I Think They Found "Reverse."

So, I know many of the people who actually read this blog have probably seen this bit of news about a proposed new Star Trek movie already, but:

J.J. Abrams is becoming the next Gene Roddenberry.

Paramount is breathing life into its "Star Trek" franchise by setting "Mission: Impossible III" helmer J.J. Abrams to produce and direct the 11th "Trek" feature, aiming for a 2008 release.

Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, Abrams' producing team from "Lost," also will produce the yet-to-be-titled feature.

Project, to be penned by Abrams and "MI3" scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, will center on the early days of seminal "Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission.

Man, every time someone thinks about doing a new Trek project, they haul out this Starfleet Academy idea again, and it never becomes any less of a bad idea. In fact, it seems to me that it's only become more obviously a bad idea. I can just imagine someone saying, "Hey, I know! Let's do the Starfleet Academy thing! Being a prequel, it'll have all the continuity disadvantages of Enterprise, with the added bonus of recasting beloved characters who have become inextricably linked with the actors who originally played them!" Except, of course, what they're probably actually thinking is, "American movie-goers only want movies about sexy young people, so for Star Trek we need sexy young people... in SPACE!" Sigh.

Personally, I want a Deep Space 9 movie, if we have to keep flogging this poor dead franchise at all. But I've long since become resigned to the fact that that's never gonna happen.