Lin, it seems, was swept into the production of “Star Trek Beyond” rather quickly. The film was still being developed when the bulk of responsibilities was suddenly dropped on the director’s shoulders. Luckily, Lin was a Trekkie from childhood, so he was at least familiar with the tenets of the franchise. Still, a lot needed to be done very quickly, which isn’t the ideal way to make a feature film. Lin was already shooting an episode of a hit TV series when “Star Trek” pretty much just dropped in his lap. He explained:
“I’m shooting ‘True Detective’ in Ventura, and it’s a Thursday. I get a call from J.J. Abrams, and he’s like, ‘Hey man, just curious, do you like “Star Trek?”‘ I’m like, ‘I grew up watching “Star Trek” with my dad, it has so much meaning.’ He said, ‘Would you happen to have an idea for a “Star Trek” movie?’ And I said, ‘Aren’t you in pre-production?’ And he said, ‘Nope, no, we’re shut down.’ He said, ‘If you have an idea, would you want to come by the office on Monday?'”
That was it? Just come up with something? Luckily, Lin was able to assemble an idea pretty quickly and, once it was approved, rush into production, get a script together, and start building sets. Lin hit the ground running and struggled to keep up. He recalled:
“[O]n Monday, I sat down with J.J. and shared with him the idea of ‘Star Trek Beyond.’ He’s like, ‘Great!’ And this is the end of January. He said, ‘Let’s do it, but we have to start production in June.’ No script. Nothing […] It was tough. The toughest thing I’ve ever had to do.”