Showing an extensive preview for a major tentpole film is slowly becoming a trend. WB was the first to kick things off when they showed the first six minutes for The Dark Knight when I Am Legend was released, and they did it again for The Dark Knight Rises when Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol came out in theaters. Now other studios are following suit by getting into the business of showing off what to expect from their blockbuster films.

While we have yet to see anything that resembles a trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness, Paramount has announced that audiences would be able to see a 9-minute preview this December of the new Trek before showings of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

It is an interesting move to say the least. First off this will be the first time we will see such a preview in IMAX 3D. Second, this is the longest preview for a film before it hits its scheduled release date. Though it has been confirmed that there will be a preview, J.J. Abrams probably will show enough of the first portion of the film and then cut it to a montage of very explosive scenes. Not only that, but a teaser trailer will most likely arrive on the web around the same time The Hobbit is released on December 14, 2012.

Be sure to check out the official IMAX page for the location nearest you to see this preview. Star Trek Into Darkness opens in theaters on May 17, 2013.

[Source: EW]