J.J. Abrams: 'We cut Klingons subplot'

Director J.J. Abrams has revealed that there was originally a Klingons storyline in the new Star Trek film.

He told Empire: "There was a big Klingon subplot in this and we actually ended up having to pull it out because it confused the story in a way that I thought was very cool but unnecessary.

"So we have these beautiful designs that we're going to have to wait and do elsewhere I guess."

Speaking about his upcoming sci-fi project, Abrams said he decided to use the Romulans as villains instead because it "breaks the rules" of the franchise.

"What was interesting to me was that it wasn't the Klingons," he said. "That's what you expect and it was fun to use the Romulans the way we did.

"Part of the fact is that they hadn't seen them for so many years, so that it immediately breaks, for anyone who knows, the rules of Trek to start the movie and have Romulans crossing paths with Starfleet.

"It jumps in breaking the rules, which I think is kind of fun."

He added: "That's not to say it's not explained and it’s not consistent with canon given our story, but it felt like we had seen so many iterations of Klingons done that this felt like a way to do something in the familiar vernacular but not so familiar that it felt overdone."

Star Trek is scheduled for release on May 8.