The mainstream Star Trek franchise may have an insurrection on its hands as the fan-made film Star Trek: Axanar gets $200,000 on Kickstarter and releases Prelude To Axanar.
Prelude to Axanar is a short documentary style film detailing the events of the Battle of Axanar, a clash between the Federation and the Klingons that occurred 21 years before the events depicted in the original Star Trek TV series.
The original project was just to create the short film, and the creators made a kickstarter campaign to raise $10,000. They received $100,000 and the project became something more.
The Star Trek fans put together another kickstarter campaign, this time for a full length film. The initial goal was $100,000, and they received $200,000. According to executive producer Alec Peters the budget goal for the final Star Trek film will be about $650,000.
The minds behind the project Christian Gossett and Alec Peters, both confessed Trekkies, say the fans are getting excited. As Peters explained :
“They love what we’re doing. We get so much positive feedback. It inspires us to be better, and whenever we release something, they tell us something else they’d like to see.”
The cast and characters have helped push the enthusiasm further.
The cast has a number of sci-fi favorites including J.G. Hertzler (famous as General Martok) and Gary Graham who will resume his role as the Vulcan Sovol. Battlestar Galactica cast members Richard Hatch and Veronica Todd have roles as well.
But the most exciting might be the main character of Star Trek: Axanar.
The story of the film centers around captain Garth of Izar, captain Kirk’s hero who later turned into an evil, insane shape-shifter in the original series. The film depicts the famous captain as a sympathetic character with more depth than what fans saw in the original Star Trek series.
The battle of Axanar takes place the 4 years war between the Klingons and the Federation that nearly destroyed the Federation Star Trek fans fell in love with.
The purpose of the film, according to its creators, was to create a Star Trek movie that had the special effects and quality the series demands, but with a small budget.
Many viewers of the documentary have concluded that they succeeded in their goal.
To watch the full Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar click here .
Do you think that the Star Trek series has a future in the world of independent movies?
[Image Credit: Axanar Productions]