Abrams Close to Casting New Chekov – Looking For Big Names For Villain and ‘Federation Captain’ August 7, 2007
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: ST09 Cast , trackback
The casting news is coming faster and faster these days…now from the Hollywood Reporter no less. According to trade paper, the up-and-coming (and Russian-born) Anton Yelchin is in negotiations to play Pavel Chekov for the new Star Trek film. THR also confirms that casting is under way (in New York and London) for "Kirk, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, the film’s villain and the Federation captain." It is not entirely clear what they mean by ‘federation captain,’ it is possible they actually mean ‘fleet captain’ which would be Chris Pike. THR reports that Abrams is expected to sign bigger-name actors for the villain and the ‘federation captain.’ roles. Yelchin is only 18, but has been working steadily since 2000, most recently with a recurring role on the Showtime drama Huff. He is starring in two feature films opening in the fall of 2007 (Charlie Bartlett and Fierce People).
Chekov?
The recent leaked casting sheet did not include the character of Chekov, but that seemed to be because the character actually didn’t show up on the series until the second season. One would not necessarily expect Chekov to be in a ‘prequel,’ however even if he did show up that is not necessarily violating (or should I say ‘wiolating’) canon. The Enterprise had a crew of over 400, yet you only saw a handful in each episode. Plus Star Trek II established that Chekov was indeed on board the ship at least by the time of the first season episode "Space Seed."
Youth appeal
Yelchin certainly is ready to play a ‘young Chekov,’ the actor is thirteen years younger than Walter Koenig was when he began his Trek career (although Chekov was supposed to be much than Koenig’s actual age). It is a good sign that Abrams is actually casting someone who was born in Russia, but Yelchin has lived in the US almost all his life and has no discernible accent. The young actor has an active fanbase and seems to be an up and comer. This fall he will be seen in two starring film roles. Yelchin is the title character in the comedy Charlie Bartlett coming out in October and a month later will be seen staring along with Donald Sutherland in Firece People (trailers below). Yelchin’s career trajectory and his being one of the first to be cast may be an indication that the Chekov role has some substance to it in the film. The casting of such a young popular actor may be part of the strategy to give the new Star Trek more youth appeal, something the franchise dearly needs. This of course was part of the rationale for the introduction of the Chekov character in the second season of the Original Series…so it is only fitting
Casting time
This is the first casting story in the trades since comic con, but by no means the last. I do know that the team are in full time casting mode right now. Expect more and more stories (and rumors) to come in the next few weeks through September.
Original article: Hollywood Reporter
Trailer for Yelchin’s upcoming "Charlie Bartlett"
Trailer for "Fierce People"
The new Chekov ? and a certain famous friend
More Yelchin:
IMDB Page
Wiki Page
Fansite: ANTONYELCHIN.NET
Fansite Anton Yelchin Resource
VOTE: Check your Chekov
What do you think of Yelchin as Chekov and Chekov even being in the film? vote in the latest poll…right column
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Comments»
I’ll bet he does a better Russian accent than Koenig. I was actually unaware that Koenig was that old when he started on Trek.
Doesn’t really look very much like him… but then again Chekov was meant to be eye candy for the young girls that never really panned out. Maybe this’ll bring ‘em in.
I’m not sure what to think about this news…However, one thing is certain: it now seems quite clear that Abrams is posturing for REALLY young actors. I must admit that in casting a high-school aged kid, Abrams reiterates just how ‘young’ he is looking to cast. 18 is a bit too young in my mind, but I guess time will tell.
I am not so sure about the need for the actors to resemble their classic counterparts. On the other hand, I think a good one to play Pike who would have some resemblence would be Ben Affleck. Likewise, I had already thought that if they have Number One in the movie, then Jennifer Garner-Affleck would be a good choice for that role, especially given her past with Abrams. An even more interesting piece of stunt casting would be to get Chloe from 24 to be Number One.
For Uhura, I think that Megalyn Echikunwoke from the 4400 (Isabelle) would be a good choice. I also love, love, love Aisha Tyler but she is a little out of the age bracket I think.
Really bad news! First, that guy doesn’t look like Chekov and second, Pavel joined the Crew in the secon season (2267).
According to the article, they are casting in New York and London. Since the British actors tend to know what they’re doing, I think that’s a good sign.
I just hope hope Kirk doesn’t wind up talking with a Brooklyn accent, like Anakin Skywalker, though!
The Brits will probably end up as either admirals, or bad guys…
Well, I think its good that they went with somewhat of an unknown. Honestly people, would you really want to see big name stars like Damon, Affleck, or any of those kinda guys as the TOS crew? It would be distracting. Unknowns are better, I think.
But I do admit, the whole idea of recasting TOS still kinda makes me uneasy. I know its gotta be done, but still….I’m glad Nimoy is in (and hopefully Shatner too but I’m guessing not) because first of all its just awesome to see him back in Trek, but it also makes me feel a bit better about the whole idea.
Re #6
“The Brits will probably end up as either admirals, or bad guys…”
How about Malcolm McDowell as an admiral who hates Kirk’s guts?
He could have a scene where he leans in close to Kirk and says, “One of these days, Kirk, you’re going to get what’s coming to you. I’m going to make sure of it!”
