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You've watched the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer – here's what we think it all means. (CAUTION: WILD SPECULATION AHEAD!)
San Francisco – home of Starfleet. We first saw this 23 rd Century city on the big screen in 1979’s Star Trek The Motion Picture as Kirk’s shuttlecraft passed over the Golden Gate Bridge.
This is clearly some kind of Starfleet ceremony – note that the top brass on the podium are wearing the Motion Picture admirals' outfits we saw Pike wearing at the close of the 2009 movie. Some of the crowd are rocking Russian military-style caps – we’ve never seen them in the Star Trek universe before, but they were part of the original vision for the ‘60s uniforms.
Cool flyover. What kind of ceremony is this, though? Could it be a memorial service? The movie’s official synopsis tells us the fleet is destroyed in a pre-emptive strike by the villain… Are we officially mourning here?
Is Kirk talking to Pike? It’s framed like their fateful conversation in the bar in Star Trek , suggesting the veteran officer will continue to advise his hot-headed protégé in a mentor role.
Presumably an alien world – but where? Could it be the rumoured jungle planet location? And what’s that structure? A ziggurat? Wherever we are, it looks like it’s infested by the Red Weed from War Of The Worlds …
Kirk and McCoy are clearly pegging it from something…
Something scary enough to make them want to jump off a cliff… Or is this Planet Of The Lemmings?
Alice Eve catches Kirk’s eye. But who is she playing? Nurse Chapel? Kirk’s old flame Carol Marcus from The Wrath Of Khan ? Or, if Cumberbatch really is playing Gary Mitchell from “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, could she be cast as Dr Elizabeth Dehner, the doomed Starfleet psychiatrist from that classic episode?
McCoy looks on as Cupid fires his phaser. The Wrath Of Khan tells us that Bones was around for Kirk and Carol originally getting it together. Is that what we’re witnessing here?
You’ll believe a Cumberbatch can fly! Are we looking at a superpowered villain here? If so, odds are that it really is the near-godlike Gary Mitchell and not merely the genetically amped-up Khan. But then Nero in the 2009 movie was capable of some gravity-mocking leaps too…
He's about to scrap with someone – but who? Could it possibly be a Klingon? The character's visual is reminiscent of the redesigned helmeted Klingons who were chopped from the final cut of the 2009 film. And is this the interior of the temple-like structure we saw earlier?
Kirk and Uhura – are they wearing another set of uniform variations? Or matching civvies? Note the scars on Pine’s face – very reminiscent of Shatner’s frequent bloodying in the ‘60s show.
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Our first proper sighting of the mighty Cumberbatch. He's certainly bringing some old school British class to the voiceover (there’s a distinct echo of Patrick Stewart there, no?). He’s talking about vengeance, which still doesn’t deliver any firm intel on who he’s playing, though it’s worth pointing out that The Vengeance Of Khan was the original title for Star Trek II …
Are we taking a detour to Mustafar here? This volcano world apparently plays a crucial part in the movie story – Spock rapels into the heart of the lava at one point.
Being a badass is most logical.
Is that the Enterprise emerging from the waves? If so, there’s a first time for everything…
The Enterprise is severely on the wonk. And yes, that's a technical term.
You know, maybe seatbelts would have been a smart idea after all...
A hooded Cumberbatch executes a roundhouse kick. There’s some definite martial arts mastery going on with this character.
Face it, it just wouldn’t be Star Trek without people falling out of their chairs…
James T Kirk doing what James T Kirk does best. No, not that.
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Spock gives pursuit. Note phaser and communicator present and correct.
Cumberbatch being pursued… Note Road Runner style solution to glass wall problem.
Alice Eve in classic blue uniform, meaning her character is either Starfleet science or medical staff. So she could definitely be Nurse Chapel. Then again, look at this inset shot of Elizabeth Dehner from "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and tell us you don’t see a resemblance…
Scotty gives Uhura a comforting hug. Clearly Simon Pegg won’t be on permanent comic relief duty in this one. (Also, has anyone else noticed the complete absence of Chekov from this trailer? Correct us if we're wrong!)
Whoever he is, he’s wearing a Starfleet uniform, suggesting this apocalyptic spree is an inside job. But note distinct lack of trad Starfleet sideburns… We would say those ears look a tad on the pointy side, but we think those are genuinely Cumberbatch’s own fair elfin lugholes.
Jeremy Renner! Doesn’t he look young?
Serious carnage in San Francisco. Widescreen urban destruction is a 21 st Century Hollywood fallback now – but it’s a fairly fresh flavour for Trek . Hard not to see some lingering 9/11 resonance in these scenes.
Looks like the Enterprise crashing in San Francisco Bay… Hm. Are there whales onboard, perchance…?
PLUS! THE EXTRA SCENE FROM THE JAPANESE TRAILER!
Nick Setchfield and Richard Edwards
Star Trek Into Darkness is released by Paramount on Friday 17 May 2013.
