J.J. Abrams returns to the Final Frontier

J.J. Abrams, director of this summer's Super 8, has always been known as a secretive guy. All of his projects have been shrouded in mystery, both in film and in television. However, his most successful project to date was his 2009 reboot of Star Trek, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban and Simon Pegg.

By simultaneously paying honor and tribute to the original series and cast and also reinventing the franchise itself, Abrams' film was able to make $385 million worldwide. Obviously, Paramount wanted to make a sequel as soon as possible. However, Abrams wanted to prove he could direct more than just sequels based on Leonard Nimoy TV shows. He wanted to do something of his own. Enter: Super 8.

Song: "My Sharona" by The Knack

The film about kids shooting a zombie movie in a small town when an alien monster attacks made $253 million. Abrams needed the success of this film after the dual failures of November 2010 (his show "Undercovers" got canceled and a romantic comedy he produced, Morning Glory bombed). While Abrams was off making his movie, the Trek '09 writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were writing their sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens. Kurtzman was also prepping his directorial debut Welcome to People (also starring Chris Pine).

Abrams was asked multiple times during promotional events for his other sub-projects or awards shows if he was planning a return to Trek. He playfully said he would be involved but was hesitant on whether or not he'd be in the director's chair. This is a ploy I like to think of when directors who are comfortable in their position realize it. People like Christopher Nolan, for example. They're always nice and polite when asked about sequels to their hit films but manage to word a response like, "I would really, really like to come back... it's just that... I really don't know...". To me, that's code for, "GIVE. ME. MONEY," and the studio sends truckloads of cash to their house. "PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAKE US ANOTHER MOVIE!!!!!" But, of course, that's just me.


Song: "Star Trek" by Michael Giacchino

With Super 8 heading out of theaters and onto DVD/Blu-Ray, Abrams has finally committed to returning to the U.S.S. Enterprise. However, the length of time it took for Abrams to finally step up and helm the project has created one casuality: the release date. Paramount had staked out a June 22, 2012 release date for the untitled Star Trek sequel. But because of complications with schedules, Jon M. Chu's G.I. Joe: Retaliation (ironically, a sequel to another 2009 Paramount Pictures film) took its place. Hopefully now that Abrams is firmly in place and the writers are *now* hard at work on the sequel, Paramount will most likely schedule a 2013 release date. That ongoing mission is back on track, but will have to pick up some slack.