It would provide a nice laugh for people who remember him as Soran. Plus, he’s already played an Admiral–Admiral Tolwyn–in the Wing Commander games!
#4
As the article states, Khan recognized Chekov in Star Trek II, so technically Chekov had to have been on the ship in the first season episode “Space Seed.”
#9 OMG, you’re right, sorry for that! But he was never shown on the Bridge, what means that he couldn’t have been the tactical officer in that time. Hope Abrams notices that fact!
Herr….’fanon’ is not ‘canon’…your opinions are not facts
I bet Checkov isn’t on the bridge in this one. He will probably be a top cadet training on the Enterprise, who catches Kirk’s eye by his performance of his duties. Kind of like Scotty’s nephew in Trek II.
I would like to see Chekov in the movie – and I think Anton Yelchin is a good choice and looks also in a way like Koenig.
I don’t know about Yelchin playing Chekov… I can’t really comment on his acting ability, having not seen any of his work, with the exception of those he had bit parts in (15 Minutes, Geppetto – ugh!), but he doesn’t really look like Chekov. I’d like the performer to have *some* similarity to their counterpart… but, whatever. If Abrams thinks Yelchin can pull it off, then I shall withhold my judgment… until I actually see the film, that is. ;)
As for Chekov’s place in the movie, I don’t recall seeing any report stating the film would only be set during the earliest part of the Enterprise’s voyage, before Chekov became navigator/tactical officer. Plus, as the report said, it was revealed in TWOK that Chekov was aboard the ship before he began working on the bridge. So those of us worrying about precious canon can relax, methinks. ;)
Great choice if they got the hair right! No curls please…
And Chekov WAS aboard the Enterprise in Season One. Otherwise, Khan wouldn’t have known him in TWOK. That’s a fact. He wasn’t shown or named. Maybe he was played by another actor in the background…but he was always aboard…great decision!
#13 “Anton Yelchin…looks also in a way like Koenig.”
Where in the world do you see that??? :P
If this film can capture 1/3rd of the spirit, feel, look, and fun of the Trek “trilogy” of II through IV, we are in good shape.
Star Trek has always gotten into a bit of trouble when the story pursues the vague nebulous high concept formulas unfortunately, since that’s the essence of Star Trek. Trek seems to excell when there is a fairly straightforward narrative and plot device.
Khan seeks vengeance.
Let’s search for Spock.
Let’s go home and save whales while we are at it.
Contrast these simple premises with-
An alien intelligence seeks it’s creator and is convinced Earth is the key.
Let’s look for God, oops, it’s really a pissy alien.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually love The Motion Picture, but you have to remember, the average moviegoer isn’t interested in high-brow stimulation but rather pissing away two hours away from work ,or the partner, or kids etc.
Having taken a look at his photos at IMDb, he does kind of resemble Koenig/Chekov… sometimes. Again, though, haven’t seen him act, so I don’t know if he has the “acting chops”, as it were, but with a little bit of hairstyling and makeup, I can see him as Chekov.
@18: Have a look at the “Fierce People” trailer. It has got a complete voice over by Yelchin. He has git Chekov’s voice. Just imagine the Russian accent and he’s simply perfect! There is something Frodo-ish about him with these curls though…
http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=fiercepeople
O.K. Here is a definite answer to the Chekov question- Look at the stardate of Chekov’s first appearance in `Catspaw’. It’s 3018.2. `Space Seed’ had a date of 3141.9. Chekov was already on the ship and the stardates prove it! (In addition to TWOK.) :-D
#20 Good catch, forgot all about that. Not that stardates are a reliable way to tell what happened when, but i definitely lends to the whole “Chekov was already there” thing.
Speaking of casting, has there been any information as to who the casting director is on this film? Casting has been going on for a while, so they obviously have a casting director. I’m sure it’s April Webster, who also cast Mission: Impossible III, Lost, and Alias for Abrams, but I wish there was something official.
In “Who Mourns for Adonais” Chekov says, he is 20 years old. So Yelchin would have the correct age (Walter Koenig was 30, but looked younger). Maybe they are getting younger actors because they are planning a series and a now 28 year old actor can play a 35 year old even in ten years, so aging would not be that obvious. When you look at TMP, the cast played 10 years younger (and had to be filmed by filters).
#22 Chekov said he was 22, not 20. ;)
#23 OK… My memory seems to be fading… :(
#24 No worries. It happens to the best of us. :)
…what were we talking about again?
#22 – Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. That’s my last hope that they aren’t going the “Star Trek Babies” route, but may instead be casting people who can still believably play TOS-age characters (i.e. during the 5-year mission) for several sequels, which would likely be made 2-3 years apart.
Also possible: there may be some chronological shifting in the movie (NOT time-travel, but story-wise), with parts taking place before the 5-year mission, and parts during. In that case, casting young (for some of the characters at least) may be a way to have them believably play different ages.
Anyway, I’m at least glad that actual info is starting to come out.
Big name actor for a villian????
