 Paramount gave Bennett the green light to write Star Trek III the day after The Wrath of Khan opened , the fastest go @-@ ahead the producer had received . He began writing the screenplay , noting that " seventeen other people could have written [ it ] " after the hints at Spock 's resurrection in the previous film . Bennett and Nimoy used the open thread of Spock mind melding with McCoy at the end of The Wrath of Khan as a way to explain Spock 's restoration . The idea and name of the Vulcan " katra " came from Bennett 's discussions with Nimoy . The actor referred the producer to an episode of the television series , " Amok Time " , that suggested to Bennett a high level of " spiritual transference " among the Vulcans . Bennett admitted that the idea of Kirk and company going back to the Genesis planet to recover Kirk 's " noble self " stemmed from a poem he read in a Star Trek fan magazine . The film 's production acknowledged certain expectations from fans — Nimoy remarked that if Spock had not been resurrected and , instead , " Captain Kirk turn [ ed ] to the camera and [ said ] ' Sorry , we didn 't find him , ' people would throw rocks at the screen . " A major issue Bennett wrestled with was how to introduce the story for people who had not seen The Wrath of Khan . Bennett said that his television producer mentality " won out " ; he added a " previously in Star Trek ... " film device , and had Kirk narrate a captain 's log , describing his feelings and sense of loss . Aware of the story 's predictability , Bennett decided to have the USS Enterprise destroyed , and intended this plot element be kept a secret . 
