J.J. Abrams, the genius behind LOST, Alias and the upcoming Six Degrees, talked a little with Variety about some of his plans for the next Paramount Pictures Star Trek movie. Keep in mind that the elusive power player does not reveal any real specifics but here are a few of his pithy comments and ideas for STAR TREK: XI:

“We absolutely feel beholden to the fans,” the producer of the next Trek film told Variety, “but at the same time, we have to recognize that you can’t only go out and make a movie or TV shows for a group of people that live and breathe a show.” [You have to be able to make a film that] “simultaneously speaks to the people who hold Star Trek close to their heart, and at the same time tell a story that resonates [with everyone].”

“Star Trek to me was always about infinite possibility and the incredible imagination that Gene Rodenberry brought to that core of characters.”

“[It] was always… a show about purpose, about faith vs. logic, about science vs. emotion, about us vs. them. It was its own world, and yet it was our world.”

“[Star Trek] was always my favorite when it was a little bit scary, when they would deal with beaming something on the ship that was an incredible mystery or there was a clear threat.”

“All of these things I loved about the series is what we’re working to incorporate into the story for the movie.”

Abrams, in another recent interview with Cinefantastique Magazine, pulls back the current a little more for some of his ideas for the future of the movie franchise:

“The key to doing any of these things correctly is that it has to treat the situation and the characters with the exact respect and integrity that you’d treat any drama, whether it happens to be a comedy or science-fiction. You can’t tell the story in a cheap or pandering way… it just doesn’t hold water.”

“I’m a real fan of Star Trek and I think there is without question life left in that series. I think that the fact that they ran so many series for so long, including an after-the-film series, is sort of remarkable, and I think that this downtime is only good for it.”

While, J.J. is holding back the meat and potatoes of a plot for the next Star Trek film, it is obvious from his above comments that Paramount’s studio head, Gail Berman has placed the care and future of the 40-year franchise into the right hands. J.J. is a man who not only respects all that came before him in the Star Trek universe, but is sensitive enough to ensure that its canon will continue for generations to come while at the same time infusing new life into an idea that should never know death.

We give J.J. the final word:

“My reaction is always a gut reaction, which is, if there were a great telling of a ‘Star Trek’ movie, it could be as thrilling and as fun as anything I could imagine. Listening to that voice has been very helpful.”