'Star Trek' Celebrates 50th Anniversary With New Stamps 

'Star Trek' Celebrates 50th Anniversary With New Stamps

Producer of crowdfunded prequel 'Axanar' also responds to Paramount lawsuit

 started its long journey into the final frontier in 1966 with the premiere of its original series, and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the franchise that went where no man has gone before, the U.S. Postal Service has unveiled four stamps dedicated to the cult sci-fi series.

The four retro-inspired Forever stamps – designed by Heads of State under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá – showcase the Starship Enterprise, the Starfleet insignia, a crewmember in a transporter as well as Spock\'s iconic Vulcan salute hand gesture. The base of the stamps will also feature the words "Space… the final frontier," taken from William Shatner\'s opening lines as Captain Kirk on each

stamps showcase four digital illustrations inspired by classic elements of the television program," the USPS said in a statement.

previously landed its own stamp as part of the USPS\' "Celebrate the Century" series in 1999. A release date for the 50th anniversary stamps wasn\'t announced.

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is a love letter to a beloved franchise,” producer Alec Peters said in a statement to The Wrap. "For nearly 50 years,

stories to share with fellow fans. That\'s all we\'re trying to do here."

universe, it doesn\'t feature any of the franchise\'s well-known characters, just the series\' mythology: "

takes place 21 years before the events of \'Where No Man Has Gone Before,\' the first Kirk episode of the original

is the story of Garth of Izar, the legendary Starfleet captain who is Captain Kirk\'s hero," the film\'s site describes the prequel.

fans themselves who are most affected here," Peters continued, "for by suing Axanar Productions to stop making our movie and collect so-called damages, CBS and Paramount are suing the very people who have enthusiastically maintained the universe created by Gene Roddenberry so many years ago."

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