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Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman explained that the dilemma for the sequel was whether to pit the crew against another villain, or to have an "exploration sci-fi plot where the unknown and nature itself is somehow an adversary," like in Star Trek.
According to J.J. Abrams, the time travel-alternate reality concept used in the previous film was a deliberate ploy to enable a reboot for new sagas/films: "The idea, now that we are in an independent timeline, allows us to use any of the ingredients from the past - or come up with brand-new ones - to make potential stories."
Hayley Atwell and Teresa Palmer auditioned for the role of Carol Marcus.
Benicio Del Toro was in early talks for the role of John Harrison, but eventually declined due to monetary issues. Demián Bichir, Édgar Ramírez and Jordi Mollà were considered afterwards, before Benedict Cumberbatch was finally cast.
Paramount Pictures requested director J.J. Abrams to make the film in 3D. However, Abrams wanted to shoot the movie two dimensionally on film using IMAX cameras. The two compromised, and as a result this film marks the first time in cinema history that a movie was filmed in the IMAX format and then converted into 3D in post production.
Benedict Cumberbatch was recommended to J.J. Abrams by his Super 8 co-producer Steven Spielberg, who directed the actor in the film War Horse.
Peter Weller previously starred in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, along with former Trek villain Christopher Lloyd; and in RoboCop alongside fellow Trek veterans Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith and Miguel Ferrer.
Benedict Cumberbatch is best known for playing the title character in Sherlock. Leonard Nimoy played Sherlock Holmes on stage in the 1970s, and even makes reference to this fact in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, citing Holmes's logic that "when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Cast member Christopher Plummer also played Holmes, and also speaks a trademark line, "The game's afoot." Nimoy also recorded a song in the 1970s, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins", inspired by The Hobbit. Cumberbatch voices the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, in which his Sherlock castmate Martin Freeman plays Bilbo Baggins.
Benedict Cumberbatch recorded his screen test at his best friend's kitchen using an iPhone.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Alice Eve have worked together twice before, in Hawking and Starter for 10.
Of all the titles proposed for the film, including many joke titles, Damon Lindelof preferred "Star Trek: Transformers 4" best: "It's technically available, we can go there!"
Michael Dorn, who had played the Klingon Starfleet Lieutenant Worf, was contacted for a role during the start of filming, and was asked to play an officer. Eventually the filmmakers decided that "they didn't want to mix the old with the new" and cut him out.
According to writer Damon Lindelof, the story began with deciding whether Khan Noonien Singh would be the villain, and they weighed the pros and cons of him appearing. J.J. Abrams felt it would be "be fun to hear what Alex and Bob are thinking about Khan. The fun of this timeline is arguing that different stories, with the same characters, could be equally if not more compelling than what's been told before. Certain people are destined to cross paths and come together, and Khan is out there... even if he doesn't have the same issues."
The screenwriters studied sci-fi novels by Arthur C. Clarke and Larry Niven for inspiration.
This marks the first time a Star Trek film has shot outside the United States, with shooting in Iceland for special effects sequences.
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