*Contains Spoilers For Star Trek XI. Read at your peril!*
According to reports coming out of TrekMovie.com, the beginning of Star Trek XI will not actually be set before The Original Series.
Instead, the movie will open in a post-Nemesis time-frame, supposedly to work in Leonard Nimoy’s performance as Spock. Whilst the movie may open in the years following Star Trek Nemesis, I would be surprised to find if Abram’s portrayal of the Star Trek universe at this stage bore much resemblance to that shown in Nemesis. This movie has been billed as more than just a prequel to TOS, but as somewhat of a reboot. Whether later Trek incarnations are referenced at all would start working the movie down in all sorts of continuity obligation. Then again, Nimoy is returning as Spock. This could all get very messy, couldn’t it? A semi-linked piece of canon.
Then again, perhaps it’s the writers like me that cause all this canon-loving continuity-hugging. Does it really matter if Abram’s Trek slots seamlessly into the current universe? Personally, no. I just want to see a good movie.
The new film is tremendous :D