The Star Trek Into Darkness Prequel That Fans Forgot Existed

J.J. Abrams, frustratingly not a Trekkie, made one of the most financially lucrative "Star Trek" films of the franchise when he released his "Star Trek" in 2009. "Star Trek" as a series was kind of dead in the mid-2000s after the cancelation of "Star Trek: Enterprise" and the failure of "Star Trek: Nemesis," so many saw Abrams' film as a great turnaround for the series. Abrams dispensed with the gentle, pacifist philosophies at the core of "Star Trek," and turned in a more traditionally high-octane action movie. It bore the iconography and language of "Star Trek," but told in a slicker, modern blockbuster action movie mold. Abrams recast familiar characters too, hiring younger, hotter actors to play younger, hotter versions of Kirk, Spock, and all the rest. Audiences ate it up, and a sequel was put into production immediately. 

The sequel, "Star Trek Into Darkness" came out in 2013, and it repeated the formula of the 2009 "Star Trek," but making the action even more violent, and the villains even more evil. It told the story of Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his quest to free a cadre of genetically enhanced compatriots frozen in cryo-stasis. It also involved a crazed admiral named Marcus (Peter Weller), who wanted to get revenge on the Federation for something-or-other (it hardly matters). 

What many Trekkies may not know is that there was an interquel in between "Star Trek" and "Star Trek Into Darkness" that is, at last gauge, authorized and canonical. The 2013 video game "Star Trek," available for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, came out 20 days before "Into Darkness" in North America, and it starred the same actors as the new "Star Trek" movies, and boasted a story that linked the two films. 

Trekkies don't know about it because, well, a lot of "Star Trek" video games stink out loud. 

The "Star Trek" video game is set about a year after the events of the 2009 movie, and takes place on New Vulcan, a colony where displaced Vulcan people have come to live (recall that the Vulcan homeworld was destroyed in Abrams' movie). New Vulcan has access to a swift terraforming device called Helios — similar to the Genesis Device from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" — which is aiding in the rebuilding of their colony. Unwittingly, however, the Vulcan scientists have opened a rift to a parallel universe, and an army of interdimensional reptile men pour through. These are the Gorn, perhaps familiar to fans of the original "Star Trek" TV series. The Gorn begin infecting people with a mind virus that turns them into crazed zombies. 

The rest of the game's plot is typical action movie fare, leading Kirk and Spock into the Gorn's universe to save some kidnapping victims. Along the way, the Enterprise will become infected with the Gorn virus, allowing Kirk and Spock — i.e. the player — to soar through the air in special suits, charging to the rescue. The cast of Abrams' "Star Trek" movies all reprise their roles, and fans will be delighted to hear Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg's voices.

The "Star Trek" game was only the third (canonical) time the Gorn appeared in the franchise, following the 1968 original series episode "Arena," and an episode of "Enterprise" called "In a Mirror Darkly, Part II." The lizard-like beings had always looked a little silly — in the 1960s, the Gorn was just a guy in a mask — so the makers of Trek often steered clear of them. The 2013 video game updated their look, making them more agile and monstrous. 

One could choose to play as either Spock or Kirk in the 2013 "Star Trek" game, and its goal seemed to be to explore and expand the characters' relationship. The 2009 "Star Trek" film only saw Kirk and Spock meet for the first time, so this game was a good excuse to explain why they were close, and why they might be better coworkers by the time "Star Trek Into Darkness" hit theaters. 

No one much cared, however. "Star Trek" sold incredibly poorly. Video Game enthusiasts can tell you that movie tie-in video games are only very rarely good, and that "Star Trek" games even less so. What's more, the game received terrible reviews, with IGN saying that it was terribly generic, and that there was no difference in gameplay between Kirk and Spock. Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw declared it to be one of the worst games of the year, saying that it represented everything that was wrong with the entertainment industry. 

Abrams said that the failure of the "Star Trek" video game hurt the box office of "Star Trek Into Darkness," ostensibly because it alienated everyone who played it. "Into Darkness" still made over $467 million at the box office, but with a $190 million budget, that was still considered a disappointment. While the game likely wasn't widespread enough to really do any damage to the "Into Darkness" earnings, it did create an atmosphere of negative buzz. When "Into Darkness" also proved to be a bad movie, it looked like "Star Trek" merely stumbled again. 

Abrams would step away from "Star Trek" after that to focus on his true passion: a "Star Wars" sequel. Justin Lin directed the next sequel, "Star Trek Beyond," in 2016, but by then, the bloom was off the rose. "Star Trek" would reboot itself again with the launch of CBS All Access in 2017.

The rest, well, that's a drama unto itself.