• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Do we know WHEN this movie takes place yet?

MisterPL

MisterPL

Commander
Red Shirt
I keep reading people referring to the 23rd century as if it's a given that Abrams' Star Trek will take place in that time period. I don't recall reading anything to confirm that. Personally, if I were rebooting the franchise, I'd try hard not to refer to the era at all and simply set it "in the distant future." (But no apes on the bridge. A little before that.)

Besides, since the original Trek was created in the 20th century and is being rebooted in the 21st, I wouldn't be shocked if it took place at least another hundred years beyond the original incarnation.

Has anyone stated definitively when this new film takes place or is it another big secret?
 
I would say that it is most definitely going to take place (albeit a few scenes in the 24th century) in the 23rd century. Not 1960's 23 century, but a modern 2000's 23rd century :techman:
 
Given the actors cast were are meant to portray Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu... ect and even Pike its very reasonable to think this movie will be set in the 23rd Century.

Sharr
 
It will be set in the 2250s-2260, Mid 23rd century on the old Earth Gregorian calendar, even taking into account relativistic variance.

The likelihood is that most events take place before 2265, when Kirk was forced to combat his longtime friend Gary Mitchell after he gained tremendous ESP capabilities in an encounter with the energy barrier at the edge of the milky way galaxy.

There may be some scenes set duting the lat 24th century, but this is purely conjecture.
 
Or it could be set on a soundstage and at several shooting locations in California and the United States during early-mid 2008 ;-P
 
Sharr Khan said:
Given the actors cast were are meant to portray Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu... ect and even Pike its very reasonable to think this movie will be set in the 23rd Century.

Sharr
Click to expand...
Given that info, I'm pretty sure it takes place in 1986 San Francisco.
 
My best guess is the movie starts some time after NEM with old Spock, which means the late 24th or maybe even the early 25th century. How much of the movie is set there is problematic, but I'd guess only the first few minutes. The bulk of the movie is almost certainly in the 2250s and early 2260s.

There are also scenes that would be in the 2230s or earlier (Spock and Kirk as kids), but these could be flashbacks and not part of the main story's timeline.

Of course, the timeline only means something to fans. Oddly enough, most of us who grew up with TOS had no real idea exactly when it was set. We had to speculate just how far into the future they really were. I can't remember when a more or less exact time was actually fixed to the TOS era.

And, the time probably won't matter much to movie-goers not familiar with the franchise, either.
 
Franklin said:
My best guess is the movie starts some time after NEM with old Spock, which means the late 24th or maybe even the early 25th century. How much of the movie is set there is problematic, but I'd guess only the first few minutes. The bulk of the movie is almost certainly in the 2250s and early 2260s.

There are also scenes that would be in the 2230s or earlier (Spock and Kirk as kids), but these could be flashbacks and not part of the main story's timeline.

Of course, the timeline only means something to fans. Oddly enough, most of us who grew up with TOS had no real idea exactly when it was set. We had to speculate just how far into the future they really were. I can't remember when a more or less exact time was actually fixed to the TOS era.

And, the time probably won't matter much to movie-goers not familiar with the franchise, either.
Click to expand...

I preferred it when we didn't know.

We had "In the 23rd Century" in TWOK, which was repeated in TVH. I'm fairly certain that the date was conjecture on the part of Mike Okuda (for Star Trek the chronology, based on something Roddenberry said. Assuming that the show took place 300 years from the original airdate - TOS began in 2266.

Having said that I'm sure a line in Voyager said the five year mission ended in 2271 -which doesn't make sense.

My point is - it shouldnt really matter.

23rd or the 223rd century, its a science fiction tv show/movie.

Its set in the future ;)
 
I agree somewhat with jon1701 that it really doesn't matter. TOS never really had timeframe that had any continuity, nor did they ever mention what year it was -- that didn't happen until TNG came along. If TOS got by without ever mentioning what year it was, I agree that the year is not that important. Having said all that, and sticking with the timeline created by TNG, here's what I think:

Since this film will span several time periods, I don't think we can easily say WHEN this will take place.

