Thanks to the critical and commercial success of the two films in the rebooted Star Trek canon, fans are anticipating what first-time director Roberto Orci has in store for the upcoming Star Trek 3. The new movies may have been somewhat divisive due to their embracing of Star Wars-esque sci-fi action elements and reliance on classic franchise imagery, but there’s no denying that they brought the brand back to the spotlight for a new audience.

Even though J.J. Abrams won’t be calling the shots this time around (he is producing, though), the production team is still utilizing his infamous “mystery box” filmmaking style, as so far there’s very little concrete information about the project. Orci himself has teased that he’s opting for something a little more original this time around, with the Enterprise‘s iconic five-year mission being used as the launching point, but that’s about it.

Now, some members of the Star Trek 3 cast have started to drop hints. Both Karl Urban and John Cho recently took the time to praise what Orci is developing, saying that it has the potential to be one of the best films in the series.

First, Urban was at Destination Star Trek over the past weekend (hat tip to TrekMovie), where he was asked about his feelings on the forthcoming threequel. The actor may not have read the script yet, but the new Bones has heard some very positive things.

Read his quote:

“I’m going to meet with J.J. [Abrams] in a couple of days and I’m looking forward to that. And the important thing is that it is going to be phenomenal. Based on what I hear of the concept, it’s going to rock and you guys are going to love it.”

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that during these early stages, Urban has nothing but high hopes for the Star Trek 3 story, but his comments do have some gravity to them. Of all the members of the rebooted cast, Urban is arguably one of the biggest Trek fans in the bunch (he pursued his role after watching the Original Series on DVD with his son), so if the film’s narrative is something that excites him this much, it stands reason to believe that Urban’s fellow Trekkies will be just as enthralled by it as he is.

Cho is in the same boat as Urban, in that he (allegedly) doesn’t know anything about the film’s plot, but he too is excited about the possibilities. During a Reddit AMA, the actor fielded a question specifically about his thoughts on the film marking Orci’s freshman directorial effort.

Here’s what he had to say:

“I’m absolutely confident in Bob. No one knows these characters better than Bob. And no one knows the Star Trek universe better than Bob. I think he’s going to blow people away.”

This isn’t the first time a member of the cast has voiced their support for Orci being in the chair. Previously, Simon Pegg called Orci the “most Trekkie” of the folk who’ve worked on recent Trek films, echoing the statements made by Cho. While some fans may have preferred to see someone with a little more experience behind the camera, it’s true that Orci is a solid choice in the sense that he is familiar with the universe and the characters (thanks to his co-writing of the first two screenplays). Ideally, he’s even picked up a thing or two from Abrams and will be able to continue the series’ style with the third installment.

Unfortunately, these quotes don’t provide any new insight on the overarching narrative of Star Trek 3. The only detail that has risen to the forefront recently is the potential involvement of William Shatner, who is apparently set to reprise his Captain Kirk role in a cameo with Leonard Nimoy. Other than that, we still know as much now as we knew then, but it’s still a great sign to see the actors express enthusiasm over the concept.

From the beginning, Orci has wanted to go back to the philosophical elements that made Star Trek stand out, so his vision has been guiding the film since its inception. A little change of pace from the space adventure tropes of the last two installments might be just the thing the team needs to truly blow fans away.

Star Trek 3 should be in theaters sometime in 2016.

http://screenrant.com/star-trek-3-sc...ho-karl-urban/