Star Trek Into Darkness to preview nine minutes of footage in IMAX 3D

The crew of the USS Enterprise are set to engage audiences in summer 2013 with the upcoming sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness .

However, cinemagoers will get the opportunity to see a juicy nine minutes of footage in December. Paramount are set to attach the preview footage from the 2013 film to what could be the biggest film of 2012: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey .

Following the trend set by The Dark Knight Rises prologue at the beginning of MI:4 , the footage will be screened in IMAX 3D for audiences around the world from 14 December.

Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment, said: "Our longtime partners J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and the Bad Robot team have really hit it out of the park - the footage is absolutely incredible."

He continues: "Their use of the IMAX Camera and canvas is sure to impress current and future Star Trek fans alike. We're thrilled to once again work with our friends at Paramount Pictures to offer this extended 'first look' at this highly-anticipated summer blockbuster."

With only a three-frame teaser previously available, we cannot wait to see footage of the crew tackling Benedict Cumberbatch's (as-yet unnamed but no doubt nefarious) villain.

As key sequences were filmed using IMAX cameras, you can bet that the prologue will have been shot for that epic canvas.

UK cinemas currently confirmed for the footage include Cineworld sites in Dublin, Nottingham, Enfield, Crawley, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Ipswich and Birmingham, with more to be announced.

The film is set to hit UK screen on 17 May 2013, with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana reprising their roles.

Latest in Lord of the Rings Movies
Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
24 years later, fans are still spotting the incredible, "unmatched" attention to detail in Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
The Lord of the Rings anime movie sets streaming date, meaning every movie will be available in one place
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Peter Jackson reveals his favorite movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it's not the one you're probably expecting
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Just two weeks after its theatrical release, Lord of the Ring: The War of Rohirrim is heading to digital
The Matrix
32 movies that spawned iconic internet memes
Helm Hammerhand and his family in the throne room during the upcoming movie, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.
If you squint, those Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim cameos work surprisingly well in Tolkien lore
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong