Star Trek: Axanar is a ground-breaking independent film that proves the idea that a studio doesn’t need to spend millions of dollars to produce a feature quality production. Axanar will be the first non-CBS/Paramount produced Star Trek to look and feel like a true Star Trek movie.
The story of Garth of Izar, a character only seen in one episode of the original Star Trek (portrayed by actor Steve Ihnat in the TOS episode “Whom Gods Destroy”) is one writer/producer Alec Peters first wrote 20 years ago. It wasn’t until 3 years ago, after playing Garth in the well known Star Trek: Phase II fan film, did Alec turn the story into a screenplay.
But making a fan film was not of interest to Alec. A veteran entrepreneur and a 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner, Alec decided that if he was going to make Axanar, it needed to look like a real film. So Alec recruited his good friend Christian Gossett. A visual artist whose ground-breaking graphic novel “The Red Star” includes James Cameron and Ridley Scott among his fans. His first short film has won several awards on the film festival circuit and his second film looks like it has Oscar potential in the short film category.
Axanar has already begun to attract attention from Star Trek fans who want to see something new and innovative that honors the Star Trek they grew up on. If hundreds of thousands of fans are willing to see fan films that recreate TOS (The Original Series), then there is a huge appetite for something new and original and professionally made.
Axanar will start shooting in March 2014 and be released Winter 2014.
Axanar takes place 21 years before the events of “Where no Man Has Gone Before”, the first Kirk episode of the original Star Trek. Axanar is the story of Garth of Izar, the legendary Starfleet captain who is Captain Kirk’s hero. Kirk himself called Garth the model for all future Starfleet Officer’s. Garth charted more planets than any other Captain and was the hero of the Battle of Axanar, the story of which is required reading at the academy. This is that story.
Axanar tells the story of Garth and his crew during the Four Years War, the war with the Klingon Empire that almost tore the Federation apart. Garth’s victory at Axanar solidified the Federation and allowed it to become the entity we know in Kirk’s time.
It is the year 2245, four years into the war with the Klingons.
Star Trek: Axanar stars Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica) as Commander Karn, JG Hertzler (Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Enterprise) as Captain Samuel Travis, Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica) will sit center-seat on the U.S.S. Enterprise as Captain Robert April – the captain of the first Constitution Class starship bearing the name Enterprise, and Alec Peters (Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II)stars as the great Kelvar Garth (of Izar), Captain of the U.S.S. Ares and Starfleet’s most successful explorer before the legendary Captain Kirk. Gary Graham reprises his Star Trek: Enterprise role of Vulcan Ambassador Soval.
Other pivotal characters in the production yet to have cast announcements are Kenji Tanaka, First Officer and Garth’s closest advisor and friend. Tara Wagner, Tactical Officer. Lt. Corax, Intelligence Officer – an Antosian and top secret shape shifter. Commander Alexei Leonov, Chief Engineer. Commander Carter, Commander of the Starfleet Black Shirts (No red shirts here. Good guys wear black). Lt. Cross, pilot. Lt. Caine, Communications Officer and cryptologist. And finally, Lt. Hyree, Strategic Operations Officer.
Check out the promo for this upcoming production and a little something extra called Prelude To Axanar:
Garth’s early history marks the man
Who would later destroy a fleet of
Aggressive aliens that coming from
His fall into a icy river while all of
His family died in that event.
Giving Garth his nickname of
The ice demon who cannot
Die despite their best efforts
to do so. Ice being somewhat
rare and unique. A demon or
A zombie. Something dead
Or undying leaves the klingtons
Unnerved.
To do so. Ice being something
Rare and unique on their world.