Last night Zoe Saldana was in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, appearing at the premiere of her next film, The Words. While there she took some questions about the Star Trek sequel currently in production, including talking a bit about the Spock/Uhura relationship. Details below. [UPDATED]
Saldana talks Star Trek sequel
The crafting, but she did speak a bit about the Star Trek sequel to the Vulture Blog. Firstly, Saldana talked about the long wait between film and the anticipation to get back to Star Trek:
The film came out in 2009, we shot it in ’07, and now it’s 2012. So yeah, around last year, I was like, "Come on, come on already," because I had such a wonderful time working with J.J. and the cast and doing science fiction, which is my biggest passion and my preference as an audience and as a reader, too. But when you’re around J.J. and you’re around [Avatar director] Jim Cameron, you sense that there’s this absolute consciousness that if they don’t focus on the quality of what they do, then their formula’s not going to work. That’s the one thing they have in common; they’re amazing storytellers, so J.J. probably would have fought for the time that he needed for the sequel.
The actress was reluctant to talk about the state of the relationship between Spock and Uhura in the sequel, but did offer this bit:
All I’m going to say is, if you put all the time and energy and wit into setting these two characters together in the first movie and didn’t follow through, it would be a shame.
Saldana says it would be a "shame" if the sequel didn’t follow-up on the romance with Spock and Uhura seen in 2009’s "Star Trek"
At the same event, Saldana also joked around with IndieWire, with this exchange:
Q:Now for the fun part: what lies can you tell me about the “Star Trek” sequel?
Saldana: It’s going to be boring. There’s no conflict between Kirk and Spock, they agree on everything! They’re beer buddies. And there are no bad guys. We’re just cruising in space.
UPDATE: More from Zoe
Getting more serious, Saldana talked about returning to the Trek set and working again with director JJ Abrams, telling AP:
"It’s wonderful because I’ve been dying to work with the cast again, to work with JJ," she said. "I love him so much. He’s such an amazing human being and such an amazing storyteller and a great director, so what more can I ask for? I start the year and I’m literally going back to a very familiar environment and being a part of a great story."
Saldana at Sundance 2012
Saldana at "The Words" premiere at Sundance 2012
Classy girl
Sounds like she wants it to be spicier…Pon Farr anyone?
Zoe is as hot as ever. Hey. Spock should be pretty close to Pn Far. Hmmm.
…..And now it’s solid… solid as a rock….
That’s-what-this- love iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis………….
:)
If I see Spock and Uhura getting it on during his Pon Farr in the sequel I think I’ll puke.
There are other directions they can go.
……The thrill is stiiiiiiill hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!…….
:)
Well now that I think about it, Spock’s emotions are going to be out of whack…so it’s going to be “The Heat of the Moment”…
Yeah I know….bad pun….but soooo worth it.
RDR you forget this is Spock before the Kholinar.
Also I wonder if in the new timeline Spock wouldn’t even go through the Kohlinar and decide to have both logic and human emotions?
#8.
Yeah, I know that. But it doesn’t mean we have to see Spock go through Ponn Farr again. We already saw that in “Amok Time”. To do that with Uhura would be ridiculous.
ponn formaran!
I was instructed to speak English on this mission and I would appreciate it if you would respect that.
I hope the Spock-Uhura thing doesn’t take away from troika of Kirk-Spock-McCoy. More McCoy Bob Orci. More McCoy. More McCoy. Did I say that enough. Hey if it gets the female demographic up, then take off his shirt. But I say again, MORE MCCOY!
I want conflict between Kirk and Khan not Kirk and Spock!
Kirk represents the (perfectly) resolved conflict between the logic of spock and the emotion of McCoy. Kirk is the ‘golden mean’ (to use Aristotle’s terminology) between those two extremes. He has just the right amount of logic and emotion to make the best decisions. He, unlike they, is not an extremist. Kirk in conflict with Spock is Kirk in conflict with himself: which goes against his very nature as explained above.
Whereas, Khan represents the, if you like, evil version of Kirk: a very powerful, intelligent, handsome charismatic person (just like Kirk) – who just happens to be bad!
We had enough of the Kirk v Spock v the world, imho, in Trek 2009 with ‘Cadet Kirk’. Who was a little too anakin Skywalker for me. A moaning little up-start.
The actors have aged and wont be able, I think, to play themselves immediately after the first film. So they will have to have aged ‘on screen’. Hopefully, that means they have a little more maturity. This isn’t supposed to be Saved by the Bell in space…
Oh, and get rid of that booze factory.
#9.
Technically, Spock can be a totally different, and very emotional character in the new timeline. Different from the TOS Spock. The writers have the right to do that. But I don’t agree with that approach. Because if you make Spock an emotional HUMANIZED lover, then it really isn’t Spock anymore, except in name only.
What made Spock so great during the TOS years was his status as an outsider, someone struggling to come to terms with both his human and Vulcan halves. He was caught between two worlds, and preferred staying on the Vulcan side of things. Logic over emotion. It was his alienness and cold detachment that attracted a lot of fans, in particular, women.
How about this: the destruction of Vulcan makes it imperative that re-population commence immediately. Some female chooses Spock, Uhura doesn’t like like it, so they battle (female version) a la Amok Time.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA…….HAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAA……..
….outta breath …
I LOVE this….
Saldana: It’s going to be boring. There’s no conflict between Kirk and Spock, they agree on everything! They’re beer buddies. And there are no bad guys. We’re just cruising in space.
Someone has been looking over Mr. Orci’s shoulder when he is reading the message boards here.
Bring on the little Spocura’s and Uhuocks!!. Hey, Sarek, watch the kids for us tonight, okay? Uhura and I are going to beam over to New Vegas for the evening…..
RDR Spock was using Logic in the first movie.
I mean the reboot movie.
UGh.
Logic? Sarek: Spock, I was the ambassador to earth. It was only logical that I marry a local to explore her…ur, their customs…….
Come on, guys, No one has an issue with Sarek and Amanda. Why is this such a stretch?
#18.
True. But he was also acting on emotion most of the time. Which I didn’t have a problem with, seeing as how we were watching a younger version of the character having to deal with the destruction of Vulcan.
I’d just prefer that in the sequel, Spock is closer his TOS counterpart.
LOL! I knew they weren’t going anywhere. Like Zoe said, why would they go through all the trouble? Zachary is a huge Spock/Uhura shipper right along with Zoe, so I’m glad to see them getting what they want.
This is one of the things I don’t think worked. I still to this day look at the Spock/Uhura thing and probably the whole brewery and swollen hands thing and scrapped that and included the Shatner scene. I think those scenes were just as shoehorned in as Shatner was perceived by JJ to have have been.
Cant argue with the success of the movie and i truly enjoyed it but jeez when he said the Shatner thing didnt work I immediately thought of this and said well I guess most of the choices made were good (including Vulcan) in my opinion but there were some headscratchers
Spock + Uhura = bad idea,
It’s a waste of screen time. Spend it on story and characterization instead.
#21.
Because Sarek was….different from Spock. Remember that Sarek and Spock didn’t have the best of relations, mainly because Spock disagreed with Sarek’s choices. Spock couldn’t understand love. But beyond that, Spock seemed to be more rigid when it came to Vulcan religion and philosophy of logic and the purging of emotion than Sarek was.
Sarek “broke the rules” of sorts, while his son was a steadfast follower of Vulcan edict.
2007 to 2012 It’s been a real 5 yr mission! Yeah come on!
Or how would it be if Spock becomes the Spock in TOS by the end of Sequel or the third one and Uhura spurned gets with Kirk?
It would be a shame if you did follow through. It felt forced and just thrown in there in the first movie. Felt like the writers said, “hey, we need a romance and it can’t involve Kirk. So…um…Uhura, and who else? Checkov? Nah too young. Ooo, Spock. Why not?” But of course they’re going to keep it going because they feel that they have to have some romance in there I guess. But at the rate they’re making these movies, Spock and Uhura might already have kids by this next one and probably grand kids by the one after.
