Spoilers Star Trek Beyond & Treklit

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

This thread will deal with the new movie Star Trek Beyond and how it relates or may apply to the various aspects of the tie-in literature. Spoilers for the new film will be heavy, so consider this your final warning.
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First off, I'm disappointed that this film isn't receiving a novelization. So many elements in the narrative would benefit from having a prose adaptation to further explain or elaborate upon in more detail. The high number of alien races, the crew of the Franklin and their back-story, a prologue to show how the diplomatic mission in the film's opening developed, etc. Of the three Kelvin movies so far, this one would've benefited the most from a Vonda McIntyre-style novelization treatment. A gigantic missed opportunity.

Did anyone else get a Destiny vibe from the movie's plot? A ship from the ENT era of the franchise is lost and the crew lives long beyond their life-spans thanks to alien tech. The stories of the Destiny series and Star Trek Beyond are completely different, but I couldn't help thinking of the events of David Mack's brilliant trilogy after the movie's big reveal.

What do you think this will mean for the new Star Trek ongoing comic series? Will the new series be set during the time-lapsed construction of the Enterprise 1701-A and follow individual crew members while they're waiting to be reunited (the brief description released so far seems to hint at this direction)? Or, will the series, like the movie, jump ahead to the all-new adventures of the 1701-A?

Personally, I hope it's the former. It would be interesting to see each main character's separate journey in stand-alone tales or have different story arcs woven and braided through each issue. The announcement of the new series indicated a turn to a more serialized story-telling structure.

Also, since we're denied a proper novelization, I hope an issue or two is devoted to Jaylah's back-story or her time at the Academy (maybe the characters from Starfleet Academy could cameo). I'd also appreciate a flashback issue or two showing us what happened to Carol Marcus and possibly a flashback issue to give us more info on the spider-headed crew member that hides the McGuffin for Kirk.

 

[Dayton Ward]

The current iteration of the monthly IDW Star Trek title is coming to an end with #60, which will be out next month. In October, the monthly title gets relaunched, picking up where Beyond left off.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The biggest "issue" Treklit may have with Beyond is (and I'm assuming spoilers are allowed freely in here as per the thread tag!) the USS Franklin's 2160's uniforms differing from what Christopher imagined.

 

[Jinn]

The biggest "issue" Treklit may have with Beyond is (and I'm assuming spoilers are allowed freely in here as per the thread tag!) the USS Franklin's 2160's uniforms differing from what Christopher imagined.

Cleaaarly the Franklins crew was very fashion-conscious and decided to create their own uniforms. Also

Spock’s incursion from the Prime Universe created a multidimensional reality shift. The rift in space/time created an entirely new reality in all directions, top to bottom, from the Big Bang to the end of everything. As such this reality was, is and always will be subtly different from the Prime Universe.

I'll add this to the list of universal answers, along with 42 and "because tree"

 

[Therin of Andor]

since we're denied a proper novelization...

I'd be happy if we at least got a bound script (trade PB or hardcover) to sit on my novelizations shelf.

Ed S.?

 

[David cgc]

One of the things I'm most curious about is the line that Captain Edison fought the Xindi when he was a MACO, meaning he was almost certainly on the NX-01 during the third season of the show, at least Maybe longer, and considering how his views developed, I'm wondering how he might've fit into the whole Terra Prime mess. Certainly I'd expect Archer to know him, both since he'd be in charge of him as Admiral and since they'd served together before.

The fact that all that was set into motion long before the Kelvin also makes me regret that the novels are still walled off from the Kelvin films, since Krall's swarm would (probably*) exist in the Prime universe.

*Simon Pegg retrocausality disclaimer goes here.

The biggest "issue" Treklit may have with Beyond is (and I'm assuming spoilers are allowed freely in here as per the thread tag!) the USS Franklin's 2160's uniforms differing from what Christopher imagined.

Well, you know how Star Trek is about uniforms. Maybe the Franklin was fitted out with a short-lived variant, like the TMP uniforms, or special-duty outfits, the way in DS9 it seemed like everywhere but the station still used the TNG versions. Plus, as said...*

 

[F. King Daniel]

Did Edison actually fight the Xindi? He mentions the Xindi terror attack and the Romulan war costing millions of lives, and it's implied he fought in the latter conflict. Perhaps I missed something? The movie was quite relentless, I was afraid to blink

 

[David cgc]

From what I recall, he said something like, "I fought in the Romulan War and the Xindi War." I got the impression that he was using personal examples about how he'd be used and then expected to transform into a new man in peacetime (so to speak).

Guess I'll have to catch the film again to be sure!

 

[Csalem]

He does say he founght the Xindi and the Romulans.
I think his comments and the uniforms confirm what Pegg said about the full timeline changing. The Franklin is the first Warp 4 ship from the 2160s. Now Scotty may have got his history mixed up and it came earlier but then mention of the Xindi and the Romulans sort of confirm it is from 2160s.
It does seem this is an all new timeline so shouldn't impact on the RotF books.

 

[ClayinCA]

I think his comments and the uniforms confirm what Pegg said about the full timeline changing.

What did Pegg say about the timeline changing?

 

[Jinn]

What did Pegg say about the timeline changing?

Spock’s incursion from the Prime Universe created a multidimensional reality shift. The rift in space/time created an entirely new reality in all directions, top to bottom, from the Big Bang to the end of everything. As such this reality was, is and always will be subtly different from the Prime Universe.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Yet they went to quite extensive lengths to reference Enterprise...

Spoiler: Franklin details

Polarized hull plating
MACOs
Pulsed phase canons
Spacial torpedoes
Transporter only meant for cargo

Add to that the VFX guys saying the design was modfied to better tie in with the designs established in Enterprise, and it just seems rather pointless if your intent is a parallel past.

