Spock actor Zachary Quinto was a guest last night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote the Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band, but the host, known to be a bit of a nerd himself, wanted to start things off talking about Star Trek.
Colbert asked Quinto if there is going to be a Star Trek 4 and is Quentin Tarantino going to direct it. The actor clarified things regarding the two Star Trek projects in development.
I know more now than I knew a few weeks ago, which is there will be a fourth [Star Trek] movie, if we stay on the track we are on. I think there is going a movie before Quentin’s movie. So, there may be a movie after the next movie. So, we have a lot to look forward to.
The Star Trek actor’s optimism about the follow-up to 2016’s Beyond moving forward is noteworthy compared to a year ago when Quinto said the cast were all waiting for news, and warning at the time there were “no guarantees” for another Trek film. Co-star Simon Pegg has also recently said he sees S.J. Clarkson being attached to Star Trek 4 as an indication the film is headed towards production.
Paramount has not yet set a release date for Star Trek 4. However, in addition to Clarkson being attached, reports that David Ellison’s Skydance is again partnering with Paramount for Star Trek 4 indicates indicates the key issue of financing is also taking a big step forward.
Regarding the hiring of S.J. Clarkson to direct Star Trek 4, Quinto said:
They just announced a woman will be directing the next one, which is really exciting. It is the first time in the feature universe. And it is actually a woman I know and have worked with before, named S.J. Clarkson and she is incredible and I am very excited.
Quinto worked with Clarkson on two episodes of the NBC series Heroes.
Zachary Quinto as Spock in Star Trek Beyond
In Search Of update
Sticking with his nerdy bent, Colbert then asked about the upcoming reboot of In Search Of. Quinto said that his version will “maintain the integrity of the original series,” hosted by Leonard Nimoy, but it would also differ in some ways. The biggest change is that Quinto will not only host the show, but be involved in going into the field himself to do the different segments and interviews. Quinto, who is also producing the series, said he used the popular CNN series Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown as a model for traveling the world for strange stories to explore. The actor did note that on one occasion he wears a turtleneck as an homage to Nimoy’s original 70’s wardrobe.
Subjects covered for the new In Search Of will include aliens, monsters of the deep, the lost city of Atlantis, artificial intelligence, life after death and mind control. The series arrives on the History Channel in July.
Zachary Quinto in In Search Of
Watch Quinto on Colbert
Keep up with all news on both Star Trek 4 and the Tarantino Trek project at TrekMovie’s upcoming films category.
“In Search of.” Yes! I’ll be tuning in, loved that show.
They should bring back Rod Serling’s Night Gallery.
That’s the key takeaway from this article. There’s a lot that could derail this particular train. Good to be optimistic though!
I noticed that but it may not be as sinister as it first appears as he mentions Tarantino’s movie in the same quote so he may only be referring to the order of release.
@Xorinthian7 — my point is, he’s acknowledging that a lot can go wrong to derail a movie. And in the current situation between Viacom and CBS, the stakes are stepped up considerably. Many here are willing to put the cart before the horse, without taking into account all the pieces to the puzzle — and there are a lot of pieces. Oh well … let them I guess.
Sure something can change but just sounds like he remembers the experience from the last Trek film and how they lost the director just weeks before shooting and just emphasizing as long as the boat doesn’t get rocked too much.
Pretty much this. He’s saying nothing new nor pessimistic.
Tiger2,
Re: …how they lost the director just weeks before shooting…
A director and script, that I recall, he was equally enthused about. So I doubt his enthusiasm is much of an excuse for optimists or pessimists to switch sides one way or the other.
Uh ok.
Tiger2, did you see what just happened here? :-)
Right on schedule with the “SAVE” for Cadet. Like fracking clockwork…LOL
Curious Cadet,
Well, these two certainly had and have their doubts:
”It is understood that the Chinese companies are concerned Paramount may have assigned a disproportionate share of its central costs to the movies with outside finance, compared to those movies wholly owned by the studio.
