Star Trek 3

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of ‘Star Trek,’ which debuted on CBS in 1966, and Paramount has been adamant about getting the next film into theaters in time to mark the occasion. Today, they officially set the date. If all goes according to plan, ‘Star Trek 3’ will warp into theaters on July 8, 2016.

We've been hearing buzz about some of Paramount's major plans for a while now, but the studio finally confirmed their 2016 release line-up recently at CineEurope (the European version of CinemaCon, a major theater convention), and included on the list are lots of sequels, like 'Beverly Hills Cop 4,' 'Transformers 5,' and -- wait, what's this? -- 'Paranormal Activity 5,' which has been bumped back once again.

Though 'Star Trek Into Darkness' producer/director J.J. Abrams has his attentions elsewhere, 'Star Trek 3' is moving forward, with Joe Cornish the most recent director rumored to take Abrams' place. Now it appears the writer's room has had a bit of a shake-up as J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have joined the film, while Alex Kurtzman has jumped off the project.

With J.J. Abrams hard at work on 'Star Wars: Episode VII' to meet a December 2015 release deadline, someone has to step up and direct 'Star Trek 3.' Plenty of names have been tossed about as potential replacements, and now we can add a new one to the running: 'Attack the Block' director Joe Cornish, which might be the best possible choice we've heard so far.

Yesterday we heard the rumor that John M. Chu, director of 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' was one of the names being considered for the vacated 'Star Trek 3' captain's chair. That rumor was quickly shot down, but now a new name has risen to the forefront of the conversation: 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' helmer Rupert Wyatt. But how close is this to actually happening?

Though J.J. Abrams won't be around to pilot the next episode of the 'Star Trek' franchise as he'll be too busy with 'Star Wars: Episode 7' (he'll just be producing), Paramount seems to want to keep some consistency and has hired Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to pen 'Star Trek 3.'

Ever since J.J. Abrams signed on to direct 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' it's been unclear whether he'd be available to return to the directing chair for 'Star Trek 3.' With Paramount angling for a 2016 release, and Disney pushing to get 'Episode 7' in theaters in 2015, there's no way Abrams could do both. But it looks like Paramount is looking at a replacement, and Jon M. Chu is supposedly at the top o

Paramount is looking to move full steam ahead on 'Star Trek 3,' and according to Spock himself, the film will begin shooting next year. That seems like a rather quick turnaround, but if the film wants to meet its own 2016 release deadline, they better get moving -- and fast. But will J.J. Abrams be back in the director's chair?