It's generally understood how every element of a film contributes to its overall effect, and that changing even the tiniest detail can make or break a particular moment. Even so, sometimes it takes some experimenting to see just how and why something may or may not fit into the overall fabric of a movie, because you never know until you try. This principle can be trickier when attempting to experiment with a franchise, especially one as long-running and well-established as "Star Trek." Yet J.J. Abrams managed to stretch "Trek" past its usual parameters when he mounted his 2009 reboot/legacy/alternate "Kelvin" timeline feature, giving the franchise a much-needed burst of new aesthetic energy while retaining many of its core principles. After all, who ever thought that a Beastie Boys song would fit neatly into "Trek?"
It's in this spirit that the two follow-up films, Abrams' "Star Trek Into Darkness" and Justin Lin's "Star Trek Beyond," continued, with each subsequent movie finding new ways of jazzing up the continuing mission of the Starship Enterprise and its crew. While the Kelvin trilogy managed to sneak many new and remixed elements into "Star Trek," apparently some just didn't vibe with the franchise. This was discovered by sound effects editor Lee Gilmore, who recently spoke with /Film's BJ Colangelo at the activation for "Alien: Romulus" at L.A.'s Haunted Hayride (this writer was also present). While speaking about "Romulus," for which Gilmore acted as supervising sound editor, the sound artisan discussed how he tried to sneak an "Alien" Easter egg into "Beyond," but ended up having to lose the idea given the very different aesthetic intentions of each franchise.