In a statement Tuesday, Paramount’s parent company, Viacom, blamed the slate financing termination on “recent changes to Chinese foreign investment policies.” But while government controls on the outflow of capital from China hampered state-owned Shanghai Film Group, they had little impact on Huahua, a private company with substantial capital offshore. Rather, concerns about Paramount’s accounting and its assessment of the slate’s profitability were Huahua’s main motivation for breaking off what would otherwise be a largely passive investment. The company concluded that Paramount’s upcoming titles between now and mid-2018 had little chance of a positive investment return.” — ‘Paramount to Be Audited by China’s Huahua, Shanghai Film Group (EXCLUSIVE)’ By Patrick Fra | VARIETY.com | November 8, 2017
And with SKYDANCE offsetting its loses by letting China’s Tencent take a sizeable stake in it, this long time Paramount observer has concerns.
I mean, Paramount and SKYDANCE couldn’t even finance the next act in their planned 2 more films of the TERMINATOR trilogy without bringing in FOX. What does that portend for Trek?
Although, I wonder if a FOX partner might give Trek access to FOX’s library of visual and audio fx, which could be interesting?
@Disinvited — Oh Pish Posh, financing schminancing, “fake news”!
Don’t cloud the issue with facts! ;-)
Wow, it’s like the two of you finish each other’s sentences! ;-)
I get your point @Curious Cadet and it’s a good one. I’m just pointing out an alternative interpretation of the quote.
LOL. This is not Trump’s North Korea Summit.
LOL. Give it up please…they are essentially in pre-production…like, DUH!
I think he has at least one cameo scene in ST: Discovery. I can’t see CBS casting a new actor for the role. Quinto is Spock until he isn’t and I doubt there will be another actor cast in the role. But that’s just my educated opinion.
There are currently two actors playing Superman and two playing the Flash and now there’s a new Pike. A new Spock, if cast, almost seems a given.
I get the impression that they’d like to use him and maybe thought that they might get the opportunity to when everything pointed towards the merger going ahead but with recent reports indicating that talks have soured somewhat I think the chances have dropped. At least for now.
He’s about 20 years too old to play Young Spock in DSC. I imagine the only young Spock we’ll see is Child Spock in Burnham’s memories/flashbacks.
20 years is a bit harsh ;-) Adult Spock would be about 27 (born 2230) around the time of DSC season 2 (2257). Quinto is currently 40. But to your main point, his age is certainly one of multiple reasons why it’s not going to happen.
Mr. Wright, I agree it’s never going to happen. But also, yes, 13 years of de-aging is nothing for movies and TV’s…it happens all the time.
I think we’ll only see young Spock as well, the photo shown of Burnham entering his quarters will likely be the final shot of that episode. However, given that Nimoy played Spock in The Cage and the Menagerie made it canon that this adventure occurred about 13 years prior to the episode there is precedent for an actor of Quinto’s age playing Spock at the time Discovery is set.
I mean I think Quinto can be reasonably makeuped to appear the right age. It’s not like he’s pushing 60 or anything. And Nimoy played young Cage Spock and TOS Spock just fine. Does Quinto really look that different from how he did in ST09 a decade ago? Not to my eyes.
Honestly, Nimoy had always looked older as his Spock than Quinto. I can buy Quinto being in his 30s, but to my eyes, tos Spock had always been in his 40s or more, lol.
But then again, I wasn’t born in the 60s and I started watching trek in the 80s when I was a kid so to my eyes, all the characters were old. It was also the style of the time too, characters could be young in the story but the actors always looked older regardless. Everything I watch from the time is like that, especially the portrayal of people in their 30s.
Agreed!
Because the episode was filmed BEFORE the series as the original and rejected pilot, Nimoy was already “younger Spock.”
Bill,
Principal photograph of which was completed in the middle of December 1964. The principal photography of the second pilot began in the middle of July 1965.
Are you actually trying to argue that a time span of a mere 7 months contributed more to his youthful appearance than makeup, costuming and lighting?
