'Star Trek Into Darkness' Bits: J.J. Abrams Screens Film For Dying Fan; Zachary Quinto And Zoe Saldana Talk Relationships; New High-Res Stills Revealed

J.J. Abrams is famous for his devotion to secrecy, but even he knows when to open up and perform a good deed. After a Reddit post made the rounds last week about the wish of a Trekkie stricken with terminal cancer, the filmmaker got in touch with the man and his wife to offer a private screening of Star Trek Into Darkness.

Though the couple were "sworn to secrecy" about the details of the picture, they reported that they enjoyed it "immensely" and were touched by Abrams' gesture. Read more after the jump, and then check out some new high-res stills from the film.

The post asked Reddit users to help grant Dan's wish of seeing Star Trek Into Darkness, or at least the nine-minute prologue, before he passed away. Abrams got word of the Reddit request, and got in touch with Dan and his wife to set up a special showing of the unfinished film.

In an update, Dan's wife gushed about Abrams and his film, and thanked the fan community for their help:

Hi everyone, it's Daniel's wife, we are of course sworn to secrecy, BUT we are officially allowed to say we saw it and we enjoyed it IMMENSELY as a film and as a gesture....

This is a story of us giving something to him, the 'internet' community giving something to him and ultimately being a heartwarming gift to our friends, family and so many others. This story of us (and of course JJAbrams & Bad Robot) being able to give this surprise gift of a screening to a huge movie buff like Daniel, especially a film made by a film maker who obviously makes movies with such care, with a fan like Daniel in mind (and a person like me who knows slightly less about these things).

There's not much else I can say, except that stories like this are a welcome reminder that kind people are everywhere. Kudos to Abrams and everyone who helped Dan along the way, and our thoughts go out to Dan, his family, and friends.

Meanwhile, the rest of us still have a few months to go before we can see the film, but for now we have a few more high-res images below. Most of these were previously seen in low-res form thanks to Empire magazine, but these crisper, cleaner versions are just so much more pleasant to look at.

[via Coming Soon]

As for what's going on in those pictures, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana recently stopped by Extra to drop a few hints about the interpersonal dynamics we'll see in the film. Quinto talked about the deepening bond between Kirk and Spock: "Kirk really earns his leadership. Spock really earns an understanding of friendship."

And, it seems, of romance as well — though the stars themselves wouldn't confirm as much. "Whether [Uhura and Spock are] together or not, that will remain to be seen," Saldana said. "Come on, I'm not going to ruin the element of surprise! I signed the papers, trust me, I will lose a kidney if I say too much!" [via Trek Movie]

Star Trek Into Darkness opens May 17.

In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.