Trekkies with a serious dislike of spoilers beware! (Although to be honest, I’m not sure such a breed exists) The following may not be heavy on the details, there’s enough here to wet the appetite of those hungry for ‘Star Trek 3’ news.

First of all, according to sources, Roberto Orci has turned in a first draft of the script, and the bigwigs over at Paramount seem pleased. So with a good draft of the script in hand, Orci is ready to roll as director once they make it official, and pre-production already begun, the wheels are in motion for the sequel to make its mandated 50th anniversary in 2016 release date. And according to star Zachary Quinto (Spock) in a recent ‘The Today Show’ interview:

“I think it’s on the horizon… Things are rumbling, so I have a feeling that we will be in production sometime in the next six months.”

Which means, with luck, they’ll start shooting the new film in February 2015. And now comes the “spoiler” part, which is about Quinto’s speculations about the plot (which some are saying have now been confirmed):

“I think the five-year mission will be a part of this next film in some way…We’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of the one of the most iconic sci-fi series in entertainment history so its inherently an ongoing story. But I do think that we’ll feel some sense of evolution in these characters that’s been building through the first few films.”

So in essence, the new film will tie in much closer to the original series, and will be more about exploring new planets and deep space, and less tied to the earth-bound plots of the first two entries of the rebooted series. Orci has also commented that this time around the characters have advanced enough that they will more closely resemble their 60’s television counterparts than before.

As for that already blockbuster filled release summer, Paramount does not seem particularly worried, a sentiment I completely understand. With the brand recognition that comes with ‘Star Trek,’ it really won’t matter when the film opens, because there will be an audience ready and waiting for the further adventures of Kirk, Spock and crew.

Sources: CinemaBlend, TorontoSun