Most Trek fans agree that Bruce Greenwood excelled in his performance as Captain Pike in the 2009 Star Trek movie. And now a co-writer/producer for the sequel has revealed we should probably expect Greenwood to return for the sequel.
Greenwood’s Pike written in for Star Trek sequel
Commenting here at TrekMovie.com yesterday, Star Trek sequel co-writer/producer Roberto Orci let a little sequel tidbit out of the bag with this comment:
boborci: Spoiler alert!
We wrote a part for Greenwood. Let us hope he says “Yes!”
While Greenwood’s Pike was a major role in the 2009 Star Trek movie, he (unlike the others in the main cast) didn’t have a set option to return for the sequel. However the actor has been clear in interviews over the last few years that he is very interested to return to the role of Pike, who was promoted to Admiral at the end of the 2009 movie.
But what will Pike be doing? – and will he be in the chair?
While Orci has revealed that they have written a role for Pike in the sequel, it isn’t know if we will see him in a wheelchair. Pike was last seen in a chair due to injuries from being tortured by Nero. Greenwood has said in interviews that he would prefer not to be in the chair for the sequel.
Bruce Greenwood as Admiral Pike in a wheelchair in 2009’s "Star Trek" – an homage to the chair-bound Pike in the TOS episode "The Menagerie"
There is also the question about what kind of role Pike will have in the sequel. Kirk is now in command of the Enterprise and Pike is now an admiral. There is a long tradition of having admirals as part of Star Trek films. Sometimes they are mostly authority figures to hand out orders (or reprimands), such as Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in Star Trek Nemesis or Admiral Barnett (Tyler Perry) in 2009’s Star Trek. However other films have brought admiral characters more into the plot of the film, such as Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters) as part of the anti-Federation/Klingon treaty conspiracy in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country or Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) working to forcibly move the Ba’ku in Star Trek: Insurrection.
Star Trek movie Admirals (clockwise from top left): Cartwright (STVI), Dougherty (ST: INS),
Barnett (ST:2009), and Janeway (ST: NEM)
Hopefully Pike will do more than just hand out some orders. The 2009 Star Trek movie has already established Pike as a sort of surrogate father to Kirk. It was Pike who talked Kirk into Starfleet and Pike who made Kirk first officer, both times showing faith in the young man that he didn’t even have in himself. It would be interesting to see this mentoring relationship develop in the the sequel.
Great news! Keep the small spoilers comming!
Great news, even with the grammatical errors!
@boborci – In Star Trek The Motion Picture, there was a character named Cleary that worked in the engine room. Any chance of working a character named Cleary in the new film? ;-)
Looks like its no Khan thank you
Cool, it would be great to see him in a cameo or supporting role. But as I voted in the poll, time for this new crew to stand on their own. So many father/surrogate father figures in the last film (Pike, Sarek, even Spock Prime). It worked well to establish these characters, but time for them to “move out” and move on, on their own.
Greenwood makes the new pretty-boy crew look a little soft. A cameo is fine, but any side-by-side action is just going to diminish Pines’ leading man hero role.
BTW, anyone else wondering about the push to cast the “villain”? Seemed like a priority a few weeks ago, now nothing? Kinda strange with production starting in a month not to have a supposedly major character cast at this point.
I’m really hoping to finally see Nurse Chapel…and Kevin Riley would be amazing!
Yay!
I always loved that transitional ST: TMP uniform that Greenwood wore at the end of the movie. Nice touch. Hey, Bob Orci: is that indicative of any progressive wardrobe mods we might see in the next movie? Any pastel leotards or wool bellhop duds in the offing?
Good to have Greenwood back in the sequel.
Bob – one beep for Khan, two beeps for Not Khan?
One role i’d envision for “Admiral” Pike to partake in, is if he is commanding a fleet of ships (i.e “Fleet Captain” or Fleet Admiral), in response to a serious threat against the Federation. But not necessarily a threat previously seen in TOS or the first JJ movie.
Possibility of a more realistic “Borg” threat? We know that the 22nd century Borg sent a signal to the Delta Quadrant, maybe a random Borg vessel picked up the signal before the “Q Who” Borg.
Would rather see this universe’s Christopher Pike go out in a better fate than the original series Pike. Preferrably not wheelchair bound.
Howabout we have Commodore Decker scan the Doomsday machine, all of a sudden he gets a distress call from a ship which is being attacked by a Borg Khan. Gary Mitchel with his new super powers tries to take out the Enterprise. But Trelane thinks it would be fun to pester Gary Mitchel. The doomsday machine destroys the borg as kang and korr plan to attack starfleet. Thankfully admiral pike and captain Garth keep them busy until kirk arrives just in time with the help of Charlie x.
Or they can just create a whole new charecter.
Good news. One of the best little things they did in the new movie is that they saved Capt. Pike. Thanks for that, boborci.
That is true 13. That event in first contact would completely justify the borg arriving in this time frame.
I hope they bring in the borg for the third movie if they have not brought them in for this next one.
I think whereas Picard took out one borg queen and ship Kirk would see a bigger picture and work out how to take them all out.
I am now a happy Trekker! Greenwood was fantastic as Pike and I can’t wait to see him again.
Yay!
Clearly the new film will have a non-injured Pike as a Starfleet Admiral…over subspace communication, sitting behind a desk, just like on TOS. :D
“Sequel” is spelled wrong on the header, FYI
#6 Eh, what?