I really liked Christopher Plummer as General Chang. He played an atypical Klingon. For me this was a refreshign change. Keeping on this parallel, someone who does theatre comes to mind is Tim Curry. Before some of you guys crap all over this suggestion, perhaps thinkig outside the box is what’s needed here. He has an off the wall charisma. Not sure if he would be “big” enough for JJ.
I also think too much of a ‘big’ might be a distraction from the movie. I wonder exactly how big JJ actually is thinking? Perhaps a villain who plays some nut case that intends on converting everyone to some religion that doesn’t use drugs during child labor, is an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses its critics and victimizes its members. hmmmm
I’m sure whoever the villian is, this will be a one shot picture deal.
505 dtst
#27 I have been wanting to see Tim Curry in a Star Trek role for years. I think it would be awesome to see him in a Trek role, plus I would love to write the article for him at Memory Alpha. If Tim Curry is cast in any Trek project, I will be ecstatic.
Re-casting the whole crew at all sounds for me like a reunion of a cheap family-series. JJ shouldn’t pay attention to get that “Star Trek family-feeling” if the story of the film itself gets worse because of that!
There was a good novel that told how the crew came together, must have been written by Carey in the 80s…
#28
Star Trek: The Wrath of Dr. Frank-N-Furter?
Tim Curry would make a good Q.
#30
I agree I’d rather just see whats left of the original crew reminisce on the show in a TV special or something. The new film with new actors playing beloved characters we’ve grown up with might be just too ludicrous to stomach
#30 Ha! I was expecting comments like that. You’re the first to do so, congrats. ;)
This Russian actor looks alike a bit of a pansy to be honest.
btw, that last image makes me cringe to no end… any reason we needed an image of a drunk-looking Yelchin next being eyed by a bulldog?
*ignore the word “next” in that previous post (#35)
He seems ok to me, heres one out of left field. How about Tom Hanks as a Klingon for the film villian.
LLAP
They’re casting Chekov a few years younger than the youngest of the others, which is about right.
Two things:
We don’t know that Chekov is on the Enterprise – he may be a cadet or assigned to another ship;
We don’t know that there’s only a single sequence on the ship taking place at a single point in time – we may see the characters early in their mission and then hop ahead to the second-season time frame.
Three points…
1. If those involved in the casting decisions…especially J.J. Abrams himself…are looking at Russian-born actors for the “Chekov” role, then I will fully expect them to cast an actual Scottish actor in the “Scotty” role too…NOT just anyone who can muster a supposed “flawless Scottish accent”…whatever that is…as there are many dialects… I know it’s called acting…but I really want the actors in this to be from the countries that their characters are meant to be from… :)
2. Please can we get away from the Brits being given juicy “villainous” roles all the time…as a Brit myself, it gets monotonous listening to “plummy-voiced” thespians as the bad guys in too many movies ( although I’ll make an exception for Alan Rickman’s turn in the original “Die Hard” )…
3. Does this imply that the ( “terrorist”?) villains may just be Klingon or Romulans then?…oh well, not my first choice of adversaries for this Movie then…
He’s friends with Paris Hilton? I hope he comes with his shots…
“Charlie Bartlett” looks interesting, the kid appears to have acting chops. Man, I have to admit it is WEIRD seeing new actors walking around in these old characters’ boots. I think I’m going to freak out internally when they announce the “new” Kirk.
Just for the record…I hope for something unfamiliar and unseen before as adversaries in this “first mission” of Kirk’s. Keep the Klingons and Romulans for the sequels if you must, but give us something NEW at this point…
Anthony–if you read Koenig’s ST-TMP book, that’s Vwiolating, thank you vwery much! Of course, STIV’s nuclear wessels works in your favor.
The new Spock works good, but I personally think it won’t if every caharcter gets recasted. I could accept one new face for one of my heros but not the whole crew + Pike + ? ! In the end it’s like Battlestar Gallactica!
Maybe they get all the original actors to speak the new ones. It would help to accept them when we’ve got something we’re familliar with…
Of course except De and James Doohan (unfortunatly)!
That dude looks like Justin (American Idol) Guarini in the above picture.
Everything was fine, including the trailers for his other movies coming out soon, until I got down to the bottom…and threw up a little in my mouth :(
Was that last picture ‘really’ necessary? At the very least, perhaps ‘infamous’?
I wonder… Chekov wasn’t on the show until the second season, but is it possible that he was some random crewman? Did he, Kirk and Scotty frequently hang out at the ship’s tavern/bar/pub??
To repeat, canon is whatever Paramount says it is. If the new movie has Chekov on the ship and on the bridge from day one, then, shazzam, he was there all along.
Paramount’s obligation is to make a movie that’s consistent with Trek tradition as viewed by normal people, not hard-core fans. If you ask normal people if Chekov was in the crew, they will say yes. They will expect to see Chekov in the new movie. If he’s not, they will leave the theater asking “Yeah, but here was Chekov?”.
