Actor Simon Pegg played the role of Montgomery Scott in J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the Star Trek franchise, led by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. After the success of the first two installments, Abrams did not return alongside the writing team but remained on board as a producer. As a result, Pegg and screenwriter Doug Jung were tasked with writing the third installment.
During an interview, Pegg spoke about the themes and subjects the third installment Star Trek Beyond, hoped to explore. The actor-writer highlighted how the story was meant to mirror some relevant modern socio-political issues. However, despite the noble intentions behind the script, the film ultimately failed to impress viewers, becoming the franchise’s worst entry.
Simon Pegg Revealed How Star Trek Beyond Was Meant to Have a Strong Social Message
Simon Pegg first played the role of Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer of the USS Enterprise in 2009’s Star Trek, a reboot of the franchise directed by J.J. Abrams. Pegg later co-wrote the screenplay for 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, the third installment in the series, directed by Justin Lin.
During an interview with CBC Radio, Pegg spoke about the then-upcoming film. At the same time, the actor whose other screenwriting credits include Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz spoke about the themes of the sci-fi film. Pegg noted how the Star Trek franchise was always progressive, allowing it to explore several themes.
It’s important that it] not just be an adventure in space, it had to have some kind of allegorical weight and relevance … This sort of anti-collectivism which exists right now; that’s the thrust of our villain.
Pegg made the above statement, highlighting the film’s theme and correlating it with the real-world political situation in the United Kingdom at the time of Brexit.
Meanwhile, the actor also revealed how real-world anti-collectivism was reflected in the movie’s villain Captain Balthazar Edison / Krall played by Idris Elba. Furthermore, Pegg stated that the film’s underlying social message was to knock down the walls between communities instead of building more walls.
Despite Simon Pegg’s Efforts Star Trek Beyond Ended Up Being the Worst in the Franchise
From Pegg’s words, it is evident that the writing team worked hard to make the third installment more than just a mindless action-adventure film. Instead, they wanted to follow in the original series’ footsteps to tell relevant modern socio-political stories using the franchise’s trademark sci-fi elements.
Despite the efforts, Star Trek Beyond is arguably one of the least-liked entries in the reboot series. The film grossed only $343.5 million at the global box office. As a result, the film was the worst performer at the box office in the reboot series, failing to beat the collection of even the first installment.
Moreover, the Abrams-produced Star Trek films generally haven’t received the same reverence from the franchise’s fans as the shows or the original films. Star Trek Beyond remains the last theatrically released film in the franchise to date, with a sequel languishing in development hell for years.
Following Beyond‘s relative failure, the franchise as a whole returned to its television roots for almost a decade where it has continued to thrive. While a fourth film focusing on the Pine-led crew of the USS Enterprise is in development, it is safe to say that Beyond‘s performance turned off many viewers, making it arguably the worst entry.
The Star Trek movies are streaming on Paramount+.
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