Behind the Scenes of 'Star Trek Beyond'

— -- It has been nearly a decade since the new generation of “Star Trek” movies hit the big screen, and the 13th film in the franchise, "Star Trek Beyond," includes familiar faces of the beloved characters.

Chris Pine, John Cho, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Karl Urban took ABC News' Rachel Smith behind the scenes on the set of the USS Enterprise to discuss the newest installment in the iconic sci-fi series.

Pine was excited to rejoin his co-stars, saying, "It's really good to be back after a couple of years and I love this group. We have a really great rapport."

Cho, who plays Sulu, explains, "It's the beginning of our five-year mission and we're a little world-weary and we've been at it for a while," he said of the film's premise. "We have a great new villain.”

Urban says with the new cast they are "exploring new territory,” explaining how he believes "that was always the very spirit of 'Star Trek.’ It was about space exploration and mankind operating on a level of its, I guess, highest moral capacity."

The next generation of Trekkies are also eager to embark on this latest mission. Some of the cast members even have family getting into it.

"My mom is a huge Trekkie. I didn't even know that until I was an adult and I was doing a movie where I had to play a Trekkie," Saldana joked about her role in the film "The Terminal.”

"There are young people who I meet; kids that watch the original series who are now grown up and many of whom have gone into [professions] based on imagining themselves playing on the enterprise," Cho recalled of some fans.

With 16-hour days on set, the cast has found time to have fun after three films together.

"So some singing, some of the big thing this time has been dub smash," Pine said.

"It's quite common for you to walk into the holding area and see John Cho or Zach Quinto there with a cellphone in your face," Urban added about the lighter moments in between takes.

"I mean look at them, they're goofy and super fun and good friends and great actors, goofing off all the time," Saldana said.

Quinto, who plays Commander Spock, shows the best way to perform the iconic hand gesture, the Vulcan salute. He says, "People don't know what to do with their thumb. It's not in like that and it's not out. I like to do it in the middle. That's pretty good."

"Star Trek Beyond" opens in theaters next Friday.