Both Zachary Quinto and Simon Pegg have been finding it difficult to talk about Anton Yelchin this week, as they do the rounds promoting Star Trek Beyond.
One thing many of the Star Trek incarnations have in common is the way the cast bonds, forging intensely close connections to each other. They have a lot of fun on set and truly care about each other. The Star Trek: The Next Generation cast is best known for this; they stood up at each other’s weddings, they’re godparents to each other’s kids, and they see conventions as an excuse to get together again.
It’s the same for the reboot cast, which is why Yelchin’s death hit them all so hard; they didn’t just lose a colleague, they lost a family member. This should be a fun time for the group, promoting a movie they care so much about, but it’s been a struggle as they have to find a way to talk up the movie and still manage to talk about the death of their dear friend. This isn’t the legacy they were expecting to be discussing.
Quinto hit the Late Show With Stephen Colbert last week and spoke about his love of sci-fi, and his sorrow at the loss of his colleague and friend. He clearly found it difficult to talk about it for long, but he spoke about the importance of honoring Yelchin’s legacy, as well as his life as a sci-fi and Trek fan, although clearly Colbert has him beat in the fandom department.
Simon Pegg did a radio interview in Scotland for Clyde 1 a few days ago, and also struggled when asked to talk about Yelchin, as you can see below.
So awful for the whole cast, can’t imagine how hard its going to be to go do promotion for this movie now.
Maybe more so for Quinto, who seems to have forged a close bond with Nimoy, who also passed recently.
From all indications, this looks like a good, character-driven film that will hopefully honor Anton’s acting talent, his memory, and the charisma he brought to an iconic role. I’ll think of those things as I watch, and I send my sympathy to his family and strength to the rest of the cast as they mourn his loss while promoting the film.
These people are troopers and professionals. I admire their convictions and their compassions.
I remember when they cast the first movie, and i thought Anton Yelchin was PERFECT for Chekov. I recently watched his performance in Odd Thomas, and he was energetic, and it was fun to watch.
Anton, thank you for what you have left us, and may what lay beyond for you be extraordinary.
Anton will be missed by so many. I’m sure all whose lives he touched are aching with the loss of such a sweet young man and a brilliant talent. It will be a joy to see him one last time as Chekov, but bittersweet.
Hell of a thing.
Sadly. it is a hell of a thing.
What kind of a dick asks you about your dead friend when promoting a movie?
You couldn’t be more wrong with that comment.
What kind of a dick would ask questions in relation to the promotion of the movie without first talking about the more important issue of the death of your friend?
You mean your friend who is in the same film you’re promoting??? WTF?
Yes lets ignore the fact someone in the film was killed a few weeks ago you known for nearly a decade and just talk about how much the movie will rock. I think it would be weird NOT to ask him about it as people want to know.
With respect to Walter Koenig, I was never crazy about his performance as Chekov. Even more so with the films. Anton Yelchin was perfect. He played pitch perfectly and he was able to get away with the accent without it sounding silly. It was the first time I was able to see Chekov as a real character instead a cartoon stereotype.
Koenig’s Chekov never quite seemed qualified to be a Starfleet officer.
The fact that they struggle with how to talk about their tragic loss shows just how deeply that they all loved Anton.
It’s been long enough now, I have to wonder what they will do for the 4th film (and I’m reasonably certain there will be one unless Beyond tanks, or Moonves gains control of Paramount and quashes it to push the series). I really hope they don’t recast Chekov, like they did Saavik, but then how to explain his absence. And do they replace him with a new featured character, and if so, from canon?
Curious CadetJuly 5, 2016 6:09 pm
It’s been long enough now
Are you serious?
It’s a shame you can’t move on from your petty self centered wants and needs.
You certainly are not evolution at it’s finest, but rather exhibiting callous indifference and total dispect towards people who are far more talented then you’ll ever understand.
BTW: When the time comes I hope the producers and writers choose to recast the part to another actor rather then go with the lame concept that the character moved onto another assignment or some other BS reason.
Just to annoy you even more.
Relax, Khan. There’s no need for melodrama.
I would not recast the character. I would rather use a character from canon, though, to be the new navigator. But lessen the role. You could use Lt. Kyle from TOS, or Arex from the animated series. Or better yet, Yeoman Rand to have another woman in the cast.
But, out of respect to Mr. Yelchin, I would have the role be extremely small.
I, too, would prefer that the character not be recast. In keeping with the canon of the Kelvin Timeline, and somewhat the prime, it would make sense that Chekov’s intelligence sees him rise through the ranks quickly. I would like to see a mention of how he took a promotion on another starship to be the chief science officer or first officer. They can even say it’s the Reliant, if they like. While the two timelines are different, some aspects remain the same.
One of the major problems with the original cast’s films was that, as everyone moved up in rank, they retained their same position. In an organization like Starfleet, it would be logical for them to move on to other ships as they move through their careers.
Before the 2009 film came out, I was very dubious about Anton Yelchin’s casting as Chekov. Boy, was I *wrong*. The young man was a delight in that part. I was looking forward to seeing how he and the writers developed the character over time. Not to be.
Star Trek = Science Fiction
Star Wars = Space Fantasy
Oooh big explosions and colorful lights, ahhhh.
The dumbing of America going on 40 years now,
Zach’s is the ONLY scheduled talk show appearance by a cast member for the next few weeks according to interbridge.com. which leads me to believe others cancelled theirs.
Sorry meant this site … http://www.interbridge.com/lineups.html
It’s funny how that talk show page has been in existence for at least 20 years now at the same URL: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.interbridge.com/lineups.html
That has to be some kind of Internet record! I remember regularly visiting it in ’96 or ’97.
It looks like the cast is headed to Australia for the premiere taking place on July 7. In another thread somebody suggested that they will probably go on an international promo tour after that. That may explain why they aren’t scheduled for any TV appearances in the US in the coming weeks.
Said my respects last week, but I had to watch Quinto’s thoughts. Very human. Very genuine.
Not sure how I feel about Quinto’s comment that traditional Trek was boring.