'Star Trek Beyond' release date & news update: film debut rescheduled

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Two more weeks—that's how long fans of Star Trek will have to wait before the highly anticipated third installment of the franchise comes to the big screen, versus its original release date.

The Justin Lin-directed film was initially set for a July 8, 2016 release, but The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the date has been pushed back to July 22, a date shared with FOX's next Ice Age film and Warner Bros.'" Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur." THR further reports that according to the source, the move was done to give "Star Trek Beyond" a greater chance at making a mark in its Imax run.

Justin Lin, who previously directed four Fast & Furious films, inherited the directorial reins of the Star Trek trilogy from J.J. Abrams, who directed "Star Trek" in 2009 and "Star Trek Into Darkness" in 2013.

In talking about how he got involved with the massive franchise, Lin told Deadline, "I was in the last week shooting 'True Detective' when J.J. Abrams called last December. He asked me, 'Do you like Star Trek? If you do, you should take this, be bold, and just go for it.'"

Lin added that as a young man who grew up watching Star Trek on television for 10 years, "Thinking about this, it became a very personal and very emotional decision."

He also said it was a speedy process, getting him involved and kick starting the production. He shared, "On Fast 6, we had a year turnaround and that was crazy. This one gave us six months to get ready, which makes it like an incredibly expensive indie movie."

The challenge now is making his mark as a director, as Lin comes into the third installment of the franchise. He admitted to Deadline, "As great as JJ’s films were, there’s still a lot to be mined from these characters. They haven’t really gone on their five-year mission, so what we experienced in the TV show hasn’t been touched on yet. That sets up an opportunity for exploration and the deeper you go, the more you are examining humanity."

"Those are the things that I absorbed as a kid and hope to tap into and embrace and celebrate," Lin said. "By the time this movie comes out, Star Trek will have been around for 50 years."

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, and John Cho will be back to reprise their roles in Star Trek Beyond, which hits theaters on July 22, 2016.