Everyone always talks about the pressure; I never felt one iota of pressure [on BEYOND] at all. In fact, it was the most fun we’ve had. Nine years in, it just gets easier.

What I really enjoy about this part of Kirk’s arc is that he’s relieved of all the onus of trying to live up to his father and the anger of never having met his father, all the stuff that drove the first films.

I think it was very important, especially for the first film, to [see Kirk being a young maverick]. There were fans that were dismayed that he had so much bravado – but there’s no place for the character to go if you don’t start somewhere. And that guy is certainly still in there.

Now he’s an older guy, not a young man anymore… he’s a leader and his priorities and motivations have changed. He’s thinking to himself, “Now that I don’t need [to be like my dad], what else is there?”