Three different franchises loom over the trailer for Star Trek Beyond and none of them are Star Trek: the soon-to-be-franchise Guardians of the Galaxy, Fast and Furious, and Star Wars.
Guardians of the Galaxy is there in the music—the very antiquated but still pretty awesome (for the 24th century, or whenever it is) choice of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” Star Wars is there in the timing; with last week’s release of the new X-Men Apocalypse trailer it seems studios have decided it’s best to release new teasers before whatever The Force Awakens unleashes. It is also there, perhaps, in the tone—where the Star Wars trailers were stirring, even portentous (I cried), this is fun, even a little goofy. And finally, there’s the Fast and Furious movies, which bleed into everything else. Justin Lin, who directed the series’ best installments, is at the helm here, which means that the action is BIG and light on its feet.
None of it seems too Star Trek-y, which has already led some to complain—the top comments on YouTube are all people complaining—but who cares? It still looks fun, even if Idris Elba, the film’s villain, is barely in it.