Where Does The New 'Star Trek' Franchise Lead To Next? [One Giant Afterthought]


[Spoilers!]

After once again seeing the new Star Trek film, I realized I had might as well give the movie a second thought. In my original review, I gave the reboot the highest grade I could and it is still a well deserved reward. The movie reinvigorates the fading franchise with a unique concept of time travel and, besides some nitpicking here and there, accomplishes that goal in stunning fashion.

So what is next? With a sequel already in pre-production and slated for a release in 2011, one wonders about the many possibilities the new film brought to the table. Well this isn't the first time J.J. Abrams has dealt with time travel and alternate realities. Both of his current shows Lost and Fringe heavily revolve around these tried and true sci-fi concepts, and by looking at these we may find hints at where Star Trek may head to next.

One of the biggest reasons why Lost was able to break free from its season 2 and 3 slump was the introduction of "flash forwards" in season 4 as well as time traveling in season 5. Fringe was subtly building up to its alternate reality plot until the veil was lifted in the jaw-dropping season finale.

What the new Trek seems to be doing may end up becoming a blend of both the concepts of the future as well as the possibilities of an alternate reality. The film has already touched upon this with Spock and Romulan nemesis Nero traveling back in time by mistake and their tampering resulting in this new alternate reality seen in the film's present.

In Lost, it is suggested that if anything in the past is changed when time traveling, the timeline will basically "auto-correct" itself. In my opinion, I feel that the first movie was the introduction to this idea but the second movie will set and elaborate upon some ground rules.

Now what does this mean for the future of the franchise? Is this a new time paradox where Abrams' creativity may roam free and be free of the established canon? Or will the timeline fix itself and everything return to normal? Will Spock remain more in touch with his human emotions, or return to his logic-based mindset? And what about his relationship with Uhura? Also, how will Old Spock be affected by this new reality?

So many questions, so few answers. And in my experience that's exactly how J.J. Abrams likes it.

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