Latest Star Trek Beyond Promo Actually Captures the Franchise’s Unabashed Optimism

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While I loved 2009’s Star Trek, I was a less enthusiastic about the follow-up Into Darkness, mostly because they really leaned into the whole “darkness” thing. I’ve always loved Star Trek, because of the show’s inherent optimism. Even in its darkest moments on shows like Deep Space Nine and Voyager, there was always the sense that a certain code of ethics would win out, and that this code was the product of humanity finally having achieved a certain level of unity. The latest promo for Star Trek Beyond, appropriately titled “Unity,” captures that essence.

The promo focuses on both the amazing partnership between Kirk and Spock, as well as the general theme of humanity being strong because of its collective willingness to work together to thrive. That this theme is an important part of the film is made clear when Idris Elba’s alien antagonist, Krall, says “Unity is not your strength,” only for Kirk to reply, “I think you’re underestimating humanity.”

But the most squee-inducing moment for me is the final shot, when Dr. McCoy asks “You really wanna head back out there?” as he looks up toward the sky, and Kirk and Spock simultaneously reply in the affirmative.

This is something that this latest installment in the Kelvin Universe seems to be getting right, and the one thing that needs to be right, even as the franchise inevitably evolves. Kirk being the balancing point between McCoy’s unfiltered emotion and Spock’s careful logic, and that balance being the thing that allows humanity to thrive in the future.

In case you were wondering whether or not I can wait for Star Trek Beyond to come out, I CAN’T WAIT FOR STAR TREK BEYOND TO COME OUT.

(via Spinoff Online, image via screencap)

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Teresa Jusino
Teresa Jusino (she/her) is a native New Yorker and a proud Puerto Rican, Jewish, bisexual woman with ADHD. She's been writing professionally since 2010 and was a former TMS assistant editor from 2015-18. Now, she's back as a contributing writer. When not writing about pop culture, she's writing screenplays and is the creator of your future favorite genre show. Teresa lives in L.A. with her brilliant wife. Her other great loves include: Star Trek, The Last of Us, anything by Brian K. Vaughan, and her Level 5 android Paladin named Lal.