Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan‘s director, Nicholas Meyer, has some harsh words about J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness, which is a funhouse mirror remake of his classic film set in the alternate Kelvin Timeline. Meyer’s Wrath of Khan regularly tops fans’ lists as the greatest Star Trek movie of all, thanks in no small part to Ricardo Montalbán’s iconic portrayal of Khan, and the heartbreaking death of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) at the end of the film. Abrams cast Benedict Cumberbatch, then famed as the star of Sherlock, as Khan, and this was just one of many creative missteps.
In the Star Trek oral history “The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years” by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Nicholas Meyer didn’t have many kind words to say about Star Trek Into Darkness, although he’s a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch as an actor. Meyer’s takedown of Star Trek Into Darkness echoes the opinions of numerous fans. Read his quote below:
I love Benedict Cumberbatch. I love Sherlock. And I loved him in Parade’s End. I just thought he was great, but I have to confess that I don’t understand these new Star Trek movies. Maybe I just sound like an old fogey or something, but it doesn’t seem to have anything do with what made Star Trek compelling. I don’t think seeing Spock endlessly slugging somebody captures the idea of Spock as a character; it just seems kind of dopey. And, you know, Khan is Khan. I don’t get how any-body else can be him and not be Ricardo Montalban. So a lot of it just didn’t track for me. I didn’t understand it, and I also sort of don’t understand what those movies are about. I understand what Star Trek II is about; it’s about friendship, old age; it’s about death. I understand what IV is about; it’s an ecological, cautionary tale. And I understand what VI is about. But other than doing all the things that people expect in a Star Trek movie, I didn’t understand what those movies are about. I think the difference between an homage and a rip-off is that in an homage you’re supposed to add something. They should try to do something else besides trying to do Star Trek II.
Star Trek Into Darkness Ending & Problems Explained
Star Trek Into Darkness’ chaotic ending belied the numerous issues that plagued J.J. Abrams’ sequel, which rehashed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Star Trek Has Repeatedly Fallen Into The Wrath Of Khan Remake Trap
Khan’s legacy is being endlessly rehashed.
J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness was released in 2013, but his wasn’t the first Star Trek movie to remake The Wrath of Khan. In 2002, Star Trek: Nemesis was a rehash of Star Trek II, with Tom Hardy as the film’s Khan-like villain, Shinzon, a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) out for revenge. Star Trek: Nemesis also ended with the Spock-like death of a beloved character, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). Not surprisingly, Star Trek fans rejected Nemesis outright, and it’s one of the lowest-grossing Star Trek movies, as well as one of the least liked.
Star Trek on Paramount+’s series have homaged Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in more clever ways. Star Trek: Picard season 3 contained several loving nods and Easter eggs referencing The Wrath of Khan and featured a charismatic villain, Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer), who evoked Khan’s menace without outright copying him. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 ended with a sly tribute to The Wrath of Khan‘s climactic beats involving a nebula, a Genesis Device, and Khan-like heavy, Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill). It seems Star Trek has learned lessons from Star Trek Into Darkness‘ mistakes.
Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan are available to stream on Paramount+.
Star Trek Into Darkness
- Release Date:
- 2013-05-16
- Director:
- J.J. Abrams
- Cast:
- Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Chris Pine
- Rating:
- PG-13
- Runtime:
- 2h 12m
- Genres:
- Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller, Adventure
- Writers:
- Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof
- Summary:
- Star Trek Into Darkness is being billed as an “action thriller” in which the crew of the Enterprise finds an unstoppable force of terror inside Starfleet that has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving Earth in a state of crisis.Captain Kirk has a personal score to settle, and leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. The crew is propelled into an epic chess game of life and death – love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices will have to be made for the only family James Kirk has left: his crew.
- Budget:
- 190 million
- Studio(s):
- Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures
- Distributor(s):
- Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures
- Sequel(s):
- Star Trek Beyond
- prequel(s):
- Star Trek, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: Nemesis
- Franchise(s):
- Star Trek