Parts of it will take place in the mid-2240s (Kirk's and Spock's childhood), some of it will take place during Kirk's time at the Academy -- although we don't know if it was his time as a cadet or his time as an instructor, but I'd say early 2250s would make sense. The bulk of this, I think, will take place right before the time Kirk takes command -- so I'd say early 2260s, maybe even as late as 2264, which is the year most people estimate that Kirk took command.

Then of course we have all the Nimoy's Spock stuff, which I assume will start in a post-Nemesis time period circa 2385.
 
Last edited:
http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=64040

I'm interested too but as OP on the link above, I'm at least as interested in the likely opening scenes set post-NEM (late 24th/early 25th century). I hope the spend a bit of time there and it is done so with defference to TNG/DS9/VOY. That doesn't have to mean that we see any familiar characters from that era but I would certainly love to see that happen. By that I mean a familiar character played by the appropriate actor/actress, within established storyline parameters, i.e.: Wil Riker as captain of the USS Titan, Captain LaForge of the USS Challenger, Admiral Picard of Starfleet Command, Captain Worf of the USS Enterprise-F, etc. all dependant on how far into the future they choose to start with for Nimoy's Spock.
 
You know, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of including Worf, one of the deepest and richest characters in the TV series; they wrote him so poorly in the film, though. Worf as the first Klingon Captain in Starfleet and as CO of a future Enterprise would be cool. If this film deals with Klingons in anyway, a seasoned Worf and an elderly Spock could go to the past together working interdependently to reach the same goal: restore their past and present. Worf deals covertly with the Klingons, perhaps even General Worf (STVI), while Spock works with his younger self.
 
MisterPL said:
original Trek was created in the 20th century and is being rebooted in the 21st, I wouldn't be shocked if it took place at least another hundred years beyond the original incarnation.
Click to expand...

Except, we keep hearing it's not a reboot. Sure, they're updating the costumes, sets, and (cgi) models. And the young versions of the characters have been recast. But characters haven't switched genders or ethnicities or, as far as we know, defining traits, a la nuBSG. Why would the setting change?
 
jon1701 said:
We had "In the 23rd Century" in TWOK, which was repeated in TVH. I'm fairly certain that the date was conjecture on the part of Mike Okuda (for Star Trek the chronology, based on something Roddenberry said. Assuming that the show took place 300 years from the original airdate - TOS began in 2266.

Having said that I'm sure a line in Voyager said the five year mission ended in 2271 -which doesn't make sense.

My point is - it shouldnt really matter.

23rd or the 223rd century, its a science fiction tv show/movie.

Its set in the future ;)
Click to expand...

It just better not start out, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." ;)

As long as it looked futuristic, I don't think it really mattered to Roddenberry if people thought TOS took place 200 years into the future or 400. Though closer may have been better than farther. The point was simply that it was our future, it was attainable and not that far off, and it was good.
 
In one episode, where the Enterprise is flung back to the 1960s, Kirk was interrograted by someone stating that he would be locked up for 200 years !!!

Kirk: That aught to be about right.

Though, of course, it was never that specific until the TNG era and TWOK.

As much as we all love to think of the Star Trek universe as a cohesive whole, we must be careful not to look too closely :-)
 
^
^^...and in the Squire of Gothos, Kirk implied that it's the 28th century:

He said Trelane's planet is 900 lightyears from Earth, and since Trelane was directly observing Earth, he was observing it as it was 900 years prior, which Kirk said was the 19th century.

19th century plus 900 years = 28th century.

Now, I don't believe Kirk actually WAS in the 28th century (I agree with the TNG-created timeline), but that is just an example of the willy-nilly way TOS handled pinning down what time period they were in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Warped9
Revisiting Star Trek Continues...
2 3
Replies
45
Views
2K
Warped9
Warped9
M
Time Travel Challenge: As Long As We're Here
Replies
0
Views
237
MikeJaffa
M
Maurice
MAD Magazine Keeps on Trekin’
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
mb22
M
A
Transition and explanation of SNW into TOS technology
8 9 10
Replies
180
Views
9K
Ronald Held
R
G
Spoilers Organian/Protectorate Timeline
Replies
4
Views
932
Robert Bruce Scott
Robert Bruce Scott
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top