August 2007

In February Scottish actor James McAvoy was reported  (by a British tabloid) to be in talks to play Scotty in the new Star Trek movie (story denied to TrekMovie.com by publicist a week later). Although  McAvoy himself later stated "there is no truth" to the rumors, the actor seemed to be interested in the part. Now the story is back – the UK’s  Sunday Mirror reported that McAvoy "had won the role" of Scotty and a follow-up in The Scottsman claimed McAvoy "was up against famous names and total unknowns." Although this may just be another ‘retread’ story from the tabloids, one source did indicate to TrekMovie.com that there may be some truth to the rumor. Initial calls to McAvoy’s representatives provided no concrete information. UPDATE: DeniedA spokesperson at McAvoy’s publicist’s office contacted TrekMovie.com to say "James McAvoy is not attached to the Star Trek project." When pressed for more info the spokesperson could not give any more details.

USA Today visited with the only two officially confirmed Star Trek cast members (Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy) at the Griffith Park Observatory. No major details revealed – but you can already see the pair of Spocks are already getting along well.  

Will there be even more Heroes connections to Trek? In a Comic-Con interview with IESB.net star James Kyson Lee said he wanted to join his co-star Zachary Quinto (the new Spock) in the new Star Trek movie – as the new Sulu. It does not appear that the actor has had any contact with the production, but he does know some people with director J.J. Abrams’ phone number (like Greg Grunberg and Quinto). The leaked casting sheet says Paramount would ‘prefer’ a Japanese actor so the Korean-born Lee would still qualify, however at 32 he is probably too old for the part. A few months back another Heroes star Masi Oka told TrekMovie.com that he "would be honored" to play Trek’s original helmsman, but noted that he didn’t think he would be able to work it around the Heroes schedule. Although NBC Universal and Paramount came to some understanding for Zachary Quinto, it may be a bit much for them to spare two Heroes cast members to the new film.

Grindhouse hottie (and daughter of Oscar winner Syndey Poitier) Sydney Tamiia Poitier revealed last week that she auditioned for J.J. Abrams new Star Trek film. Rotten Tomatoes report on the Grindhouse DVD panel at Comic-Con quotes the actress asking "did they announce the cast of Star Trek? I auditioned for it and I’m curious who got what roles in there." She asked this while Paramount was making the Nimoy and Quinto announcement in another hall at Comic Con. No indication as to what role she might have auditioned for, but a good guess might be Uhura. However, Poitier is 34 which is a few years older than they appear to be looking for that role. It could be another role…a love interest for Kirk perhaps?