Looks to me like were gonna see a movie about the crew’s first Enterprise mission, complete with Kirk bucking the brass and trying to come to terms with Spock. At some point, Spock will save Kirk’s life when it would have been logical to let him die. Big bonding moment. Nimoy will, at least, frame the movie, but he could easily be involved in a more substantial manner by having a secondary plot set in the post-Generation era. I don’t see Shatner being in it without hocus-pocus.
as much as i like TOS over the spin-offs,recasting this crew never bothered me,in fact i’m looking forward to seeing what n00bs can bring to these iconic characters.
as long as the story is good and these new actors do the characters justice,i really do look forward to 2008 :)
Canon may be what Paramount says it is, but it’s not like we’re expected to ignore stuff on screen. For example, in ST6, Valtane was alive. Due to the sheer stupidity of Brannon Braga, the character was killed off at a time when he was known to be alive, rendering the entire episode of Flashback inaccurate.
#48–As for Shatner being in it, that’s a simple matter of writing him in. I bet 10 different people can come up with 10 different scenarios, all of which are viable, doable, and can fit within canon. That’s not an issue. I won’t say more on it though here since we don’t want another Shatner thread and I don’t want to upset Anthony.
Back to the topic…Chekov can definitely be in this movie. As has been pointed out many times, there are 400 people on this ship. We don’t see them all. Having him as a lower decks character would actually be a great nod to TWOK. The character was 22 years old in Season 2. So casting a very young actor isn’t that big of a deal.
I think we will see all the characters being intruduced for the first time in Trek XI. Spock will maybe have this argument with Sarek, or Spock tries to quit the Enterprise because he’s bothered by Kirk’s style of commanding, Uhura and Scotty could be distanced because they already were crewmembers of Pike’s crew and Bones is the only one Kirk knows for years. First, nothing matches with each other, but during the plot, everyone realizes his part into crew…
Part of me is concerned that the entire classic bridge crew is going to be crammed into this one (I was expecting a WNMHGB-era story focusing on Kirk and Spock), but on the other hand … I look at the brilliant job Abrams and Lindelof do of balancing an ensemble cast on Lost, and it allays my worries. It pleases me that this new Chekov actor has Russian roots, just as Koenig did indeed have some Russian heritage. The filmmakers are staying very true to the nationality of these characters.
And the ads for this “Charlie Bartlett” are everywhere. I believe it’s makers are hoping for a 21st century version of Ferris Bueller. While I doubt it could be THAT good, if it is a modest hit and Yelchin becomes popular with the teenaged MTV crowd, that’s even more good news for our Star Trek. I’m impressed – so far the casting on this has struck me as very smart. And I know JJ & co. are keenly aware of how KEY to this whole project it is to get the casting of the new Kirk exactly right. A large chunk of the success or failure of this will rest squarely on that decision. I can’t wait to see who it’ll be!
p.s. Paris Hilton as either the Salt Sucker or the Bridge railing! :)
Chekov’s presence can be easily explained, he was part of the crew, just not on the bridge. There are over 430 people on the ship, not all end up on the bridge that often, much less in a regular capacity. He got a promotion when we saw him.
My guess would be that, in casting younger actors, they could set a trilogy comfortably in the TOS time frame, across the next ten years.
Then, I suppose, if the first trilogy was a success, they could run a ‘Phase Two’ trilogy in the period between TMP and TWOK!
Elisha Cuthbert as Carol Marcus.
That’s what I’m waitin’ for.
:)
I think this guy would work out fine…
TTM
For all the gnasing of teeth about the fact that Chekov never appeared on screen for the first season of Star Trek, and whether or not having his character in the movie violates canon, it’s amazing that no one has been up-in-arms about the appearance of Dr. McCoy in the movie.
Lest we forget, at least for the very early portion of Kirk’s command aboard the Enterprise, the chief medical officer was Dr. Mark Piper and not Dr. McCoy.
That’s why we have to be so calm and careful at this point to not freak out over every little detail until we know more about what is going to happen. I’m sure that given the attention to detail that J.J. Abrams is showing that all it will take is a little creative writing to get around certain “canon” problems. As others here have said… Chekov could easily have been on the Enterprise that whole first season, just not in a prominent role. He could have been the third-shift navigator or something like that. The presence of Dr. Piper vs. Dr. McCoy can be explained equally as creatively.
It’s way too early in this process to freak out over little details.
I have a feeling all the casting will be dribbled out… with Kirk, still mysterious for a while, as if there was some doubt that J.J. doesn’t have a short list, probably somebody like who’s playing Spock… he’s in plain sight already picked by J.J. It’s mighty counter intuitive that the casting of the lesser players would be priority. I’m almost certain that Paramount & J.J. had someone in mind from the beginning, it’s just “logical”. LOL.
And I don’t see any resemblence to Chekov in this dude, but then, I don’t think it will matter much.
#54 Dom!
Is that THE Dom? How have you been? Long time, no talk.
I wouldn’t be concerned with the use of all the TOS characters. Even if they do bring in Shatner and fix Generations, a good chunk, if not the entire bulk, of the story will be with the younger versions. There’s a lot of room to work it all out.
Which reminds me, StillKirok, I want a 2 hour + movie! There is a lot of story to tell here, so none of this 90 min. b.s., please! MI-3 was just over 2 hours, so I think it’s very likely.
Also, off topic – I’m really looking forward to the music by Michael Giacchino! His work on Lost is emotional and haunting, now he just needs to give it that epic, sweeping nature that something as big as Star Trek requires.
#54 Dom … I agree. I’ve always thought the period between TMP and TWOK was rife with storytelling potential. It’d be ok with me if by the 3rd movie, the new cast was in the maroon uniforms!
Yelchin was one of the best actors in Taken, even at that early age, so I’m confident he’ll be good as Chekov. Then again, with all the other stuff going on, I wonder how much screentime Chekov would get?
Well it’s official our film must be a blockbuster we have an actor who has very likely banged Paris Hilton!!!!!
I think you guys are kidding yourselves if you don’t think Chekov is going to be on the bridge at his usual station in this movie. Which is fine with me– you GOTTA have Chekov in a Star Trek movie! He’s part of the family!
And if Abrams wants to ignore some of the early timeline, so be it. People find all kinds of ways to rationalize those early shows now, but clearly the show was still a work in progress and it’s the FINAL version that Roddenberry was really aiming for.
This is where so-called canon meets the can.
No sane producer is going to look at constraints of “when” Chekov began to appear on screen. If there’s a good place for Chekov, he’s in the movie. Reboot, retelling, ridiculous. The original is a strong suggestion, but it’s NOT going to be written in duranium. Let JJ do his thing. I can’t wait to see this NEW breathing Trek.
None of the crew, other than Kirk and Spock, were seen in all 79 episodes. Not even Bones. I have no problem believing that Chekov was simply not seen for the first 29 episodes. I mean, how many times was someone sitting at the helm instead of Sulu?
If this report proves to be true, I have no problem with Anton Yelchin playing Chekov. Like Zachary Quinto, he looks enough like the original actor who played the role to make a connection with people less familiar with Trek. In other words, put him in a Starfleet uniform and stand him with the rest of the new cast (when they’re announced) and they regular joe on the street will likely peg him as “the Russian guy.”
People, you have to realize that they are never going to find actors who are total look-alikes for the original cast. They are going to choose the best actors for the roles, not ones with a necessarily close resemblence to the original actors. The fact they have chosen one actor (Quinto) who does have a certain resemblence to Leonard Nimoy shows that they are aware of the importance of how these characters are suppposed to look, but that isn’t the first priority. Nor should it be. A good actor can remind an audience of an established character without being a clone of the original actor who played the part. In other words, a strong performance will go much further than a strong resemblence. Let’s try to keep that in mind.
Oh wait, he’s the Hearts In Atlantis kid?
That was a decent flick. He was pretty good. He’s got Paris as his friend, too? Must be nice.
But my money is still on Sean Connery as Chekov.
Dyan Cannon
Cannon – Michael Conrad -very very fat
Cannon Camera
Cannon Balls – very exciting in Master and Commander
Cannonball Run
Cannonball Run II
Star Trek Cannon issue – stop worrying people, we’re in good hands
A Russian playing a Russian!
What a concept!
That guy who played him in the New Voyages ep was pretty good.
Technically, Abrams will be the SECOND person to be re-casting the original roles, when you consider NV. (What a concept, yet again, I say.)
One thing I think we all agree on- Giacchino’s score will no doubt kick ass.
Giacchino will have to use Alexander Courage’s fanfare, and Jerry Goldsmith’s longstanding themes in his score if this trek fan is to be musically pleased!
They’re all so young .A little too”Starship Troopers”
‘all so young’?
actually Yelchin is a lot closer in age to the character than the original actor. Plus the only other actor who has been hired is 30, (and Nimoy is in his 70s)
most of the rest of the crew will be in their 20s and 30s. Plus actor’s ages are not character ages….they are bound to skew young for this film due to that is what they do in Hollywood and to help set up the film for sequels.
Yep. If the studio hopes for at least two sequels over the next five years it’s best to start young.
Enough with the whole “Chekov wasn’t aboard during season 1″ thing… fer christ’s sake, as pointed out by several astute fans, the stardates prove he was around somewhere when Khan went crazy on the crew… my god!
BTW, for the VILLAIN, I would love to see Rutger Hauer spinning around with his insane laughter as he fires weapons at the Enterprise. Just acting completely insane as he tries to kill Kirk and the crew. Remember him in The Hitcher? God, he was so evil!!
it is good to see that so few are stuck on the Chekov/season 1 thing…showing that people realise that canon and fanon are not the same thing and that you can be flexible. Perhaps there wont be a Bring Back Piper campaign after all…we can only hope
He could have been serving, transfered and then returned later, if they want to fit Chekov into canon…
#76
Bring Back Boyce then instead!!!
English villians? Ummmm. What about that guy from Relic Hunter…Christien Anholt? I’m convinced that he would make a good villan, but he needs a little more film credit to his name.
Another excellent choice would be Ian MacKellen, but he’s in everything now…LOTRs…The Da Vinci Code…X-Men…and personally…I couldn’t see him in a Star Trek uniform. A little bit too much like Patrick Stewart.
Oh, before I forget…William Shatner understudied Christopher Plummer in his early days…so I’m fairly sure they both would know each other’s acting styles. I don’t know, I’ve never seen him in anything before, but if Shatner is coming back it’s worth a shot.
Also, Tim Curry would not be a bad choice for a villian at all, considering that he has theater training and experience. If you notice, Star Trek is most like a theater performance, with slow inotation and grace of speaking. It wouldn’t be that terrible to have someone who can actually speak and mean what they’re saying.
“Sometimes a man will tell his bartender things he’d never tell his doctor.”
#27 Pizza Hotdog
I think Tim Curry is great… but he suffers from the the TedMcGinly or John Lovitz effect. He shows up in a movie, and for whatever reason it doesn’t do so well.
Its a crapshoot with that guy.
Oh and re:Checkov –
His casting had less to do with satisfying the Russians and more to do with being the Davy Jones of Trek.
Anton Yelchin was excellent in Huff; but his character was written as a bit of a nebbish/whiner. Let’s hope he’s written differently here.
Oh, and #78 /80 Robert April-
I second that!
Bring Back Bones Boyce!
The Man had a friggin’ portable Martini kit.
How cool is that?
If the Chekov character is really in this movie and he speaks, it will be interesting if they do use an accent. In TOS, what I appreciated was that Sulu, a Japanese character or of Asian decent, didn’thave a silly accent that was so racist of that era of TV. Chekov looked white, so they had to have the accent to get the idea across he was Russian. In today’s age, I bet they don’t use an accent.
This is one of those small elements I bet you the filmmakers will change from TOS. It may have been part of Walter Keonig’s characterization, but I don’t thing they need it.
Same may apply to the other characters, like McCoy.
#72 “They’re all so young .A little too”Starship Troopers”
The difference is these people can actually ACT. ; )
Seriously though, as long as the writing is strong, and actors are good, it doesn’t matter how old the actors are. Besides, these ARE supposed to be the younger versions of these characters.
My thinking about Chekov being aboard the Enterprise is that he was more than likely there, but not promoted to bridge duty until Season 2.
There are other areas aboard a Starship that he could have worked before the bridge (Cartography, etc.)
I like the casting choice, and I think he will be in the movie with enough of a reference to know it’s him and also satisfy those who don’t agree with his presence on the ship yet.
Now we’ve got Chekov, very nice. I’m looking forward to seeing more new young actors I don’t know about in these roles. When it all comes together, it’s the interaction between them that will make all the difference in this film.
Re 75:
Then when the end comes for the villain, Rutger Hauer could have a great final monlogue! “I’ve seen C-beams glittering off the shoulder of Orion…”
Get loose and fuzzy with continuity if need be.
A very young Chekov is just fine. It all depends on the script. Which we ain’t seen and which probably is still being continually rehashed in front of investors as we speak.
The pic of this kid with Hilton says it all. He clearly has the potential to come across as “cool” to his peers, all too many of which claim to hate Paris but click on every nude photo of her that they can find. That’s not much worse than casting Koenig because he sorta looked like that lead singer of the Monkees.
Besides, Chekov is a very minor player. He always seemed to be just a costume change away from being a disposable redshirt. The viewing audience (as opposed to nuts like us) doesn’t know all the stuff about how he supposedly becomes a brilliant head of Starfleet in later years.
But I’m with those people who are scared that this movie will remind us of a Brady family movie.
#76-Anthony: People can be flexible as long as their intelligence is not being insulted via the writing/script- a thing that has happened far too often in recent Trek incarnations, as you may agree.
PS- This site just keeps getting better (and more addictive)- glad you opted not to change the name!
thank you dr. image…however I am still considering renaming site TrekHQ.com….a url I own. This site is about more than the movie and the url we have now does not convey that
as for cannon , we could just say checkov was as starfleet doing a command course or something , during the first season , or something like that .lol
Why would anyone care one way or the other if Chekov is in this film or not?
Besides, Khan in “Space Seed” placed a young Chekov aboard the Enterprise during the first season. So it is already established that he was on the ship.
Gary Mitchell needs to be included. He and Kirk were big buddies, and you can’t ignore him.
Maybe Chekov was aboad the 1701 during season one. But if he was 22 duirng season two he would have been 18 and a first year cadet when Kirk frist took command of the 1701. I got the impression from Chekov’s first episodes that he was on his first assignment fresh out of the Academy.
I am still hoping that at least some of the plot will happen at San Fransisco before Kirk sets foot on the 1701. Maybe chekov could have a role at this part of the film, representing the first steps of the starfleet journey that kirk himself took.
I fear that putting everybody on board the 1701 from day one will seem a bit contrived and comic-booky.
What about a cameo role for the wife of the man who started it all?
Here is an inspired casting choice: Majel Barret Roddenberry reprising the role of Pike’s Number One.
Why the hell not?
#50: Normal people don’t even know canon exists. They don’t know which character died when, etc., etc. Nor do they care. The audience Paramount is seeking is made of normal people, not people who think adherence to canon is a real issue.
As for Shatner playing Kirk: The “Kirk is dead” bit is avoidable by situating Nimoy-as-Spock in a time before Kirk dies. (I don’t think that’s going to happen.) Trying to bring the character back from the grave is hocus-pocus in my book. My problem is that I don’t think that Shatner can play a credible Kirk these days, unless the story provides a reason why Kirk has aged so poorly. (Actually, very few of the original cast could play their characters today. Maybe Koenig and Takei, if they were cast as retired admirals, which is not a bad idea at all.)
That Chekov looks waaaaaay too young. May as well be casting for a remake of “The Counter-Clock Incident.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Counter-Clock_Incident
Hi Adam (59)!
Yep, it’s me! Good to seeya about! Still here, battling away! Freelancing these days, so my job isn’t keeping me up late, making late night posts, unless they pay me to work bad hours!!!
Howzit going with you? Lot more people around this site these days (six more, posting under many identities, as some people would have us believe! ;))
Dom :)
#50: StillKirok–”Canon may be what Paramount says it is, but it’s not like we’re expected to ignore stuff on screen. For example, in ST6, Valtane was alive. Due to the sheer stupidity of Brannon Braga, the character was killed off at a time when he was known to be alive, rendering the entire episode of Flashback inaccurate.”
In STAR TREK VI, Valtane also apparently had the mutant ability to be two places simultaneously when the wave from the destruction of Praxis hit – at the science station and standing beside Captain Sulu’s chair with a clipboard. Clearly, there are two Valtanes – one who died, and one who lived to appear on the viewscreen at the end of the movie.
[Yeah, I know that in reality, Valtane being in two places at the same time was an error in editing together the film footage, and that Brannon screwed up in “Flashback”, but that continuity error opens up the possibility of the twin brother rationalization.
Re 98
Shame on you, Dom! You tell me you’re just here for friendly conversation. Then when you think I’m not looking you tell other people you’re here to battle away and take a cheap shot.
You (and your five alter egos) can do better, my friend! ;-)
#95
Uhhh, because she looks eighty years old?
If we are dealing with “The Early Life of JTK”, it’s canon that he was an instructor at the academy for awhile for being given Enterprise’s captaincy (?). Perhaps there’s a scene where he’s giving a lecture to an undegrad class, and someone asks him an important question (or perhaps a gag). Of course, it’s Chekov. Or perhaps PC gets repremanded by Kirk and vows revenge, which takes the form of stalking Kirk and tormenting him with a fake Russian accent…
“Gary Mitchell needs to be included. He and Kirk were big buddies, and you can’t ignore him. ”
Oh no! So begins the “Bring Back Gary” movement! How awful!
“I fear that putting everybody on board the 1701 from day one will seem a bit contrived and comic-booky.”
To say nothing of the fact that it just seems less imaginative and wasting an opportunity to breath some life into some new or completely undeveloped characters alongside Kirk and Spock. The movie is starting to have a bit of a Muppet Babies vibe. Hopefully not.
#90 . Star TrekHQ.com sounds very retail.Plans?
103….agreed
I dont get the whole Abrams MUST do X stuff, character Y has to be in the film. There is going to be a lot of continuity here, and the writers promise plenty of winks and nods to us fans that the avg film goer will just see as another character or location, etc. But lets not build a luandry list of mandatory secondary characters. Beyond Kirk and Spock I really dont care who is and is not in this film. It will be fun to see some familiar characters, but if they dont include one I may want to see or put one in that I wasnt expecting I dont really see how I can get worked up over it. What matters is if the characters feel right
RE: 104
I do not understand what you mean by ‘retail’ or your question. I plan as of now to rename this site at some time in the future….trekmovie.com is too limitied and I want all trek fans to know this is a general trek site. So many good ones are taken and trekhq.com is nice a short
‘the headquarters for everything new in Star Trek’
or
‘your Star Trek Headquarters’
#98 Dom
Good to see you ’round these parts, that’s for sure.
Yeah, from the start this site has blossomed a great deal. Remember a year ago how there were only a handful of us lunatics running around the asylum? Hats off to Anthony for putting in the hard work to make this THE Trek site of record for this new era.
Keep in touch, Dom. And of course, good luck with work and everything else.
-Adam
105- Makes sense.
Change away!
Reminds me of the heady days of Starlog, (a magazine who’s staff box I’m in, BTW) which started out Trek-centric, and then branched out.
Back then, in ‘76, Trek was on the verge of a major comeback.
History repeats!
OK choice. Will have to wait and see how he does.
I like that he’s actually Russian born (could we expect the same for Scotty??)
Well, I *would* like to see Mitchell in the movie, if the movie is “the first adventure”, and I should probably have flown my sarcasm flag a little higher there, but I am not saying “if Mitchell (or anyone else) isn’t in the movie, its not worth seeing”. I won’t know if its worth seeing til I see it.
Through all the rumors leading up til now, the ones I have found most interesting were the “Citizen Kirk”/”Starfleet Academy”/”The FIrst Mission” ones, because – if the movie is indeed supposed to be part of the series’ continuity – I’d like to see a well-told story that shows us how we got to where we were, i.e. the original series characters we all came to know and love, especially Kirk and Spock. I’d like to see them sort of “in development”, on the way to becoming the characters we know. And if that story also happened to involve Sarek, Carol Marcus, Ruth, Leila Kalomi, the Farragut, Captain Garrovick, Captain Pike, Finnegan, Gary Mitchell, Dr. Piper, Number One, Lee Kelso, or any of the above, so much the better. Obviously the film is going to have room for a lot of characters, so why not develop a few existing-but-undeveloped ones in addition to the brand new ones that are sure to come. Lee Kelso, for example, is as blank a slate as you could ask for, so why not write Lee Kelso however the writers want instead of writing Generic Helmsman #1 exactly the same way? General audiences won’t know the difference and its a nice tip of the hat to what’s come before.
I suppose the best analogy would be to “Batman Begins”, at least in tone and intent. The idea of seeing essentially the same seven original series characters already at their familiar stations from day one, only played by different younger people … it just seems less interesting to me. More like a standard remake than like an extension or a development of the pre-existing characters. If the intent (and I openly acknowledge that I don’t know the intent) is just “hey, its Star Trek with younger people”, then I don’t really see the point of having Nimoy and I don’t see why not just make it a flat out reboot. If the intent is to delve into and develop the origins of these characters, then I’m all aboard. So that’s kind of where I am. Nimoy’s involvement is a huge plus in my mind because of his taste and class, but the casting sheet and the Chekov casting story have certainly made me reel in my initial enthusiasm a bit. The Muppet Babies version of Star Trek isn’t as interesting to me, but I’m certainly interested to see how things develop and I am sincerely hoping for a wonderful, exciting, fun, thought-provoking and emotionally moving film that will make me fall in love with those characters all over again.
Tall order, no?
109 – One character I would LOVE to see in this film is Kevin Riley. He is by far my favorite minor character from TOS.
Anthony, for a new site name how about TrekMoviePlus.com?
I just checked at register.com and it IS available!
Thanks Adam (106). If the revamp of the site gives us more forum advantages (PMs and so on) we’ll catch up soon, hopefully!
As for your ‘trekhq’ plans, Anthony, I really like the name: it says what it is on the tin! As long as trekmovie.com redirects to the renamed site, I can’t see a problem! It’d be good for discipline when all of us reprobates on the comments pages have to log ourselves in on a formal identity as well. A full-blown forum interests me less than being able to comment immediately after a story, but a little more control over one or two characters will probably give you fewer headaches!
NO WAY DAMN NO IF THIS GUY IS IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM INVOLVED WITH PARIS “NO BRAINS” HILTON DON’T LET HIM NEAR THE BRIDGE OF THE ENTERPRISE.
Question: What’s the difference between Paris Hilton and a Rolls Royce?
Answer: Hey, not everyone’s been IN a Rolls Royce!!!
I don’t mind Chekov being in the film but I am surprised that it seems like they are recasting all the original characters.
#109 Just letting you know, Kelso was the navigator and Mitchell the helmsman, despite their positions at the conn (see the background sections of http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Gary_Mitchell and http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Lee_Kelso for the full explanation).
#114 I don’t care who he’s friends with – even if it’s with that over-publicized bimbo – as long as the guy can act and can play the role with conviction.
Hey, the bimbo you’re talking about had her own conviction and look where it got HER!!
I swear if the “big villain” is Kahn……….
Canon, shmanon. Healthy discourse is one thing, but this horse has been beaten into a pile of bones before the foal is born. Ask yourself this: would you rather see a new vision of the entire mythos through the eyes of someone who is reverent, yet takes a couple liberties with an already flawed canon, or would you rather see someone who regurgitates the same-ol’-shiznit, with updated ILM smoke and mirrors? Give them a chance, fer chrissakes!
#120 Agreed… to a point. ;) They should try their best to follow what has been established, as they have promised to do, but they should not let it get in the way of writing a damn good movie. I won’t mind a few liberties taken, especially for the sake of storytelling and characterization. As you said, the canon already has a lot of flaws, so a few more little inconsistencies for plot’s sake won’t matter.
#105.I mean sell merchandise to people visiting the site.Rename the site .The Trek Movie Report/ Star Trek HQ so that when people (google) visit for what’s obviously Trek news they can also hit “Star Trek HQ” link to buy Trek stuff.Separating the two in the same site would preserve the legitimacy (vision)of the news only site and satisfy fans who don’t have access to merchandise.That Star Trek T shirt would have been a really cool thing to sell.
#99–In Star Trek VI, the explosion of Praxis happened 3 months before Kirk and crew got involved. In Flashback, everything happened within 3 days. The bottom line is beyond the first scene, no one watched the movie. It was arguably the worst episode in Trek history for quite a few reasons. Terrible writing. Terrible story.
#123
Agreed. That episode always pissed me off, especially when compared to DS9’s ‘Trials and Tribbleations’ which went to great, great effort to preserve the content of the original episode, even going so far as to use the original actor that played Darvin.
Re: 120 – I’m sorry but I completely blanked out everything you said prior to “shiznit”.
I haven’t read all the comments, but hold the phone if you are saying “hey, checkov wasn’t in the first season, he can’t be in this movie. No, no, and no, it can’t be done”….Well…Whose to say he wasn’t down on the lower decks during the first season, not a bridge officer. This would make Star Trek II pan out. That would be cool.
Chekov could have been around. There were usually two crews ,like American submarines have two operating crews- Gold and Blue, that keep operating the Enterprise at all times. Besides people keep getting pulled into new assignments all the time. Maybe Paris is the new villain in the movie. She tries to “pose” them to death.