 

[Jinn]

Yet they went to quite extensive lengths to reference Enterprise...

Spoiler: Franklin details

Polarized hull plating
MACOs
Pulsed phase canons
Spacial torpedoes
Transporter only meant for cargo

Add to that the VFX guys saying the design was modfied to better tie in with the designs established in Enterprise, and it just seems rather pointless if your intent is a parallel past.

I think Pegg meant mainly the details like Sulus sexuality or Chekovs birthdate and not a whole era of starfleet.

 

[Csalem]

I like Doug Jung's take on it:
http://screenrant.com/star-trek-beyond-doug-jung-interview/

It’s an alternative universe, not a completely different one, so there could be instances where some things that are familiar cross over. Simon and I tried to adjust and to put a lot of that into this movie. So certainly it’s hinted at that those things that came before exist in some fashion, but maybe slightly left of center or slightly different.

 

[Stevil2001]

Did anyone else get a Destiny vibe from the movie's plot? A ship from the ENT era of the franchise is lost and the crew lives long beyond their life-spans thanks to alien tech. The stories of the Destiny series and Star Trek Beyond are completely different, but I couldn't help thinking of the events of David Mack's brilliant trilogy after the movie's big reveal.

Yeah, I was thinking what I would do if I novelized it, and I thought of having a parallel narrative starting in the 22nd century, and then was like, "wait, it's Destiny!"

The other Star Trek fiction parallel I saw was Prime Directive, in letting the original crew shine through being separated, and then shine as a group for the climax, with their working together being sort of a stand-in for the Star Trek ideal of cooperation-as-strength that drives the Federation. (I talked about this some at my blog.)

He does say he founght the Xindi and the Romulans.
I think his comments and the uniforms confirm what Pegg said about the full timeline changing. The Franklin is the first Warp 4 ship from the 2160s. Now Scotty may have got his history mixed up and it came earlier but then mention of the Xindi and the Romulans sort of confirm it is from 2160s.
It does seem this is an all new timeline so shouldn't impact on the RotF books.

Scotty just says it was lost in the 2160s, right? I think it's probably a 2140s Earth Starfleet design that was absorbed into the Federation Starfleet in 2161, redesignated, and went missing shortly thereafter.

 

[Jinn]

It’s an alternative universe, not a completely different one, so there could be instances where some things that are familiar cross over. Simon and I tried to adjust and to put a lot of that into this movie. So certainly it’s hinted at that those things that came before exist in some fashion, but maybe slightly left of center or slightly different.

While I like the idea of the new movies taking place in an alternate universe instead of an alternate timeline this statement contradicts both Peggs statement and the actual canon established. Also the first sentence doesn't really make sense to me. An alternate universe is always a different unvierse. Does he mean timeline?

 

[Csalem]

Yeah, I was thinking what I would do if I novelized it, and I thought of having a parallel narrative starting in the 22nd century, and then was like, "wait, it's Destiny!"

The other Star Trek fiction parallel I saw was Prime Directive, in letting the original crew shine through being separated, and then shine as a group for the climax, with their working together being sort of a stand-in for the Star Trek ideal of cooperation-as-strength that drives the Federation. (I talked about this some at my blog.)


Scotty just says it was lost in the 2160s, right? I think it's probably a 2140s Earth Starfleet design that was absorbed into the Federation Starfleet in 2161, redesignated, and went missing shortly thereafter.

I am pretty sure he said from the 2160s. I remember hearing the line and thinking to myself that Pegg is right in saying the pre-2233 timeline is different.
In all fairness I am pretty sure it will be clarified over the next few days. Film has only be on release for less than 24 hours!

 

[Idran]

Yet they went to quite extensive lengths to reference Enterprise...

Spoiler: Franklin details

Polarized hull plating
MACOs
Pulsed phase canons
Spacial torpedoes
Transporter only meant for cargo

Add to that the VFX guys saying the design was modfied to better tie in with the designs established in Enterprise, and it just seems rather pointless if your intent is a parallel past.

I think Pegg meant mainly the details like Sulus sexuality or Chekovs birthdate and not a whole era of starfleet.

Yeah, it's not meant to say nothing happened the same way, just a way to not sweat the small stuff internally as well as externally. That things can be different without it being a continuity error.

 

[JD]

I actually thought this felt like a story that I could have seen as a modern Trek Lit story.
I really wish they would let Pocket do novels set in the Kelvin timeline, because I would love to get a prequel novel focusing on Edison's history and his transformation into Krall.

 

[Enterprise1701]

I am pretty sure he said from the 2160s. I remember hearing the line and thinking to myself that Pegg is right in saying the pre-2233 timeline is different.
In all fairness I am pretty sure it will be clarified over the next few days. Film has only be on release for less than 24 hours!

Nope. Scotty tells Kirk when Kirk arrives at the Franklin that it was the first Earth ship to reach Warp 4. Then in response to Kirk's inquiry as to its fate, Scotty responds that it went missing in the "early 2160s" and theories abounded. And later when accessing computer records about Edison, it is said that Edison received his captaincy of the Franklin after MACO was disbanded upon the formation of the Federation Starfleet.

After all, the hull says "U.S.S." I'm pretty sure that's supposed to mean it was in Federation service when it crashed.

I dislike that they did not directly say in the movie that Edison served in the MACO contingent of the Enterprise's United Earth precursor since ENT portrayed the Enterprise NX-01 as the only Earth ship to deal with the Xindi head on. It would also have been a nice nod to the long history of Anglophone government-operated vessels named Enterprise.

But I am glad that they matched Christopher's novels in dissolving MACO as in independent organization upon the formation of the Federation.