The First 'Star Trek Beyond' Trailer Has Landed

While we eagerly await our return to the galaxy far, far away later this week, Paramount wants to make sure we don't forget about the other big star-related adventure coming up in our near future. The studio has dropped the first trailer for Star Trek Beyond, the third installment in the rebooted sci-fi franchise and the first one not directed by J.J. Abrams. (He only produced, while Justin Lin took over in the director's chair.) Watch the Star Trek Beyond trailer after the jump.

Paramount unveiled the new Star Trek Beyond trailer on YouTube.

There's plenty to enjoy about the Star Trek Beyond trailer. The returning cast members — including Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scotty, John Cho as Sulu, and Karl Urban as Bones — are as charming as ever, and Sofia Boutella looks like she gets plenty to do as a new alien character. (It appears Idris Elba is playing an alien, whom I'm just going to go ahead and assume is just John Harrison / Khan in disguise. That's how Star Trek movies work, right?) The action beats look exciting, which is no surprise considering Lin is coming off of four straight Fast and Furious movies. And hey, it's a Beastie Boys song! Who doesn't love the Beastie Boys?

But... does it feel like a Star Trek movie? I'm honestly asking. The use of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" feels like Star Trek Beyond took a page out of the Guardians of the Galaxy playbook. The stunts look like Fast and the Furious in space. And all of this feels more like the Scotty show than the Kirk-and-Spock show. Overall, there's little sense here of what makes Star Trek special in a box office landscape that's already cluttered with big-budget sci-fi action-adventures.

Granted, it's unfair to judge an entire movie based on a 90-second trailer. And for better or for worse, it absolutely makes sense for a studio to try and play up the fun parts (action and jokes) of an expensive summer blockbuster. So for now, all we can do is wait and see and hope for the best.

Star Trek Beyond arrives in theaters July 22.