STAR TREK is a franchise that ironically seems to be in a bit of trouble. Most audiences adored the 2009 J.J. Abrams-directed reboot, but for some reason, a good number of those fans disliked its sequel, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS. While yes, the film itself wasn’t as great as its predecessor, it doesn’t really deserve to be seen as the film that set the franchise back. 

Perhaps the perceived failure of that film was two-fold. First is the fact that it wasn’t as good as the first one — a fact that few fans let go of. Second is the fact this rebooted series as a whole wasn’t too much in the spirit of the STAR TREK franchise to begin with. So not only did the old-school Trekees hate the second film more than the first, but even the fans of the original weren’t really captivated by it. Add into that the departure of director J.J. Abrams, and you have a perfect stew of delay and perceived franticness from the studio.

But finally, after a bit of a delay, the film is hitting theaters this summer, and with director Justin Lin on board, it looks like we’ll be in for quite the ride. Also notable, however, is the writing team. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were the main duo who penned the final drafts of the last two films. With this film, however, there has been no less than five writers, including Orci and actor Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty in the films.

Up until this point, the plot details of the film have been sparse, even the poorly-received trailer was light on specifics. So far, we’ve learned Kirk will have no ship and no crew, but as far as how it all plays out…we’ve had little to work off of.

In a recent interview with Empire, however, co-writer/actor Simon Pegg — who co-wrote the final draft of the script with Doug Jung — gave up a few more details. Where the end of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS found the Enterprise crew beginning their famous five-year mission, BEYOND finds them two years into their journey, and completely exhausted.

“They’ve come to rest at a Federation outpost, a sort of diplomatic hub,” Pegg said. Of course, this reprieve doesn’t last long, as they are interrupted by Idris Elba’s character, Krall. It’s unclear what the antagonist’s motivation is, but it’s very clear that he doesn’t think highly of the Federation, and as such, decides to take it out on the Enterprise.

“What’s the point of it all?” says Pegg of the big question that drives Kirk and co this time around. “We’re gathering a great community within the galaxy, but to what end? What does it all mean?”

Sounds very much in the vein of the recent STAR TREK films, but if Pegg’s word can be trusted, wecan expect a bit more in this third outing.

“This is the 50th anniversary. I felt like it was important to really deconstruct the idea of Star Trek, the idea of the Federation and why it’s special. We’ll really be poking at a lot of different things.”

If this is true, perhaps this will be a film that both mainstream and hardcore fans can appreciate.

What do you make of Pegg’s comments? Are you looking forward to STAR TREK BEYOND? let us know in the comments down below!

STAR TREK BEYOND hits U.S. theaters on July 22, 2016.

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SOURCE: Empire