“Star Trek” Pushed Back To 2009

Variety is reporting the sad news that the release of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (official site) has been pushed back to 2009. Originally scheduled for release on December 25, 2008, Star Trek will now bow on May 8, 2009.

Star Trek fans everywhere moan.

Paramount has their reasons, of course. They apparently believe in the film so much they want to use it as a summer tentpole film and release it during the summer movie season where the blockbuster potential is larger.

Star Trek has no competition in its new slot – at least not yet, although it opens one week after 20th Century Fox opens X-Men Origins: Wolverine and one week before Sony is slated to bow the expected hit sequel Angels and Demons.

The Star Trek change was not the only shuffle Paramount made to its schedule and to the schedule of Dreamworks. Some of the other changes they made include:

• The Ben Stiller summer comedy Tropic Thunder is moving from July 11 to Aug. 15
• Martin Scorsese’s Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle Shutter Island…er…Ashecliffe will be released Oct. 2, 2009.
• An untitled comedy produced by Marlon and Shawn Wayans will be released on Feb. 9, 2009.
• The Eddie Murphy family film Nowhereland is moving from Sept. 26, 2008, to June 12, 2009.
• Renee Zellweger’s horror-thriller Case 39 is moving from Aug. 22, 2008, to April 10, 2009.
• David Fincher’s Brad Pitt starrer The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is moving from Nov. 26, 2008, to Dec. 19, 2008.

Still, it is the Star Trek news that is the most disappointing. It’s not that the studio doesn’t have a valid point and it’s not that it isn’t a smart business move. It just sucks that we have to wait another five months to see a movie we’ve already so excited about.

In case you’re doing the math in your head, we saw the teaser in January which means we saw the first trailer for Star Trek a full one year and four months before the film is set to open. That’s insane.