‘Star Trek 3′ Will Stay True to Original Franchise, Go Into ‘Deep Space’

Star Trek 3″ will boldly go where no man has gone before.

Director Roberto Orci promises that the latest installment of the rebooted franchise will stay true to its roots as it heads back to deep space.

“In this movie, they are closer than they are to the original series characters that you have ever seen,” Orci said during a podcast for Geoff Boucher’s Humans From Earth. “They have set off on their five-year mission. So their adventure is going to be in deep space.”

This means the USS Enterprise will explore the universe rather than the San Francisco cityscape, which fans took issue with in previous installments.

“In ['Into Darkness'] they set out finally where the original series started,” he said during the interview. “The first two films – especially the 2009 ['Star Trek'] – was an origin story. It was about them coming together. So they weren’t the characters they were in the original series. They were growing into them and that continues on in the second movie.”

The sequel marks Orci’s directorial debut. Orci, who co-wrote the first two movies, will also help pen “Star Trek 3.” He co-wrote “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ and the first two “Transformers” movies.

“Star Trek 3″ is set to debut in 2016.

Related stories

K/O Paper Products Promotes TV Exec as Production Slate Grows (EXCLUSIVE)

Hispanic Moviegoing Looks to Keep Booming in the U.S.

'Sleepy Hollow' Season 2: Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie Tease 'Explosive' Premiere

Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter