where Spock dies saving the Enterprise. (This time around it was Captain Kirk who made the ultimate sacrifice ... for about 8 minutes, and then he got better.) Certainly the circumstances of the films are very different, but Star Trek Beyond shares one crucial ingredient with Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, namely the destruction of the Starship Enterprise, and the shipwrecking of its crew on a distant alien planet.

This time, Spock isn’t dead, and there aren’t any Klingons or Christopher Lloyds involved (as far as we can see, anyway) but Beyond does seem to draw on similar DNA. And it has another thing in common with Search for Spock: Just as that film marked the original Star Trek cast beginning to guide the franchise behind the camera (it was directed by the late Leonard Nimoy), so does Star Trek Beyond; Nu-Scotty Simon Pegg is credited as a co-writer on the film.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Star Trek Beyond, the highly anticipated next installment in the globally popular Star Trek franchise, created by Gene Roddenberry and reintroduced by J.J. Abrams in 2009, returns with director Justin Lin (The Fast and the Furious franchise) at the helm of this epic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her intrepid crew. In Beyond, the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

Star Trek Into Darkness was a big letdown after the 2009 Star Trek film, and the fact that it unnecessarily rehashed old material in uninteresting ways was a big part of the problem. But Star Trek Beyond looks different enough and fun enough that it could return the sense of adventure to the series. And director Justin Lin is a great guy to have at the helm; if you’re looking for bold action, here’s one of the best. Star Trek Beyond opens in theaters on July 22.

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