KINGSMAN’s Sofia Boutella Nabs STAR TREK 3 Lead Role

"Kingsman: The Secret Service" actress Sofia Boutella has joined the cast of "Star Trek 3" and she apparently scored a pretty major role. While there are no details regarding whether or not she will play a villain once more, sources indicate that she will have a "lead role" in the sequel.

The film is directed by Justin Lin ("Fast & Furious 6") from a script by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. Since Idris Elba will not play the bad guy, according to Pegg, there's enough room here to speculate on Boutella posing a threat to the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise, especially since she made quite an impression as the villainous blade-legged assassin in Kingsman.

Franchise alums Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban and Zoe Saldana are set to reprise their roles.

"Star Trek 3" opens in theaters on July 8, 2016.

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Idris Elba in Early Talks to Play STAR TREK 3 Villain

Idris Elba ("Pacific Rim") is in early talks to play the villain in "Star Trek 3". There are no details as to who that villain might be and we will surely have to wait until the movie hits theaters to find out, as was the case with the Khan reveal in "Star Trek Into Darkness".

The sequel has had a pretty troubled production so far. Franchise writer Roberto Orci was initially set to direct, but when he dropped out, the studio replaced him with Justin Lin ("Fast and Furious") and also prompted some script rewrites.

The good news for the fans might be that the franchise is ready to return to its roots after many accused it of being more "Star Wars" than "Star Trek". According to co-writer and star Simon Pegg, the new installment will return to the spirit of the TV series:

"I think we just want to take it forward with the spirit of the TV show. And it’s a story about frontierism and adventure and optimism and fun, and that’s where we want to take it, you know. Where no man has gone before – where no one has gone before, sensibly corrected for a slightly more enlightened generation. But yeah, that’s the mood at the moment."

"Star Trek 3" opens in theaters on July 8, 2016.

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PACIFIC RIM 2 and STAR TREK 3 Updates

Two sci-fi sequels are moving forward and we have some new updates to talk about. First, we have a release date for "Pacific Rim 2" and some interesting details. The sequel to last year's robots versus monsters blockbuster was not exactly a sure thing. While the film grossed $411 million worldwide, it only managed to take in $101 million domestically, which isn't very impressive. But, the franchise has some decent potential, so Guillermo del Toro is now hard at work writing the sequel's script with Zak Penn ("X2"), and the finished product is expected to hit theaters on April 7, 2017, in IMAX 3D. The filmmaker also revealed that in the meantime we can look forward to an animated series that will extend the "Pacific Rim" universe. Also, it seems that the sequel will be released by Universal Studios, who have taken over distribution duties from Warner Bros.

As for "Star Trek 3", we have the first update regarding the plot and where the crew of the USS Enterprise is headed next in 2016. The film will be directed by franchise writer Roberto Orci, after J.J. Abrams left to work on "Star Wars: Episode VII", and here is what he had to say about the plot:

"In [Into Darkness] they set out finally where the original series started. The first two films – especially the 2009 [Star Trek] – was an origin story. It was about them coming together. So they weren’t the characters they were in the original series. They were growing into them and that continues on in the second movie. So in this movie they are closer than they are to the original series characters that you have ever seen. They have set off on their five-year mission. So their adventure is going to be in deep space."

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