MUMBAI: Star Trek, one of the most popular and successful franchises in the history of movies and television, will return to the big screen in December 2008 around Christmas.

The movie will be directed by J J Abrams (Lost, Alias and Mission Impossible III) for Paramount Pictures.

The team behind the film will include Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Mission Impossible III) who wrote the screenplay and will executive produce with Bryan Burk.

Abrams and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof will produce the movie, which will begin shooting this fall.

One of the most popular film and television franchises of all time, Star Trek has encompassed 726 total episodes for TV in six different series, beginning with the original 1966-1969 series created by Gene Roddenberry. The 10 Star Trek films have grossed in excess of $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

“If there’s something I’m dying to see, it’s the brilliance and optimism of Roddenberry’s world brought back to the big screen. Alex and Bob wrote an amazing script that embraces and respects Trek canon, but charts its own course. Our goal is to make a picture for everyone — life-long fans and the uninitiated. Needless to say, I am honored and excited to be part of this next chapter of Star Trek,” said Abrams.

Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Brad Grey said, “We could not be more thrilled to be back in business with J J Abrams. The revival of the Star Trek franchise is an important part of Paramount’s turnaround.”