A year or two ago everyone was declaring Star Trek dead. The franchise’s last movie was a flop and its last gasp on television (“Enterprise”) was a failure. Now, with the announcement of a new movie on the way helmed by “Lost” creator and Mission: Impossible III director J.J. Abrams, people are getting energized about Trek again. The Star Trek is dead mantra is now old news, and anyone still reciting it as if the demise of Roddenberry’s vision is fresh fodder is editorializing on the long ago mothballed ideas of others.

Abrams is bringing fresh life to Star Trek, but whether or not he’ll do it the right way remains in question. We know that his movie will be a prequel to the Kirk, Spock, and McCoy era from the series, but exactly what form his prequel will take is a mystery. There are two possibilities here which seem to be lingering in both official and fan speculation:

The first is that Abrams is making a Starfleet Academy movie featuring Kirk and Spock in their early days at school. This is terrifying for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that long established Trek continuity says that such a meeting between the two of them never happened.

The second is that Abrams is making a movie about Captain Kirk’s first mission in command of the Enterprise. That one actually makes the most sense, since it would enable him to have Kirk and Spock in his film (which he seems keen on doing) without pissing all over fans and the franchise’s established continuity. It also fits with the rumored casting of Matt Damon as Jim Kirk. Damon is the right age to play Kirk when he first becomes a Captain, but much too old to play James Kirk in a wrongheaded Star Trek: The College Years. It also fits because Abrams has made no mention of McCoy in any of his discussion of the film, and though McCoy and Kirk are old friends, McCoy wasn’t necessarily a member of the Enterprise’s crew when Kirk first took command.

If you’re rooting for that second possibility (and if you like movies, Star Trek, or have a soul that’s exactly what you’re doing), then here’s some good news. Trek XI tracking blog The Trek Report claims to have the inside scoop on which direction J.J. Abrams is headed, courtesy of a tip from someone they call an “insider”. According to their anonymous scooper, “Star Trek XI will feature the first voyage of Kirk as captain of the Enterprise”.

This is hardly a confirmation, and The Trek Report is a long ways away from being a reliable, respectable news site. But if you’re any kind of a past or present fan of Trek, then you’ve got to take whatever good news you can get. It’s a good indicator. Now let’s hope Abrams gets moving and gives us something more concrete than a snazzy teaser poster to believe in.