He could be de-aged in post.
I really don’t see him doing it. Salary for one, as well as too much possible commitment and too big a risk of being typecast.
Spock will be recast, as will any other nu!Trek characters.
He’s actually been asked ( some time ago ) on a video interview, if he’d like/want to appear in DSC – he really, really seemed like he wanted nothing to do with it.
Might that have changed? Sure. But I still feel we’ll most likely never see him in DSC.
There is a new Sarek, Amanda and Pike who were all in the Kelvin films as well. I’m not sure why anyone would assume there would be the same Spock? Especially as all those characters had a close relationship with Spock. They seem like they want a different dynamic entirely with these characters.
And I have said this before they probably want different actors so not to confuse the different universe issue. Once you put one of those actors in Discovery it raises a lot of questions and people are still confused enough about the Kelvin timeline issue.
I don’t think its so much that people are assuming that they will cast Quinto as they are hoping that they do. There’s certainly precedent for other actors reprising a role they previously played in a reboot. Dame Judy Dench would be a prime example when they rebooted the Bond franchise.
Well the poster I was responding to (and basically started this convo) all but said they expected a Quinto cameo on the show because in their eyes he’s Spock so replacing him would be problematic.
I think if they ever brought the character back it be someone new. I like Quinto but it would add tons of confusion.
And add to the fact they keep pushing that Discovery is in the prime universe despite so many fans arguing to the contrary then the LAST thing they want to do is add fuel fire with that speculation by casting an actor whose character is in an alternate universe. It would just ‘confirm’ people’s suspicion so why do it?
And I also feel CBS just want Discovery to feel like it’s own separate thing and my suspicion why the uniforms were drastically changed so people wouldn’t think of the Kelvin movies if the uniforms were the same.
Some folks are confused about the kelvin timeline being an alt timeline already, if Quinto plays prime trek Spock it will add to the confusion and they’ll believe the series is in the reboot
[never mind the conflict that, in the reboot reality, Spock didn’t truly get a chance to work with Captain Pike. At this time, he still was an intructor at the academy and waiting for the enterprise to get completed]
I think they will tease the audience but never show adult Spock because it’s too much a risk.
To be fair Jemini there’s plenty of hardcore Trekkies that still insist that DSC is set in the Kelvin universe.
….and those of us who realize it’s not but wish it was :)
Touché :)
So if they recast a new Spock, people will think it’s in a different timeline altogether?
Some people might think that. However, anyone who knows anything about the different timelines, KU vs. PU, etc., will not be confused, since we’ve already seen the Enterprise and Pike post ST09 in DISC, and they are nothing alike. Since Quinto is supposed to be the same character as Nimoy, having been born before Nero changed the timeline, then there should be no cause for confusion.
General audiences of both film and series shouldn’t be confused at all. Quinto is Spock for all practical purposes, and since they aren’t invested in the canon, and dates of events, they will just accept in stride this is the Pike/Spock pairing before the events of ST09, even though these events are actually happening afterward.
But you are correct in calling them timelines — as the alternate universe explanation is not canon — though such differences only really matter to hard core Star Trek fans.
Exactly!
It just brings up a lot of problems and assumptions especially when the actor will do more Kelvin films that will be shown alongside Discovery. Basically it will be one actor playing two different versions of himself. Which wouldn’t be so bad if they acknowledged it somehow but we know they wouldn’t.
Even for hardcore Trek fans that would feel confusing lol. A decade on people are still arguing if the Kelvin universe overwritten the prime universe even though Discovery has all but proven it didn’t. Why add to that bizarre argument having Quinto there to muddy it more.
How has Discovery proven that the prime timeline hasn’t been overwritten? I know that Bob Orci said his intent was that it was a separate parallel timeline but this could easily be overruled by another creative who wants to tell a different story. Until we see events set after Spock and Nero travelled back this point can be legitimately debated.
