It's almost hard to believe that the Star Trek universe has been rebooted successfully enough that we're actually looking forward to a sequel and not just assuming the next one will suck (or that the next one will be good, depending on whether the last was an odd or even entry). With the critical and commercial success of J.J. Abrams' incredible film, a sequel is not “likely” or even “planned,” it's as inevitable as the annual Saw movie. It's going to happen. There's nothing you can do about it.

As much as we adored the first film, there are dozens of cases of great pieces of entertainment followed by disastrous sequels. A home run in one at-bat does not mean you won’t strike out the next time. It's hard to believe that Abrams and his team will go too far afoul from the first movie. Don't expect a Batman Forever-esque drop-off. But it's also easy to see the bar raised by the first film leading to unfulfilled expectations. The myriad of possibilities that Star Trek left open for a sequel also opened many doors to potential disaster. Will Star Trek 2 get sucked into a red matter wormhole? Or will it match or even top the success of Abrams' first film and be the Wrath of Khan of the Trek 2.0 franchise? Let us offer some advice to make sure it's the latter:

Skydiving to the Narada's drill arm.

It sounds minor, right? And yet it's the one thing that detractors of Star Trek constantly throw at me to which there is no solid argument. It appears to drive some people crazy. Although I think it's indicative of the thin ice the backlash bandwagon sits on that their most common complaint is something as trivial as lens flares. So why cut back in the sequel? Because even Abrams has admitted it's a problem. He told io9, "It was one of those things ... I wanted a visual system that felt unique. I know there are certain shots where even I watch and think, ’Oh that's ridiculous, that was too many.’ But I love the idea that the future was so bright it couldn't be contained in the frame." Good idea, didn’t work. Make sure they’re almost completely absent from the sequel or risk an easy out for critics waiting to tear the film apart.

Simon Pegg as Scotty.

Once again, this is something to satisfy some of the detractors of the first film. I think it was a case of unmatched expectations, but Simon Pegg's late arrival in Star Trek threw a few people off because his casting had made such waves when it first happened and he was included in a lot of the trailers and early clips. Of course, no one thought that Scotty would play as big a role in Star Trek as Kirk or Spock, but more than one person told me, "I kept wondering when Shaun [of the Dead] would show up." When he did, he was clearly one of the more well-liked characters in the film. Give him something fun to do and maybe twice as many scenes as in the original. His likable personality won't overwhelm the film but he'll be a diverse comedic alternate to Kirk's passion and Spock's logic.

The Enterprise crew (l-r): Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Kirk (Chris Pine), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), and Uhura (Zoe Saldana).

The origin stories of Kirk and Spock worked so well in the first film that producers might be thinking that audiences want historical gaps filled in for the rest of the Enterprise crew. We don't. Move on. Don't you dare go back and show us Uhura or Sulu as a child. The fact is that even the smartest writers in Hollywood sometimes fall into the understandable trap of "Well, it worked the first time." The instinct to repeat what worked about an original often sinks a sequel and I'm sure there are some concepts for the Trek sequel that involve more back story. We don't need young Chekov in school or how Sulu learned how to fence. You set up this alternate universe. Don't explain it any more. Just explore it.

On the set of Star Trek.

The cast of Star Trek may be hopping back and forth between E! and Entertainment Tonight studios and Abrams may now be a household name, but the technical team behind Star Trek are the ones who could arguably win Oscars for this film and should be re-hired as quickly as the on-screen cast. Don't lose any of them. Hire Michael Giacchino first. His score is the best of the year to date, by far, and one of the best major summer movie scores in years. I'd love to hear him play with his themes for the sequel. The set design team – challenge them to come up with something even greater than the incredible design of the Narada. The sound and visual effects team – lay down the gauntlet. "Top yourself." Bring the people who built the world of Star Trek and challenge them to do an even better job the second time around.

Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Kirk (Chris Pine).

The dynamic between Kirk, Uhura, and Spock was used JUST enough in the first film and it should definitely be a part of the second film. In fact, Uhura's relative disappearance in the final act of Star Trek was disappointing. So, if the best way to bring her back into the fold is to play up the triangle like Bryan Singer did with Wolverine-Jean Grey-Cyclops in the second X-Men film, then go for it. But be careful. We do not want to see One Tree Hill: The Final Frontier. The concerns that the cast of Star Trek would look too much like a CW pilot were unfounded. Don't make them founded again.

Spock (Zachary Quinto) on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Sequels are almost always intended to be “bigger, faster, stronger” than the first film. But we've all seen how wildly that can misfire. More mutants (X-Men: The Last Stand), more villains (Spider-Man 3), more characters (At World's End) – Hollywood seems incapable of learning that more is not always better. Stick with the date you brought to the dance – one villain, focus on the characters and their teamwork, a relatively simple sci-fi set-up. Don't listen to the naysayers complaining about the simplicity of the “red matter” and remember that this is not that kind of sci-fi film. A MacGuffin is better than talky, overly complex science that will turn off the masses you brought in with the first film. Keep it simple and keep the focus on what worked and fight the urge to go more in-depth with everything.

Eric Bana as the Romulan Nero.

We love Eric Bana but his Nero felt a little two-dimensional. The second original franchise film had the strongest villain in the entire franchise in Khan and the villain should be a major force in the Star Trek sequel. Of course, topping the baddie who rebooted the entire universe will be tough, but the villain in the Star Trek sequel needs to be a powerful force, someone or something that presents the now-formed crew of the Enterprise with the biggest challenge in the history of the franchise. Think of the jump from Liam Neeson in Batman Begins to Heath Ledger. You brought the team together. Now give them a dangerous, deadly, and memorable villain to conquer.

What do you think? Did we forget to mention some nagging problem you think should be corrected in the sequel or something that needs to absolutely be avoided?
 
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