Paramount Pictures has announced it has knocked back the release of Star Trek XI from 25 December this year to 8 May 2009, on the grounds that "the pic's gross potential is greater as a summer tentpole", as Variety puts it.

The only box office competition the JJ Abrams-helmed movie will face on the new date is from 20th Century Fox's X-Men Origins: Wolverine - due to premiere a week before - and Sony's Angels and Demons, slated for release a week later.

Paramount last month gave Trekkies a teaser trailer of the film, which chronicles how the Enterprise crew met at Starfleet Academy and subsequently went boldy forth on their first mission.

The eleventh Star Trek big screen mission features Karl Urban as Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Eric Bana as villain Nero, John Cho as Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Zachary Quinto as (young) Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, and Chris Pine as Kirk.

Leonard Nimoy will also appear as Spock senior, with Winona Ryder playing his mum. William Shatner, sadly, will have to remain on Earth, since he reportedly turned down a a mere walk-on part following tentative discussions with the director. ®

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