According to Sci-fi Pulse, the blockbuster sequel Star Trek 3 (possibly titled “Star Trek Beyond”) has boldy begun principal photography today at the Squamish Boulders site in British Columbia, roughly an hour outside of Vancouver. Production will continue at the Great Wall Boulders on June 26, 29 and 30, and you can check out a YouTube video of the site and its abnormally large boulders below. Why would a Star Trek movie film near such large rock formations? As Captain Kirk would say, “Because it’s there.”
To mark the occasion, onscreen couple Zachary Quinto (a.k.a. Spock) and Zoe Saldana (a.k.a. Uhura) have posted a few (not-that-revealing) pics on Instagram:
The film is set to feature the return of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and Zoe Saldana as the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, along with Idris Elba as the film’s villain and Sofia Boutella in a mystery role. J.J. Abrams, who directed the last two films, is producing the third film in the rebooted franchise. Justin Lin, four-time The Fast and the Furious director, is set to direct from a script by Pegg and Doug Jung.
Paramount Pictures has Star Trek 3 scheduled for a July 8, 2016 release, which happens to be exactly two months to the day before the franchise’s 50th Anniversary. Although it wasn’t the first episode produced, “The Man Trap,” in which the crew of the Enterprise encounters a deadly shapeshifting salt vampire, introduced the world to “Star Trek” on September 8, 1966.
