Last week, Paramount held a special fan event at their studio lot in Hollywood, where the belovedStar Trekfranchise was honored, as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration. The festivities included the dedicating of a street to franchise iconLeonard Nimoy, before fans all over the world got to see the new trailer forStar Trek Beyond. There is one particular aspect of the trailer that some fans have been wondering about, but, thankfully, star/screenwriterSimon Pegghelped shed some light on this in a new interview.
Thetrailerfeatured a shot that showcased a large space station, although it was never fully revealed what this facility is. During an interview withIGN,Simon Peggrevealed that this facility is known as the Starbase Yorktown, which essentially marks the very edge of Federation jurisdiction, with everything outside of this base marking uncharted enemy territory. The movie basically starts with theU.S.S. Enterprisedocking at Starbase Yorktown at some point during its five-year mission. Here’s whatSimon Pegghad to say below.
“It’s a kind of diplomatic hub. It’s where all the most recent Federation inductees can come and mingle with each other and learn about each other. It’s kind of lovely.”
When asked if theStarbase Yorktownwas anything like the Mos Eisley Cantina from the iconicStar Warsfranchise,Simon Peggrevealed that this facility is the “opposite” of the other franchise’s cantina, described as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy.“Simon Peggwent on to add more details about Starbase Yorktown, revealing that this is the first time in several months that the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise has had any contact with other people since embarking on their five-year journey.
“You can imagine – me and (co-writer Doug) Jung joked that there were various aliens with leaflets, handing them out to other aliens like, ‘Come and see our world!’ But it’s basically a place where they can go, where they can better understand what being part of the Federation means. It’s an important kind of tactical establishment for the Federation. It’s been built locally, so it’s very interesting to look at, but it’s where the Enterprise docks up. [This is] the first time in like 10 months [that the Enterprise has] had kind of proper contact with other people, and that’s where the story begins.”
WhileSimon Pegghas played Scotty since the first remake in 2009, a role he reprised inStar Trek Into Darknessand this upcoming movie, the actor also pulled double duty as a screenwriter. The actor/writer crafted the script withDoug Jung, revealing how he described Starbase Yorktown while he was writing the script. Here’s what he had to say below.
“Designing that – you know, you say that in a screenplay, you describe it, and then you get it to a production designer, and they come back with these amazing concept designs. That was the most amazing thing for Doug and I. You know, you write away and write away, and then suddenly you see all these boards with this beautifully designed, incredibly imaginative stuff, and you kind of feel like you can take credit for it. [Laughs] Even though you shouldn’t!”
Star Trek Beyond, the highly anticipated next installment in Paramount’s globally popularStar Trekfranchise, created byGene Roddenberryand reintroduced byJ.J. Abramsin 2009, returns with directorJustin Lin(The Fast and the Furiousfranchise) at the helm of this epic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her intrepid crew. InStar Trek Beyond, the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test. The film starsJohn Cho,Simon Pegg,Chris PineasCaptain Kirk,Zachary QuintoasSpock,Zoë Saldana,Karl Urban,Anton YelchinandIdris Elba. We’ll be sure to keep you posted with more onStar Trek Beyond, which was directed byJustin Lin, as we get closer to the July 22 release date.
