Star Trek Into Darkness - 1 Month and Counting Down!

With little over a month to go until Star Trek Into Darkness hits our cinemas, my level of excitement is hitting warp factor nine. With new teasers and trailers, HD pictures and cast interviews in every magazine, I'm just absorbing everything I can get my hands on through osmosis. It's like a frenzy right now. And it's not just me, the entire fandom seems to be vibrating with the suspense, as we are still no closer to uncovering who John Harrison really is. It's been an incredible run up to the movie, and there is still 5 weeks left to go, I'm uncertain whether I will make it without my brain going supernova. 

But it's the fandom right now that makes me a little sad. I've always found the Star Trek fandom to be incredibly friendly, but lately there seems to be a certain amount of hostility towards the new fans. It's as if everyone is being made to earn their geek stripes before they are allowed into the hallowed halls. I grew up with Star Trek, it was a week night routine to sit in front of BBC2 with my older brother to watch the reruns over dinner. We had the VHS movie box set, bought the action figures and played with a home made cardboard Enterprise D Bridge replica. But why do I need to justify the level of my fandom experience before being allowed to express an opinion about the new movie?

It seems that there has been an influx of new Star Trek fans, because of this guy; the frankly brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch, who is an outstanding actor and quite rightly has a massive fan following online. It is these fans who are infiltrating the Star Trek fandom, and a few of the old school fans don't seem to like it. 

In a way I understand the resentment. Having grown up in an era (not that long ago in fact) where young people were openly bullied for being smart, (boffin!) for liking science fiction or fantasy, (geek!) or being fascinated with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the occult (freak!) , it can be quite difficult to see those people who hurt you so badly lining up behind you at the cinema once your favourite franchise becomes main stream entertainment. But surely, liking an actor is just as legitimate a reason for wanting to see a movie, as being a life long fan?

As a VFX Artist and Creative, I work for the love and passion of what I do, but I fully understand that at the top of the tree, movie making is an industry designed to make money. If you as a fan wish to see your favourite franchise survive, then you should be encouraging new people to embrace that franchise. At the end of the day, the more bums on seats in opening week, the more dollars are made and the more likely your franchise will survive. 

I want there to be more Star Trek movies. I want there to be a rise in good science fiction and fantasy films. I want the things that I love to be around forever, and that can only happen by encouraging new people to try it out. So rather than shun the new fans, thank them profusely and welcome them into the fold. Opening night for Star Trek Into Darkness is going to be amazing, so lets not ruin it with inter-fandom wars, let's enjoy the journey together.