Do you have pointy ears? A strangely bumpy forehead? Or are you a small furry creature that causes endless trouble?

You don’t need to be any of the above to audition for a role as an extra on Star Trek Beyond, which starts shooting in Dubai in September 2015. In fact, for a chance to play a part in the next chapter of the Star Trek saga, the only requirements are that you be between the ages of 6 and 70, and can be at Dubai Studio City’s soundstage (Building B) at some point from Tuesday August 11 until Thursday August 13, between 2pm and 8pm.

While local casting agency Miranda Davidson Studios, who handled the extras casting for Furious 7, declined to confirm whether Star Trek Beyond is the subject of this casting call they have issued, our conversations with the agency themselves and local industry bigwigs strongly suggest that it is.

The film is co-scripted by British actor and writer Simon Pegg, who also plays the Enterprise’s chief engineer, Montgomery Scott, produced by JJ Abrams (director the previous two Star Trek films and of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which filmed in Abu Dhabi in May 2014), and directed by Justin Lin, a veteran of the Fast and Furious franchise.

We’re still investigating Dubai’s role in the film but what we know is that the emirate was chosen ahead of Abu Dhabi – despite the generous 30 per cent rebate Abu Dhabi offers to film productions – because the producers wanted a location that looks like a “vertical city”.

We understand the shoot will only last for a matter of days, rather than weeks or months, and many extras are required – regardless of the shape of their ears.

cnewbould@thenational.ae