I’m not a Spock/Uhura fan, but, if it’s unavoidable, it’s nice to see that the actress has a certain charm. Loved her ‘lies`–a bit more witty and revealing than most of what we get, and without revealing too much. Way to tread the thin line, Saldana!
Ugh…enough of the Spock/Uhura relationship. Have them recognize the fact it’s there, but I don’t watch frikkin’ Star Trek to see a couple slobbering on each other. I’ll watch a girly flick with my wife if I want that crap.
LOL — “they’re beer buddies.” :-)
By the way, that’s a nice nod to the brewery nature of the engine room, subconscious or not.
The Spock and Uhura relationship is fine. This incarnation of Trek is heading in the right direction…away from the previous…and at warp speed. Bring it on!
Star Trek: Cruising in Space. Not a bad title. ;-)
“please captain, not in front of the klingons”
Urgh. Please no. Tell me it ain’t so. No more ghastly Spock/Uhura crap. I bloody hated that more than i hated engineering.
All pouty, sultry looks flung across the bridge and in 3 bloody dimensions.
I think i may be getting too old to be bothered with this movie!
I guess I can live with it, just as long as they don’t show so much PDA (“Get a room!”) like they did in the last one. I can buy the fact that Spock might want a relationship/mate, but I DO NOT buy him being comfortable getting sloppy kisses all over his face from Uhura right in front of everyone. I think Zoe really overdid it with the “multiple kisses” all over his face. It was a bit much.
25. Danpaine – January 28, 2012
Indeed. It was almost like they were just trying to find something for Uhura to do like with Trio getting drunk and Worf getting a pimple!
In almost every other scene she’s in, the dialogue is just about her having a right to be there: replace that useless male officer, I speak all dialetcs of Romulus fluently, I have great ‘oral sensitivity’, etc. We know you deserve to be on the bridge: stop telling us! Much of the same with Chekov…
Don’t mind the romance between Spock & Uhura, however, I would be much more interested if in the sequel their romance somehow involves Uhura doing a nude fan dance.
I love Spock/Uhura together …they have a relationship that is similar to Aragon and Arwen from the Lord of the Rings and those are the kind of romances I enjoy. it is not crazy or trying to hard like Bella and Edward (Twifail) or disturbing and lustful like Anakin and Padme (Star Wars).
However I always wondered how Nuspock and NUuhura have sex, Vulcans are supposed to be 3x stronger than a male human. if spock goes into pon farr wont he kill her?
Am also glad no one mention Zachery Quinto being gay or making the relationship between Kirk/Spock sexual because ZQ is gay. ZQ is a great actor who can play any part .He was straight in Heroes and gay in American horor story,however I hope I see him kiss more women on screen especially Zoe.
And I forgot to add…..I hope JJ Abrams tells Zoe Saldana to eat more, No offence to her die hard fans but the girl is too THIN.
#12,Basement Blogger,Amen,Amen!! The ‘Big Three’ we need more of!! And more McCoy/Spock stuff as well!! The Spock/Uhura thing is great;in my world there married and have a kid. But I wanta see more of the guys together ya know?
We can’t have romance in our space explosions.
That might accidentally contribute to the idea that the characters have rounded and realistic personalities and occasionally develop emotional and sexual attachments to others!!1!
@ #25 – Yes, and relationships between people isn’t characterization…
>facepalm<
Please no more Spock/Uhura thing.
Greg UK
I look forward to watching the relationship between Spock and Uhura grow. A sex scene would generate a lot of buzz while doing the press junket and be something new and different for Trek.
squee!
That is all.
Cue whiners!
I loved them together and can”t wait for more.
Trek romance is fine with me, as long as they don’t do some kind of “Brokeback Planet” with Kirk and Spock :):)
And btw. Miss Saldana is gorgeous as always!