Maybe Bob has written more than one scene for Pike. One scene would have to be where Admirals Pike and Archer (Scott Bakula) give Captain fine, “pretty boy” Pine/Kirk a pretty young beagle as the captain’s and Enterprise’s mascot, in keeping with a fine tradition started by the first captain of the Enterprise, Captain Archer! And of course, Pike goes tell Kirk to kick that Klingon’s arse good and proper!
I don’t think it would make any sense for Pike to be wheelchair bound. Researchers predict spinal cord injuries will be curable in the not so distant future. Unless the human race comes unraveled, there will be no need for wheel chairs in the future. And, if there are, they’ll be adjustable so that those who use them can be in a fully vertical position (so eye to eye with those standing) as they wish.
Piiiiiiiike!! Yaaaaaaay!!!
PIKE
I’m happy.
Very good news, indeed.
I loved Greenwood’s take on Pike. And I liked his new mentor role to Kirk in the last ST movie. Smart move, guys.
Confidence rising…. ;-)
good. i like the actor and his role. just do not make him too important.
Thank Heavens! Bruce Greenwood was the glue that held the movie together… his steady presence, the balance he gave an uncertain, impulsive Kirk and a angry (yes, I said it–ANGRY) Spock was exactly the right tone… His Pike really should be the next big feature… Let’s do a prequel to the current prequel, featuring Greenwood as Pike… as good as Kirk ever was in my opinion.
@16…you mean like Janeway did in the Voyager series finale? Oh yes, because we all know how the fallout from that turned out in the NextGen reboot novels… specifically a little Alpha Quadrant Armageddon piece called the Destiny Trilogy?
Perhaps he’ll have a similar amount of screen time and a somewhat similar function as Laurence Fishbourne did as Brassel in Mission: Impossible III?
I want Admiral Archer too!
…and beam me up, Scotty!
I’m all for a viewscreen conversation with Pike and an elderly Archer going over some star maps at Starfleet HQ. If it’s a matter of money, split the difference from the various merchandise licensing fees. You KNOW that Fleet Admiral Archer and Rear Admiral Pike goodies would sell like hotcakes.
And by the way…I just watched ST V: The Final Frontier again, and that “Admiral Bob” cameo by Harve Bennett is really jarring. I wish they would have gone with a friendly, happy go lucky Admiral Cartwright. (Maybe his smile straight DROPS a second before the transmission cuts out…) I’m sure Brock Peters would have come back for a little more than scale for a half day’s filming w/teleprompter. Just think how it would inform his heel turn in Undiscovered Country! What a missed opportunity…
Greenwood/Pike being back in Star Trek 2013 would be great news indeed.
Archer? Wouldnt he be 100+? It makes little sense that he was an active Admiral in this time period as stated in the movie. Perhaps not the same Archer.
Greenwood will surely say yes. Weller & Greenwood alone would make me want to see the film.
@34…actually it does make sense…McCoy in the Prime Universe was still alive at 137, and had had Spock’s katra in him. Archer in Season 4 had had Surak’s katra in him. You do the math and make the connection.
How about Star Trek XII: The Wrath of Pike? ;)
I’m SO excited about this news and I hope we’ll hear soon that Bruce Greenwood has accepted the role. Surely he’ll say “YES” !
It just made my day to read that a part was written for BG in the sequel!!
THANK YOU Bob Orci and the other writers.
Good news. Greenwood and Urban were really 2 of the best actors in the last movie.
Thanks Bob for the update, Greenwood is a great actor. So glad to hear this, he provides an excellent authority model for the young crew.
He should be in charge of the development of Excelsior. I would love to see an Abramsverse version of USS Excelsior.
#42 Yes, Pike could do that, but only after he has overseen the development and completion of the new state-of-the-art space station in the outer reaches not far from a yet to be discovered Menosian planetary system. Isn’t that right, Bob Orci…:)?
And no, Pike would no longer be in a wheelchair at this point, although he may still require the aid of crutches now and then. Admiral Pike has never been busier…
So will Alice Eve be Vina?
43 – No, considering the report says she is a character new to Trek.
Great news! I loved Pike!!!!!
I love Pikes uniform when hes in that wheelchair.
Harking back and nodding to the Robert Fletcher designs from TMP.
All thats missing is the medical monitoring device (where a belt buckle should be) and wrist communicator.
WOW!
Now please cast Number One! :D
Greenwood has class and gravitas. I hope he has a larger role than a mere cameo. In fact, they should do a new Trek series on TV, and have Greenwood as the captain!
I’d really like to see Admiral Pike Again. By the way–
why wasn’t the character of Finnegan in the Trek movie at the
Academy?
It really bugged me that Kirk was promoted to Captain. I know they wanted to end the movie that way but it was such a stretch.
Ending it with Kirk assigned to the Farragut and Pike saying he’ll be requesting Kirk transfers to the Enterprise as soon as the ship (and Pike) are ready for duty would have been a better way to end it.
And then have the next movie be Pike on the Enterprise as Captain, a female first officer, Spock as science officer and Kirk, fresh off of even more heroics aboard the Farragut transferred over…end that movie with him promoted and selecting Spock as his CO (and Pike paralyzed in the line of duty as the timeline “corrects” itself).
Call me a sucker for logical storylines but I would have preferred that over the cookie cutter need to skip logic just to wrap everything up in a pretty little bow. Making Kirk’s rise to the Captaincy as part of a trilogy would have fit into the modern story-telling method of big budget franchises too.