The Star Trek sequel has been named Star Trek Into Darkness, Paramount Pictures has confirmed.

Rumours about the title of the JJ Abrams-directed movie — which is due for release in May 2013 — sprung up after the name was registered on various websites, and now the film's studio has confirmed the speculation to website Deadline.com.

No reason for a lack of colon or numerical inclusion has yet been revealed.

The second movie in the series sees  the leading cast of the 2009 film return, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban and Zoe Saldana.

New faces include British actor Benedict Cumberbatch and writer-and-actor Noel Clarke.

Speaking about the new movie recently, Quinto — who plays legendary character Spock — said the new film is "big and bold" compared to the first instalment.

He said: "It was bigger. It was bolder, I think, than the first one, and that was pretty big and bold from my stand point. I'm really excited to see what they do with it."