Trek XI Latest

You've probably seen the story--that Doug Mirabello, identified as Rick Berman's assistant, posted on the Internet concerning the next Trek feature. We'll see if there is any confirmation or denial coming, but for now we can speculate.

He's quoted as saying that the Erik Jendresen script for the next Trek film---the prequel "Star Trek: The Beginning" idea--has been scrapped. This sounds likely. It makes sense if you find Patrick Stewart's quoted comments credible, about being asked to be in the next movie, which I do. Also the fact that Jendresen has signed on to a tv series project, which doesn't prevent him from working on an ongoing movie script, but makes it less likely.

Mirabello is also quoted doubting that there are any plans for Patrick Stewart to be in the next film, as Stewart said a month or so ago. He said maybe Stewart had "a casual conversation" with a Paramount exec concerning "hypotheticals," and then Stewart "ran with" that when talking to a reporter.

This does not sound likely. Stewart described a meeting with people he found credible, people with money and the power to make the movie. I think we can assume he knows the difference.

Berman's assistant offers another possibility, that "there's a chance that someone else at Paramount is planning something huge and keeping us out of the loop." Ya think? While "planning" might be a bit premature, this sounds more likely.

But one thing just about everyone seems to agree on--anything new from official Trekdom is three years away, at best.

Neverthless, fan films are going great. More Star Trek stars in front of and behind the camera are joining in. The latest being visual effects supervisor Ronald B. Moore joining up with Star Trek New Voyages.

If official Star Trek isn't going to be making anything new for awhile, they really should license some fan films, so these folks can make a few bucks. They could devise some sort of non-competitive clause for whenever they decide to make an official new movie or TV show.

Still, it shows how important Star Trek is to the people who've been part of it, as well as to its core of loyal fans. Star Trek has explored so many new frontiers, and this is one more: what other series can say its most precious people believe in it so much they will create more Star Trek for free?