11-30-00 Romulans in Next Film, Berman Says Rick Berman told a local news station last night that the Romulans — a Federation nemesis not yet featured prominently in a Star Trek movie — will play a major role in the tenth film of the series. He also promised a "doozy" of a villain, and disclosed that the as-yet-untitled "Star Trek: X" will not hit theaters until sometime in 2002. Executive Producer Berman, in an interview by UPN News 13 in Los Angeles, was being pressed to reveal what "surprises" can be expected in the next film. "I can tell you nothing about the surprises. I can tell you — I wasn't planning to do this, but I will — that we will be meeting the Romulans in this movie," he said, adding with a grin, "I will say no more." Berman was excited to report that the writer currently working on the screenplay, John Logan (see related story here), is a bona fide Star Trek fan. "John, I think, knows far more about Star Trek than I do. He has every episode on tape." He was also excited by the direction Logan is taking the story. "We've got, in my mind, the greatest Star Trek villain since Khan. John was intent on creating a wonderful villain, and we've got a doozy." (He did not specify whether the villain would be a Romulan.) Berman added that there will be an element of comedy along with the drama and action. "It's going to be shocking, it's going to be exciting, and it's going to be funny," he said. He told the news station that the film doesn't yet have a title — "'Star Trek: X' will have to do for the moment" — and that it will be released sometime in 2002, rather than the Fall of 2001 as previously reported. Berman also confirmed that Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard) and Brent Spiner (Data) have signed deals to be in the movie, and that Spiner participated, along with Berman and Logan, in crafting the story that the screenplay is based on. He dismissed rumors that the character of Data will be killed off in this movie, saying there are no plans to do that. He added that he does not wish to give credence to Internet rumors by discussing them. "They're not even worth addressing, because so much more of it is untrue than true." He also noted that, contrary to rumor, it has not yet been decided whether the next movie will be the last one for the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He did promise, though, "There are some very interesting surprises regarding Data in this film... but you're gonna have to wait to see the movie." from startrek.com.