Star Trek Into Darkness is a 2013 American science fiction action film. It is the twelfth installment in the Star Trek film franchise and the sequel to 2009's Star Trek and the second in the reboot series. The film was directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof based on the series of the same name created by Gene Roddenberry. Lindelof, Orci, Kurtzman, and Abrams are also producers, with Bryan Burk. Chris Pine reprises his role as Captain James T. Kirk, with Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, Leonard Nimoy, John Cho, and Bruce Greenwood reprising their roles from the previous film. Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve round out the film's principal cast.

The plot of Into Darkness takes place one year after the previous installment, with Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise sent to theKlingon homeworld seeking former Starfleet member-turned-terrorist John Harrison. After the release of Star Trek, Abrams, Burk, Lindelof, Kurtzman, and Orci agreed to produce its sequel. Filming began in January 2012. Into Darkness '​s visual effects were primarily created by Industrial Light & Magic.

The film was converted to 3D in post-production. Star Trek Into Darkness premiered at Event Cinemas in Sydney, Australia, on April 23, 2013,^[5] and was released on May 9 in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Peru,^[6] with other countries following. The film was released on May 16 in the United States and Canada, opening at IMAX cinemas a day earlier.^[7][8]

Into Darkness was a critical success, and its gross earnings of over $467 million worldwide made it the highest-grossing entry in theStar Trek franchise.