An Academy prequel movie is NOT what Trek needs right now. Or even a movie for that matter. We need another series to introduce us to another crew, another ship, etc. Put it on Sci-Fi and get Ron Moore back into the franchise.

But if Nick Meyer came back to do a movie, I would not complain.

This actually sounds cool. One of my favorite "expanded universe" stories was the novel Best Destiny which told the story of Kirk's early days. It was quite enjoyable.

I suspect that has to do with not having some actor screw up what you were expecting of a young Kirk. Anyone they cast in Shatner's role is going to have a very vocal fanbase who will hate anything he does. Plus, I highly doubt the people in charge will be able to resist the prequel pit trap of having forward references everywhere (Star Wars catch phrases in Episodes 1-3, Crew meetings in Babylon 5 prequel movies, etc.).

Right. Taking time off was the second best option (the best would have been to let Enterprise continue after they started having good episodes in Season 4), and they need to keep doing that for a bit. Prequel ideas are usually bad, and unless they get some really talented writers with some really good ideas, this will not end well, I think.

Prequel just doesn't sound like a good idea. The problem with this sort of prequel is that the history of these characters is so defined, there wouldn't be anything new or exciting about seeing Kirk and Spock. Sure, they'd be young, but you know in the end they're going to be on the Enterprise. At least with Star Wars you got to see how Darth Vader descended to the Dark Side (nevermind that it was pretty lame).

Give us something new. Keep moving the universe forward past the Next Generation movies. Let's not get all nostalgic about the original series and make some prequels to it.

Odds are we see him cheating to win the Kobiyashi Maru

It sounds too good to be true and considering the source isn't an official notice from Paramount but a Daily Variety article, I'll hold out for notice from J.J. before I get too excited.

Edit: And remember, folks, this is the same creative group behind such gems as the aforementioned MI3, along with contributions towards such classics as Armageddon and The Island.

Yeah I'm not looking forward to this much either. I haven't really enjoyed anything Star Trek since DS9 . You also have to remember the Star Trek movie even/odd rule. This will be an odd so it will be teh suk.

Yes it did.

However, I can't help but think Abrams might pull it off some how. Even though I think a Young Kirk movie is a bad idea. I mean, I like Abrams' work on Alias (the early seasons) and Lost. I won't malign MI3, because I have yet to see it. Abrams also wrote Regarding Henry, which helps cancel out his out on Armageddon.

I agree (although I also agree you need to take a longer break). The Star Wars prequels were painful because all I was really interested in was what the hook was that turned Anakin (don't follow SW that closely so don't flame me for misspelling the name). 9 hours to find out it was love. Painful.

I know what happens to Kirk and Spock. So unless you're going to do all CGI like Final Fantasy: Spirits Within and get Shatner to do Kirk's voice (not as tough to get someone to do Spock), leave those icons alone. It won't satisfy anyone.

But you've got this huge universe with new races introduced weekly in all of the series. Give us another ship, or world, or race, or profession (Roddenberry's legacy has painted Starfleet into a corner from a storytelling perspective: they're TOO honorable, efficient, ethical, brilliant, etc; they're BORING). Lets see some of them from new perspective.

Want a challenge that would bring Star Trek back to great sci-fi? Do Star Trek Worlds, and give us a different story/locale/cast every week, and tie it together with an overarching plot or theme. Take the best of all the fan fiction and paperback Trek novels and distill them into a new series. Without being hidebound to a set of characters, you could really explore worthwhile themes, or good solid speculative fiction. I always thought James Blish's adaptations of the original series episodes, and expanding on them in a "Hard" science fiction style made outstanding stories.

The Star Trek universe is interesting; Kirk and Spock were interesting; making yet another new series with characters that are the "new" Kirk/Spock/Picard/Data or combination thereof, slapped down in another ship (read: "new" Enterprise) ISN'T.

What they should do is have the movie in the Federation universe, but centered on a ship run by a hard-edged captain and his crew. Have a quirky female engineer, a pilot married to the female first officer, a doctor who's just rescued his freakishly brilliant sister from a secret Federation program that's messed up her mind, and a hot whore in a push-up bra. Have them travel through the federation's world as they smuggle stuff and try to avoid the Federation's secret police.

That might be good.

I'd watch it!

So, it's Dumb and Dumberer: IN SPACE!

I think he speaks of the awkward banter between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy that's often been mistaken for dialogue.

That guy from "Boogie Nights" wants in...

"Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a homosexual author!"

I think the biggest problem with the Trek series is the whole Time Travel crap they kept pumping out especially in the Enterprise series. If there is anyone one thing that ruined the legacy I blame it on that. Now some Time Travel episodes once in a blue moon can be fun but they became a crutch for what I believe were bad writers who couldn't think of anything inspiring and original so they decided to toy with the universe itself and left Star Trek in a really, really bad spot.

I would love to see some new blood pumped back into the Trek Universe so I will reserve judgement until I see this new film if it ever comes out.