Trek into darkness

I hope Christopher Nolan gets a royalty check for this one. The first official glimpses of Star Trek: Into Darkness have arrived, and from the bleak, destroyed city buildings that form the shape of the series’ logo in the (a la The Dark Knight Rises”) promotional poster, to the deep bass bongs pounding through the teaser trailer’s soundtrack (a la Inception), it appears Trek director J.J. Abrams is shaping his follow-up to 2009’s Star Trek in the mold of his Batman-steering counterpart.

But the question is why? Abrams is a popular and well-respected known quantity with a recognizable visual style. Did the studio pressure him to go darker, or is he intuitively chasing the same fan base that has made Nolan’s films some of the top grossing of all time?

Little is known about the new Trek as of yet, but the trailer does prepare audiences for a lot of screaming and exploding. As evidenced by this year’s The Amazing Spider-Man and the recent trailers for Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel, others are taking a cue from Nolan’s films to develop less campy and darker versions of their own heroes. But will Trek fans, used to seeing Captain Kirk’s charisma and the Enterprise’s humor in spades, embrace a sequel that seems bereft of any fun?

Star Trek: Into Darkness docks on May 17. Watch the trailer below: