Bruce Greenwood is out promoting his latest project, Mao’s Last Dancer, but in a new interview he again expressed himself strongly on his views about appearing in the 2012 Star Trek sequel, and he also revealed how he got some changes to character of Pike for the 2009 Star Trek movie. Excerpts below.
Greenwood: Pike is essential
Bruce Greenwood tells Collider he doesn’t know if he is being written into the next Star Trek movie, but he does have an opinion on if he should be, saying:
I think Captain Pike is an essential component to the whole franchise. I think there should be a whole offshoot of Pike’s adventures.
Greenwood also repeated previous statements that any appearance of Pike should be be on his own two feet, with the actor noting "I just want to get out of the wheelchair." Greenwood has had some success it guiding his character in the past, the actor revealed that there was one part of the script that he talked them out of:
I had a long conversation about that with J.J. (Abrams) early on because he wanted the hair to go [white]…because in the script it says the hair goes all white. I said (crying) “Do we have to get so Malcolm McDowell about it?”
Go to Collider for much more from Greenwood on Trek and his new project Mao’s Last Dancer.
Greenwood says Pike is "essential" for Star Trek ride
Will Greenwood be in Star Trek sequel?
Bruce Greenwood’s Pike is not assured a spot in the new Star Trek movie, but his character was very popular with the fans. This fact was ackowledged by Star Trek sequel co-writer Roberto Orci in an interview with MTV during Comic Con, where he noted "I loved, and a lot of people loved Captain Pike"
What do you think?
[poll=611]
Greenwood in Mao’s Last Dancer
Bruce will be seen next Mao’s Last Dancer, a film about a Chinese ballet dancer which opens in limited release on August 20th. Here is the trailer.
I thought he brought a good balance to the movie. I hope he does get the ‘offshoot’ he spoke of and hope he’s in the next movie(s).
I loved him in the first and if he is in the 2nd I would welcome it. I don’t see it as a necessity though
There’s a danger he might outshine Pine. I make it rhyme every time.
I thought he was great and might be able to offer something to the next one, but not essential. We’ll see what happens.
I hope hes in it in some form, obviously not to over shadow Kirk, but hes to good to leave totally out.
I like to see him in the sequel, but I wouldn’t call his appearance “essential”.
I’d like to see him have his own series. I would watch a Pike series.
I hope he cameos, it’d be good to see a disabled but heroic captain aiding Kirk in some way. I’m more interested if we’ll see see Kirk’s family again, where was his mum and brother at his promotion?
Sounds like Greenwood is already becoming a pain in the ass.
PIKE: Beep, beep, beep.
ENSIGN JOJO: Yes, sir. The Admiral orders us to take our ship, the USS Spruce Bruce, to assist Pine- I mean Kirk! as he’s battling whatever Orci has come up with.
NUMBER ONE: It is only fitting that greenwood comes together with pine.
ENSIGN JOJO: Ma’am, in this Starfleet we have a policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” And how come he’s in that sauna-box, not even speaking directly to us?
NUMBER ONE: Mind your post, Ensign. The Admiral is relaxing.
PIKE: Beep, beep, beep.
ENSIGN JOJO: This is one crazy ship. Number One programmed the computer to sound like her. I feel like I have to salute every time I use the replicator.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Why would the eels have turned his hair white? Wasn’t the idea of Prime Pike’s hair changing colour, the fact he suffered severe radiation exposure?
Greenwood was amazing as Pike, but I cannot forsee a reason for him to be there unless he is in direct opposition to Kirk. I.E., make Pike the Captain of the Fleet and have Kirk question his orders. That may be a little too close to the last one, but that’s the only way I would do it. Maybe we could show the event that leads to Pike’s injuries in “The Menagerie”… except have it be a courageous sacrifice. Actually kill him. That would be a nice exit for him.
Above all else, I would really REALLY like this sequel to be a return to CLASSIC science fiction. Make it thought-provoking! I loved the effects last time, and I love action, explosions…. but I like TO THINK!
And please make the exterior of the Enterprise look a little more like the original maybe? Eh? No? Fine…
I would like see him in the sequel. I still see Pine’s Kirk as very raw, and it would be good to have pike available as sage counsel, or to kick him in the ass when he screws up. Perhaps he could be aboard the Enterprise as an envoy or for some other reason when she is called away to an emergency mission. That way he can be there to challenge Kirk, and maybe make him second guess himself.
Their scenes together were so good that I would welcome more interaction between their characters. I can almost hear the line now;
“Jim, I sincerely hope you aren’t going to make me regret recommending you for this command.”
Hi think Greenwood’s Pike is essential to the next movie only in the sense that the fans embraced him so much. The only characters I consider essential are Kirk, Spock & McCoy.
@9 I don’t think so. These people just get asked the same questions every time they stick their heads out the door.
i doubt Pike will have a major role in the sequel – prob just a wheelchair bound cameo giving Kirk his orders at the start. Pikes had his shot as a major character in the first movie (just like he had his shot as the lead guy in The Cage) hes served his purpose and handed over the keys to Kirk and made it through without being killed or too badly maimed so anything more than a cameo would be fairly gratuitous….
time to focus on the big 7
oh and no to any new tv show just yet – Pike or otherwise…let the movie series fly the Trek flag for the next few years like Trek I-IV.
I can’t say that a spinoff for Pike would work as a movie though. A concurrent television movie might be cool … maybe like they did for the ‘Get Smart’ movie with a straight to DVD movie with secondary characters.
#9 TMZ Prima Donna?
Greenwood in the sequel!!!!!!!!
“Beep-beep”
I say bring back Pike. And the “Penguin Dress Grey” TMP Admiral’s uniform because I think it rocks.
#12 yeah i too am hoping for some real Scince Fiction stuff in the sequel…i know The Trek movies only seem to work best when they are mainly action films with Khan like villains but i want some stuff that gets me thinking and taps into the wonder, awe and potential scariness/eeriness of deep space exploration…
@19 – although saying that i think Star Trek II had the perfect balence out of all the movies of action and thought provoking Sci Fi (genesis)
Given the younger age of all the other cast, I think he would add a great element of gravitas, maturity to balance off Kirk’s brashness while Spock is still working out his issues.
@20
I think that’s because STII was fundamentally uncomplicated, and the perfect application of the KISS principle. It’s got simple themes: Life, death, rebirth, redemption, revenge. It’s the writing and characters that make it shine. If you can’t nail what you’re trying to say in a simple manner, the film’s elaboration is going to flop and its not going to have its message to reinforce the plot.
Back on topic, I think Greenwood would be great to have back in a large capacity–not as much as the first one, since he’s no longer the Captain, of course.
Loved Pike. :)
And Greenwood brought a real maturity the rest of the class hadn’t quite earned yet.
Yes, he is essential.
21 TOS cast seemed to do ok without having some mature mentor figure there guiding them
i dont think we need Pike beyond some cameo or maybe a death scene to raise the stakes…
To me, Pike was the best part of the film. I’d gladly watch a Pike series that featured Greenwood!
Essential to the plot? That’s an understatement. I want him as the captain of the Enterprise, not NuKirk!
Yes, Bruce Greenwood played an awesome Pike in the first movie. He is even more essential in the new movie than Prime Spock.
I would love to see Greenwood back as Pike. He’s like a family friend and mentot. He did pull Kirk out of the gutter of immaturity, not be heavy handed but a touch of a fatherly figure and guide. A good recurring character
I would love him back, but I don’t see him as essential. He’s a great character, but he’s not a main… so unless there’s a reason for him back, I’d rather remember him for what he is rather than some terrible impersonation. All the same…
Love the dynamic of Pike personifying the Federation and Kirk struggling to live up to Pike’s ideals. It was one of the smarter choices in the script.
“21 TOS cast seemed to do ok without having some mature mentor figure there guiding them”
Yes, but in the original series, they weren’t ALL fresh out of the academy. Only Chekov was, judging from his “I’m not that green” comment in “Catspaw”.
This version of the crew seems pretty raw ( Sulu even forgot the inertial dampeners ) as in this timeline most of them were rushed out into duty in an emergency.
As McCoy said of Chekov, “Oh great, Jim. He’s seventeen.”
I think Pike should be around for at least the next movie, just as I think that the crew should not be working as a fine tuned, well oiled machine. I would like to see them learning about each other and slowly getting to function together as a team. Then, after this adventure the crew should go out to the great “final frontier” on their own, without help easily available at a phone call – just like in the original series.
