IN THE highly anticipated “Star Trek Beyond,” the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

 

Directed by Justin Lin, with screenplay by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, “Star Trek Beyond” is the third installment in the reboot series and reintroduced by J.J. Abrams in 2009. It is also the 13th film in the “Star Trek” film franchise.

 

The crew of the USS Enterprise, halfway into their five-year mission, are attacked by a seemingly unstoppable wave of unknown aliens, forcing them to abandon ship. The destruction of the Enterprise maroons the crew on Altamid, a dangerous alien world. Stranded on an unknown planet and with no apparent means of rescue, the crew find themselves in conflict with a new and ruthless enemy.

 

Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto reprise their roles as Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock, with Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Anton Yelchin reprising their roles from the previous films. Yelchin, however, unexpectedly died last June 19 due to a freak accident. He was 27.

 

Idris Elba joins the cast as “Krall,” the hostile alien responsible for destroying the Enterprise. Elba said he was drawn to the character’s layers of complexity.

 

 

With the real life passing of Leonard Nimoy, known for his role as the original Mr. Spock, filmmakers wanted to memorialize the death of “Spock Prime” and show the impact of his loss on the younger Spock.

“Leonard Nimoy was a profoundly talented actor who became a good friend,” says Abrams. “We wanted to honor his legacy by referencing his passing in the film. I think it would have felt wrong to do otherwise.”