Isso realmente parece ser um rótulo aplicado pelos fãs e pela mídia. Os escritores não consideram isso uma reinicialização.
Em 2009, eles fizeram esta entrevista , onde eles disseram,
"We couldn't imagine not having this movie somehow fall within some degree of continuity. We don't accept the word reboot. Reboot does not actually describe the fact that this movie would not be possible without the 10 movies that came prior to it. The very events of the movie themselves are caused by Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and his story, which picks up essentially after the last movie, Star Trek 10 [Nemesis]. ... So our movie is both a prequel and a sequel. It's a sequel if you're a fan, and a prequel if you're not."