Hollywood Popular Artists

Jun 13th 2012, 20:00

In a big day for the IMAX format, J.J. Abrams officially announced that his upcoming "Star Trek" sequel will feature "several key sections of the film" shot in the format. The statement came just hours after Lionsgate confirmed that "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" would do the same.

After several spy photos showed IMAX cameras filming on set, the larger format was more or less a foregone conclusion, but this official release definitively confirmed the use of the bigger print and the previously announced 3-D post-conversion.

Abrams wrote some enthusiastic words about the format in an official statement, saying "We were so thrilled with the creative results of shooting IMAX for Mission: Impossible that we jumped at the chance to use the format for Star Trek. All expectations were exceeded—the action and resolution is insane at this scale. We cannot wait for audiences to see the crew of the Enterprise in a way they never have before."

Our phasers are officially set to "snooze" when it comes to 3-D, but MTV Movies Blog is a big proponent of IMAX footage filmed in the native format. Anyone who has seen the really well done IMAX sequences in "The Dark Knight" and "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" can attest to what an awesome experience it is when that high definition image fills every inch of that screen.

Abrams' next "Star Trek" film is a great candidate for the format, as well. The first film in the rebooted series was a big, bold space opera in the grand tradition with lens flares galore. The larger format should only emphasize the scope and scale of an epic space film, so hopefully Abrams takes full advantage.

Unfortunately, the good news about "Star Trek" in IMAX came on the heels of some bad news for Trekkies. A roster of panels at next month's San Diego Comic-Con indicated that the convention favorite would not be making an appearance. It may still be too early to mourn, but for now, it looks like "Star Trek" will not be boldly going to Comic-Con.

Are you excited for "Star Trek" in IMAX? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

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