As for people being confused I don’t think this matters. Take a look at the X-men films for example, their timelines are all over the place now but people are still watching regardless of whether they are keeping up. In a hypothetical scenario in which they did manage to cast Quinto as Spock it wouldn’t make sense to acknowledge it. Trekkies know the difference between the Kelvin and prime timelines and those that don’t, well does it really matter what universe they think it’s in so long as they’re watching and enjoying.
Corinthian7,
Re: How has Discovery proven that the prime timeline hasn’t been overwritten?
That’s an excellent question. In the course of Orci’s off-screen explanations which have no effect on canon, Pegg, the other creative of which you spoke, came along and, again likewise off-screen, rewrote the rules of time travel so that an action that occurs in the future rewrites moments occurring in the past. This thoroughly dismantles the grandfather paradox which Orci’s time travel uses as an engine to force a universe creating divergence to occur.
It also explains, as you suggested, why Bad Robot’s movies, DISCOVERY, and the original Trek universe, which fans now call “Prime” because of a 2009 screen credit, are all in the same universe.
The reason the 3’s pasts appear to be inconsistent is because, as Pegg explained, random future moments that haven’t happened yet, such as Nero’s incursion, are rippling through the universe’s dimension of time and rewriting it.
In the series, ENTERPRISE, they established that changes to the time stream don’t rewrite it instantaneously for all moments, but take time to ripple through to other eras:
“DANIELS: We don’t know any more than you do.
ARCHER: I thought you and your colleagues were supposed to be keeping an eye on the time line. You’re from the thirtieth century. Hasn’t all this happened already?
DANIELS: History doesn’t mention anything about a conflict between humans and Xindi.
ARCHER: How could that be?
DANIELS: The events that are taking place are the result of temporal incursions. They are not supposed to be happening.
ARCHER: But they are happening.
DANIELS: Yes, they are, but the outcome hasn’t reached us yet. It takes a while for changes to ripple through the time line.” — Rick Berman & Brannon Braga, ‘Carpenter Street’, ENTERPRISE
@Disinvited. Great post, I’d actually forgotten that line of dialogue from Carpenter Street. I wasn’t really suggesting that the two timelines were the same universe, rather I was saying that depicting events that occurred prior to Spock and Nero being sent back in time doesn’t mean that those events wouldn’t ultimately be overwritten when they did travel back. As you rightly pointed out we’ve had both Orci and Pegg offer conflicting interpretations of the ramifications of time travel in Trek and canonically we’ve seen time travel depicted inconsistently onscreen so until somebody comes along and writes a story that shows the prime timeline continue after Spock and Nero go back we can’t say definitively one way or the other if these are two separate parallel universes or if the Kelvin universe overwrites the prime.
Orci pointedly stated on this very website, that he intentionally left the explanation of time travel vague in ST09, so audiences could enjoy the film by the traditional Trek time travel rules, or as he intended it, as an alternate universe. Pegg seems to be trying to justify what was essentially an error — the USS Franklin being the first warp 4 capable starship, with an NX registry designation, after the events in ENT.
Since the KU can’t be proven by canon, it only makes sense that it’s a new timeline which is overwriting the original just as time travel has always worked in Star Trek. Of course the other thing that was discussed by Orci and others off-screen, is that the timeline was already changed thanks to the events of FC, or ENT. But again, there’s absolutely no evidence of this in canon.
@Curious Cadet I agree that in the absence of any onscreen evidence to the contrary the established time travel rules presented in Star Trek thus far make it far more likely that the prime timeline has been overwritten by the Kelvin Universe. That being said if they choose to address it onscreen they could use technobabble to go either way. I just don’t think it will be addressed until there is a successful resolution to the merger.
The fact the Enterprise is clearly older and looks completely different from the Kelvin movies for starters.
And again the issue is the writers wants people to know it takes place in the prime universe. They never make it ambiguous for a reason. That and the fact every Kelvin character has been recast thus far. They clearly want a separation between the films so I think it DOES matter to them that people understand it’s different timelines or they would’ve used some of the other actors already. I don’t know why Spock would be any different. Especially if it cuts down on confusion.