Obviously Pike can’t outshine Kirk. However, wouldn’t it be a big change for Starfleet to have even a single competent admiral for once?
Gosh, it’s almost like Trek should be a… TV show… so that the rest of this excellent cast could have a chance to shine.
I love the nu!Pike. He should be the one issuing orders to Kirk. So yes to Greenwood. But he can’t have too much airtime or he’ll take away from Kirk. I’d be different if this was a TV show, but the movie can really only concentrate on the main cast.
So I wouldn’t say Greenwood’s Pike is essential, but he is definitely welcome to be seen again by fans.
Love the Idea!
Greenwood is great, and classes up any project he’s in. He’ll always be the “Nowhere Man” to me though…
Bruce Greenwood is da man!
It’s been a real long time since I’ve written a post. I have to say I totally loved Greenwood’s Captain Pike, he added a lot to the story and would love to see his character continue in the new timeline.
#1 — Get him out of freaking wheelchair
#2 — Captain Pike, like Kirk in many ways is a “man of action”, perhaps give him another starship to command
#3 — At this point I see no need for the “mentor relationship” with Kirk, now more of a friendship
What can I say this is what happens when you have a very talented actor portraying such an iconic (EVEN after only one pilot/episode) as Christopher Pike!
Perhaps could pull rank on Nu-Kirk and take back the Enterprise just like Prime-Kirk did to Capt. Decker in TMP.
Nah! But he could get another command and come to the rescue, or get rescued. Whatever.
The problem I see here is the new supreme court of Star Trek is having trouble saying No to it’s cast members.
I was at a convention and I heard the first tricorders designed for ST09 were very similar to the original series (meaning they were larger) and that the cast members complained about them being hard to work with so they re-designed them smaller, and eventually crappier IMO.
Then, it was Chris Pine complaining about not being put into yellow spandex uniforms, so they designed the uniforms differently than the originals.
Now, I see the script called for Pike ending up in the wheelchair with his hair going all white (a la The Menagerie) which would coincide nicely with the Prime Universe. It would have been a great touch.
Obviously, JJ Abrams doesn’t know when to say “no” to his cast.
I do love Greenwood. In anything. As anybody. He brings a touch of class to absolutely everything he does.
He’s not “essential” in the sense that K/Sp/Mc are essential, but he’d nevertheless be a wise choice during any script or casting discussion. I also love the way his Abrams-verse Pike has already veered so dramatically from old Pike.
If he wants back in for the sequel, I say: let him in!
Pike is as essential as establishing beyond any fan’s doubt whether the ship is 2379.75 feet long. In other words, not really.
The classic TOS cast will never be topped. Karl Urban does come close to matching DeForrest Kelley though in terms of performance.
But Bruce Greenwood’s Pike is more likeable than Jeffrey Hunter’s version of the character. I prefer the new Pike over the old Pike.
Bottom line, if there is room in the sequel for Admiral Pike then I’m all for it, though I think the role should’nt be so big as to over shadow Chris Pine.
#40 The wheelchair was enough to nod to the Prime universe. Whitening his hair is unnecessary and there was no reason for it. Prime Pike was severely injured physically. This was mental and internal torture for Greenwood’s character.
not needed on voyage
There was a recent post on Trekmovie wherein Mr. Orci tried to steer sequel speculation towards “The Menagerie” or “The Cage”, which is, of course, perfect for Pike. The Talosians are an iconic Star Trek “villain” and would provide us an ideal hard sci-fi/action combo for the 2nd movie.
T.’.
I think a tv series starring Greenwood as Pike would be perfect. A movie every three years just isn’t enough. C’mon Paramount, make it happen.
Explosion, Pike found near bulhead w/ a huge deck plate that’s clocked him, scared w/ radiation……….beginning of movie, Pike is an invalid rest of movie. That’s about all I’d like to see.
Is anyone proofing this stuff?
“…and he also revealed how he got some changes to character of Pike for the 2009 Star Trek movie.”
And also…
“…Greenwood has had some success it guiding his character in the past…”
I tried to vote “yes’ in the poll and was told to “please choose a valid poll answer.”