In an era of reboots, restarts and retreads, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek trilogy-featuring new, prequel adventures of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the original series characters, aboard the USS Kelvin-has brought the franchise to a new generation and perfected a process increasingly central to entertainment media: reinvigorating the beloved classic.

Offering the first in-depth analysis of the new trilogy and the vision of the next generation of Star Trek filmmakers, this collection of new essays explores issues of gender, race, politics, economics, technology and morality-always key themes of the franchise-in the 21st century context of The Kelvin Timeline.