No I agree that they are in different timelines, I just don’t consider this to be definitive proof that the prime timeline wasn’t overwritten. My personal opinion is that they’re deliberately leaving this vague due to the nature of the merger talks. If the merger goes ahead and Star Trek all falls under one umbrella then I think they’ll address the elephant in the room. Maybe they’ll do a final Kelvin movie that resets the timeline and turns that series into one giant version of Yesterday’s Enterprise or maybe they’ll confirm that they’re two separate parallel universes by having a TV episode do a crossover episode with the Discovery crew jumping into the Kelvin Universe. My point is that up until they definitively address this onscreen they can still go either way.
The same goes for casting too in my opinion. Whether they cast Quinto, another actor entirely or resurrect Nimoy with CGI it won’t change the fact that it’s still the same character. When the producers have spoken about recasting they’ve acknowledged that it would be difficult to recast any of the principals. I recall seeing an interview in which they praised both Nimoy and Quinto and this made me think that in an ideal world they would jump at the chance of casting any of the reboot cast. That doesn’t mean I necessarily think it will happen, I suspect that the acrimony with the merger may make this difficult to do and we may see new actors in these roles again. I just don’t think the fact that they’ve cast different actors in some of the secondary roles means that they wouldn’t want to use a Quinto or Urban if they had the chance. I recall that with Voyager they recast the Borg queen for the TV series but the moment they got the opportunity to bring back Alice Krige they did so without any onscreen acknowledgement.
Fun reading,
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN September 2, 2014 [last mod:2015-03-26T15:07:38Z], ‘Time Travel Simulation Resolves “Grandfather Paradox”: What would happen to you if you went back in time and killed your grandfather? A model using photons reveals that quantum mechanics can solve the quandary—and even foil quantum cryptography’:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-travel-simulation-resolves-grandfather-paradox/
Good read, given the person we’ve been discussing it would seem apt to say fascinating.
What a great guy!
“reports that David Ellison’s Skydance is again partnering with Paramount for Star Trek 4 indicates indicates the key issue of financing is also taking a big step forward.”
Just as I said. The doubters here in my suggesting this was not being done yet and the production start was as least a year or two away know who they are — you both got it wrong! :-)
It’s nice to have someone who embodies what Star Trek is about so well. Also, very happy to have confirmation about IV!
Quinto is awesome. He is a huge fan of Nimoy himself and has so much respect for him. I will watch this new show In Search of.
I’m looking forward to the next movie!
Cynics will say his offers are drying up so he is resorting to Leonard Nimoy impersonation. But “In Search Of” is better than a lot of gigs in Hollywoodland, and could be a lot of fun if one is also a producer. Quinto carries the Trek banner pretty well, which is especially useful now, considering the debacle going on at CBS All Abscess.
Also, I hope Search series will lean a little more towards actual science than pseudo-science and hokum. Maybe lure the viewers in with horsefeathers, and then mix in some legit scientific content.
I’d love them to cover the topic of Bigfoot ( and then tear apart fakers such as Rick Dyer, Todd Standing, and Justin Smeja who have brought the subject into disrepute imo ).
I like ZQ, he really struck up a friendship with Nimoy and is great in the role of Spock. I hope the new movies continue for some time, they honour the films that came before and the separate universe concept allows them great latitude. Here’s hoping Zachary gets a cameo in DSC.
Lots to be excited about! I’m really happy to see him taking “In Search Of” into the 21st Century. He’s going to be great. I’m also glad that he’s going to play Spock again. Zach is a great guy.
Quinto has definately grown on me as Spock. The 2009 movie wrote Spock a little out of character in places and Quinto did a great job with what he was given, and really grew into Spock with the later scripts. Like Nimoy he understands that Vulcans do feel emotions, they just don’t show them. Most other actors portaying Vulcans end up too rigid and with zero emotion. While arguably more canonical (particularly for more senior Vulcans), showing hidden emotions underneath makes for more interesting watching, for example with facial expressions (e.g. Spock’s eyebrow and the almost smiles at Kirk).
