'Star Trek Beyond' Images Reveal A Battered But Familiar Crew And A Battered Mystery Ship

We know that the next trailer for Star Trek Beyond is set to arrive on May 20 and will be revealed as part of a larger "fan event" that will include a Q&A with the cast and director Justin Lin. After all, it's Star Trek's 50th anniversary – this is the perfect excuse to go big. But since that date is still weeks away and you may very well be thirsty for anything and everything related to the next film in the greatest science fiction series of all time, you can pursue a new batch of photos that have shown up online.

These images originated at the Chinese site Check Magazine, but they first came to our attention via a story over at Trek Core. While these aren't the most exciting photographs in the history of the internet, they do offer a new look at the cast, a new look at those spiffy new uniforms, and most importantly, glimpses at the bridge of a ship that is most definitely not the USS Enterprise.

The one thing unifying all of these images is that everyone looks completely exhausted and battered, like they've been through hell and back. We know from the first trailer that Star Trek Beyond features the destruction of the Enterprise at the hands of a new villain named Krall (Idris Elba) and that the crew finds themselves scattered and alone on a hostile planet. This means everyone gets dramatic-looking head wounds, dust on their uniforms, and expressions that pretty much read as "Oh s***, oh s***, oh s***." The only person who doesn't look totally ruined or worried in these images is Justin Lin, but he's directing a massively expensive science fiction movie filled with special effects and stressful day-to-day decisions, so you know he's screaming and crying on the inside.

Here's the big question of the moment though: what ship is the crew inhabiting in these photos? It's definitely not the bright and shiny Enterprise. In fact, it looks much older, like it's from a generation or two prior to the current ships of Starfleet. Trek Core suggests that it could be the USS Franklin, a ship glimpsed in a piece of concept art revealed last year, but that doesn't explain where it came from or how Captain Kirk and his crew managed to get on board.

Star Trek Beyond opens on July 22, 2016. Check out the full gallery of new images below.