By Stefan Pape



The film starts in year three of the mission



Star Trek Beyond catapults us into the USS Enterprise crew’s third year of their five year mission. As with any sequel, there's always an expectation to outdo what came before, and safe to say in this instance that's a given, as Captain Kirk and Co find themselves in the depths of uncharted space, leaving the collective stranded on a remote planet without a ship to escape on nor any means of communication. They’re equipped only with an unwavering sense of hope and Spock's alarmingly calm demeanour.



All your favourite actors are back



Star Trek as a franchise is, and always has been, about the ensemble – and all of our favourite characters return within this production. Chris Pine reprises his role as Captain Kirk, with Zachary Quinto donning the terribly unfashionable Vulcan haircut of Spock. Meanwhile, Simon Pegg is back as Scotty, Karl Urban as Bones and John Cho as Sulu. To complete the Enterprise crew, Zoe Saldana plays Uhura, and the late Anton Yelchin plays Chekov for the final time. We are without the wonderful Leonard Nimroy, of course – but that's not to say Spock Prime isn't used as a key plot device nonetheless.

Justin Lin is on directing duties – and Simon Pegg's writing



Lin made a name for himself in the Fast & Furious franchise, a series of films that continue to get better. If the Taiwanese filmmaker can shadow that same sense of rejuvenation it will be a job well done, particularly when following on from the stellar work J.J. Abrams completed on the preceding two features. The hiring of Lin wasn't straightforward however; he staved off competition from Edgar Wright and Duncan Jones to land the job. The screenplay has been co-written by Simon Pegg – and you expect the self-professed Trekkie to bring his infectious enthusiasm and comic capabilities to the material at hand.



There’s a new villain to wreck havoc



A hero is only as good as his villain, and that's a sentiment that rings true within the Star Trek universe, particularly after the Enterprise crew overcame Khan, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Unsurprisingly, the antagonist of Star Trek Beyond yet again falls into the lap of a Brit, with Idris Elba playing Krall. But what do we know about him? Well, he's come from an newly-crafted species, and has an unforgiving disdain for the federation. From the pictures releases, it also appears that Elba spent about six hours a day in make-up. But what kind of villain he’ll be or what shape the storyline will take has been kept firmly under wraps. July 22 can’t come fast enough.