“Quinto has definately grown on me as Spock.”
That’s actually why I feel that DSC will steer clear ( for now ) of Adult Spock.
Zach is a nice guy and I love watching his interviews, and I absolutely love his Spock. He made the character his own and I love having two different Spocks to be a fan of now :D
Off topic a tiny bit, but if they go ahead and cast a new actor on Discovery for Spock, then, depending on how successful that goes (who-knows?) a younger Kirk, McCoy, Scotty…for those that care of what-came-before, I see a couple of problems.
A) it will further confirm what some already believe (despite what the showrunners say), that we’re in an alternate universe. (Which is fine, just SAY so).
B) If they bring back classic characters like Spock, there are many who may no longer have any interest in Burnham, Stamets, Saru or even the namesake of the show, Discovery itself. There are already rumblings from people being more interested in Pike’s Enterprise now that Anson Mount is on board, than Discovery.
C) The more they re-cast/recycle classic characters, the more chance of (further, imo) polluting this (supposed Prime) timeline which has already been established for 50 years.
I wish they’d just call this a re-boot and be done with it, if this is going to be the case. The showrunners have gone to the trouble to create and introduce new characters. Enhance THEM, make us love THEM. Don’t rip-off past ideas and characters.
Just one guys’ opinion, purist though I may be. I just really wish they hadn’t chosen an established sandbox to play in.
How does it confirm it’s an alternate universe?
It doesn’t since the Quinto films are not confirmed in canon as an alternate universe.
The concern expressed in this thread appears to be that there is a lot of confusion about what the Quinto films are supposed to be, confusion admittedly, intentionally stoked by Orci himself — he wanted audiences to be able to view the film as a traditional Trek time travel romp, or as his alternate universe experiment, depending on which they felt most comfortable with. Despite his endless promotion of his alternate universe theory, there is nothing in canon which confirms it — intentionally.
So for those who have chosen Orci’s non-traditional, alternate universe approach to Trek, Quinto represents an alternate universe portrayal of Spock, and therefore — for them — confirms in their minds that DISC is set in the KU timeline. But that’s impossible since we’ve now seen the Enterprise post ST09, and neither Pike, not the Enterprise are remotely the same. So this is an unjustified concern. Anyone who knows that the Quinto films are in the KU, also know that the events of those films don’t align with the timeline of DISC. So casting Quinto as Spock in both films is not a problem, especially since he’s supposed to be the same character as Nimoy anyway — born prior to Nero’s arrival.
I think the producers just want to avoid discussions like this entirely though lol.
You get a different actor entirely this argument becomes mostly moot.
I think as far as both Paramount and CBS is concerned the Kelvin is a different universe and just easier to keep the two completely separate although I don’t disagree Quinto would be playing Nimoy’s Spock but trust me it would definitely still confuse some people.
They say in the first movie,2009,that it’s an alternate timeline,if I remember correctly. I don’t actually care,lol,as I love those movies as well. Would’ve been fun if they DID get Quinto.
JRT!
No. Uhura asks a question and it’s, “An alternate reality?” which is an ambiguous enough term and one Orci said was specifically left so.
Aaaah,right! Time to watch those movies again,methinks! lol!
@JRT! — Quinto is the Nimoy of Trek now. In as much as Nimoy appeared as Spock in the Bad Robot films, rather than age Quinto, Quinto could just as easily appear as Spock in other Trek productions. He’s something of an ambassador of the brand now. In as much as he might cause limited confusion among the core fan base, he’s far more valuable as a unifying character, just as Nimoy was in TNG.
As for what was said about the timeline in ST09, here’s the actual dialogue:
Oh I know. And I actually like him as Spock.
I hope it’s a serious effort and not just sensationalized fluff on these subjects.
So…still ‘in development’ ….
Phil,
“Yep.” — Gary Cooper