We recently shot an interview with Benedict Cumberbatch and Alice Eve about their roles in the forthcoming Star Trek Into Darkness. The resulting video can be viewed further down the page, but on the same day, we also grabbed some time with the film’s producer, Bryan Burk.
And while he was keeping his cards close to his chest regarding the film’s central plot, we did manage to discuss the likes of Klingons, Wrath of Kahn, and the potential for a third film…
IGN: The latest Trek trailer made quite an impact when it hit the net – how important is a good trailer to a film like this?
Bryan Burk: For us I think it’s really important because we had intentionally not had anything come out. No stills had come out online with all the guessing of what’s going on. Then recently we’ve jumped out with a whole bunch of things. So for us I think it’s important to have a trailer that we like, and that we could announce to the world that we’re coming. So we spent a lot of time working on the trailer.
IGN: What do you want audiences to take away from Star Trek Into Darkness when they see it?
Burk: What attracted us to Star Trek is that it’s not just about space and aliens and what you might think it is, it’s actually about humans and how they all interact with each other, particularly Gene Rodenberry’s vision of the future, where all the problems on earth kind of go away and we all come together and all the problems are out there. There was something interesting about that as a jumping off point. I think what’s interesting about the world and what we’re trying to do with it is just exploring these characters and the journeys they are going on. If the last film was about the crew and family coming together, this film is about them learning who they are and starting to work together. We kind of left the last film with Kirk and Spock not hating each other, but they are by no means best of friends going into this film. So it feels like it’s a good progression in the series. But also people who have not seen the first film can jump right in and not feel like they’ve missed anything. It feels like a good step forward in the world of Star Trek, and a great way to bring in new audiences.
IGN: Some of the new characters are taken directly from the original series, so how much of the movie will hark back to that show?
Burk: As we did in the last film, there’s perpetually a nod to the Star Trek universe before us, but we’re forging our own path. The reason why we split off into those two worlds... one was to acknowledge the 40 years of Star Trek and say – “there it is” – and the other was to give us the freedom to go forward and tell new stories.
IGN: There also appear to be several nods to Wrath of Kahn – is it dangerous to keep referencing such a beloved film?
Burk: I don’t know if it’s even this film that there are more nods to Wrath of Kahn. Or if people think there’s more than the last film. I think any time you’re playing with a franchise that’s been around for a long time and there are such vocal, die-hard fans, there’s the potential for stepping on toes. But we’ve got Damon Lindelof and also Bob Orci, who is a Star Trek fan first and a human being second, working on it, and we’ll have conversations about a plethora of things where he’ll say, “We can’t do that.” Or “We can do this, but it has to be like this to stay within canon.” I feel like in anything you do there’s the possibility of people getting riled up. But I think we have tremendous respect for the universe of Star Trek, and particularly what Gene’s vision was for it. So we feel pretty safe with any references.
IGN: What will the Klingons bring to the equation?
Burk: Well they are a legendary foe, obviously, of the Starfleet. They play their role. We’re vague, nor for the sake of being vague, and we say this a lot. But there’s so much information out there now with movies and TV shows and videogames, and everyone is striving to cut through and say “notice me, notice me.” We’re one of those, and we have to do much the same thing. But we feel like as much as we can, if we can try to not put out too much of what it is, then the experience of going and discovering it is that much more. Even having a conversation discussing whether there are Klingons in it or not – we have to talk, because we’d have no talking points. But it feels like you want to put things out there without saying too much because that’s the experience.
IGN: Why does John Harrison make a good villain?
Burk: I think he’s a great villain because he’s ridiculously smart and calculating and a real adversary for Kirk. But in truth, you don’t want to talk too much about him – it’s the same thing. If I knew everything about Darth Vader before I saw Star Wars it would lessen the experience of watching Darth be Darth.
IGN: What does Benedict Cumberbatch bring to the role then?
Burk: He’s kind of made Harrison his own. Particuarly when we cast him – the writers went back and specifically tailored it for Benedict. And you only get a glimpse of it in the nine minutes and the trailer. He really is a worthy adversary to Mr Kirk.
IGN: I like the fact that you keep casting Brits.
Burk: We do, a lot. We love them.
IGN: Why do Brits make good villains?
Burk: They don’t necessarily make good villains. We also have tremendous love for Simon Pegg, who we use in everything. I don’t know, that’s a good question. There are just some incredible actors that come out of the UK and it just feels like – many people have said long before me that your film is only as good as the bad guy. And if you can have a convincing, real villain, then the possibilities of where you can go in that film are endless. If the actors are that great and that strong, then you’ll believe anything.
IGN: How will Darkness differ from the previous film?
Burk: I think it’s a continuation. It’s not a sequel just for the sake of doing a sequel. We really decided that if we are going to do it, how do we make it different and really step up our game. It’s part of the evolution of the title. The film is not a dark film per se. It’s not post-apocalyptic dark – it’s still within the realm of what Roddenberry had wanted, which is this positive view of the future. However the stakes are significantly greater, and personal. The characters – particularly Kirk – are going to a much darker place emotionally. I feel like the experience the audience has going through it will be a much deeper emotional experience. And on top of that the spectacle will be significantly bigger than the last film.
IGN: You say it’s not a dark film, but you’ve got Darkness in the title, and I thought there was a Hollywood law whereby the second episode in a franchise has to be darker than the first.
Burk: I didn’t say it wasn’t dark in content. Visually it’s not dark. Everyone keeps talking about darkness, but in my mind that’s something that’s visually dark or post-apocalyptic. That’s not what this is. But emotionally it is. It goes to a place where it’s a heavier film, a bit like all of our favourite sequels. Be it The Empire Strikes Back, which is a darker film emotionally than Star Wars. And Godfather 2 is significantly darker. I’m referencing the best movies ever made here, but the idea of making it weightier and heavier – that’s the stuff we love. Our intention going forward was not to make a fluffy sequel. It was to take a real step deeper with these characters.
IGN: If this is a continuation, are you setting things up for a third film?
Burk: There’s always possibilities going forward. The answer is yes, of course. We’d love to keep making Star Trek film as long as people keep coming. But to be talking about the third one before we’ve finished the second one would be getting ahead of ourselves. But when we started – even with the original film, we were thinking about what we could for the second film and what we could do for the third one. We had similar conversations about Lost – we knew what the first season was, and we knew what the second season was – J.J. [Abrams] was like “They find a hatch!” We had these big template ideas, but then you actually have to fill them out. So we’ve had big conversations about they could be. There are elements of what the second film could be from what we originally talked about, but it’s a big journey from one to three!
Star Trek Into Darkness hits screens worldwide on May 17.
Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and he can’t bloody wait for May 17. He lives long and prospers on both Twitter and MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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