It looks like JJ Abrams made up his mind, and the decision he came to was, “Yes, thank you, I would like to direct Star Trek after all.” And thus ends months of back and forth and speculation and rumors and inaccurate reports. Thus Gail Berman is proved right.
The new film will be a prequel to the original series and feature a younger Kirk and Spock, and the Enterprise will be under the command of Captain Christopher Pike. Not much else is known right now – there’s a draft that’s been handed in to Paramount, but it’s unclear if there will be major changes. I’ll tell you this: don’t be surprised to see this script reviewed in the near future.
Abrams as director does nothing for me. His Mission: Impossible III was anonymously shot – a style very much in vogue over the last few Trek films. Honestly, all I care about here is the script. Is the story compelling, and do the characters feel right? Abrams will get the shots he needs, and they won’t look fancy or be terribly interesting (and honestly, other than Wrath of Khan, have they ever been?), but will he have the right talent and the right script?
Now that he’s officially announced, this project should start moving ahead faster, and we should find out more details in the weeks and months to come.