Star Trek Fan Film Lawsuit to Be Dropped
by EG
It looks like a fan-financed Star Trek prequel film will be able to go ahead with production after all, thanks to the intervention of the director of the latest official theatrical film in the classic franchise. According to Star Trek producer J.J. Abrams, Paramount will drop its lawsuit against Axanar, a crowd-funded independent Star Trek film, at the request of Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin.
The studio had filed suit against the independent production, alleging that the film violated the studio's copyright on many aspects of the franchise, including names, starship appearances, character design and even the Klingon language. This spring, a court ruled that the lawsuit could go forward, and the future of the project looked bleak.
Abrams told reporters at a promotional event this week, however, that Paramount plans to drop the suit, at least in part because Lin expressed outrage that the studio was treating enthusiastic fans of the franchise so poorly. Now it seems that Axanar, which is a prequel to the original Star Trek TV series, will have a clear road ahead as it nears production.
If nothing else, Abrams' announcement is good publicity for Star Trek Beyond, which hit theaters on July 22.