While at San Diego Comic-Con, the panelists for Star Trek: Discovery also sat down for some group media events with some of the major outlets, where more clues about the second season emerged. We have distilled all of them and put together all the highlights.
Spock has been cast and it wasn’t easy
When talking to Variety, producers gave a little more detail on the introduction of Spock for the second season, which was teased during the panel on Friday. The Variety reporter asked if Spock has been recast, and executive producer and showrunner Alex Kurtzman confirmed it:
We are, we are casting a new Spock. It’s not just a possibility, it’s been done.
Kurtzman went on to talk about the challenge they faced casting Spock:
Everybody assumes that because Spock is all about logic, that there is no emotion in there and that is entirely untrue. So, finding an actor convey what we know to be very Vulcan, but also reveal so much emotion in the eyes and in the small gestures, so you understand there is just a tornado of things just happening under the surface is critical. So you need an actor who can do both of those things at the same time, which is very challenging.
The group also talked about how the message of hope in Star Trek is important to set an example. New cast member Anson Mount showed his Trek cred as he talked about Gene Roddenberry’s vision, Doug Jones talked about the challenge of playing the first Kelpien, and Mary Wiseman spoke about breaking new ground in Star Trek profanity.
Pike is “the opposite” of Lorca
For TV Line, the discussion turned to Anson Mount’s Captain Pike. The actor described Pike’s command style, saying:
He is very by the book, usually, and a good person. And I don’t always play good people, so it’s fun.
Executive producer Heather Kadin added:
There is this cool confidence. It is such a nice to have such an opposition to what Jason [Isaacs] played last year [with Captain Lorca]. The presence is very captain-like immediately, but a total opposite note.
Kurtzman also weighed in:
One of the things that was particularly nice about writing Pike, is that he has enough confidence and authority to apologize when he is wrong. I think that is something that Lorca would never do.
Sonequa Martin-Green brought up that Michelle Yeoh is returning to play former Emperor Georgiou, saying that she and Michael Burnham have to find a way to work together in the second season.
The group talked about twists in the first season, including how they invented the actor “Javid Iqbal” to keep the secret that Latif was both Voq and Tyler. The cast seemed get a kick out of how that inspired the parody account “@RealJavidIqbal,” which posted updates on the life of the “real actor” who played Voq.
Season two isn’t about the Enterprise
When they spoke to ET, the group was asked how the arrival of the USS Enterprise at the end of season one impacts season two. Alex Kurtzman offered some details.
It affects it pretty significantly. Obviously Captain Pike has shown up and he is here for a very specific reason. But, what we will discover is that the reason the Enterprise is here is tied into a larger story that is really the thrust of season two, that isn’t about the Enterprise.
They also talk about the fan reaction to the show and how they are so excited to see cosplayers at Comic-Con.
More group interviews with panelists
The other group chats with major media outlets were mostly casual and fun, but there were still some interesting moments.
How Culments love saved the world
With the LA Times, the focus was on the Culber/Stamets relationship.
Talking Kelpiens with Kevin Smith
Doug Jones, Sonequa Martin-Green, Anthony Rapp and Shazad Latif boarded the IMDB Boat with host Kevin Smith, which mostly focused on Doug Jones’ Saru.
Behind the scenes promo
CBS also released a video showing the cast’s time in San Diego, which included visiting fans in line, checking out the Mirror Universe gallery, and doing the panel and press event.
Cast reads fan’s tweets
Yoooooo! My jaw literally just dropped right now!!!! #StarTrekDiscovery 🤯😳🖖🏾 https://t.co/RCy3ozYh6U
— 😶 Mr. Robot 🤖 (@UptownRoamer) July 21, 2018
Night made! (And also helpful advice…oh episode 10) #StarTrekDiscovery https://t.co/LnfD7h6Oh2
— Amanda *Librarians together Librarians forever* (@nerdychick678) July 21, 2018
#OMGB @may_wise read my tweet and gave me the winning prize!!! Thanks, Mary!!! https://t.co/jQJCo7zzie
— Ryan Thomas Riddle@SDCC 🏳️🌈 (@ryantriddle) July 21, 2018
Oh my god, I'm slightly embarrassed but also flattered? 😳 #StarTrekDiscovery https://t.co/bM9FeBuZkh
— Philiana (@insidethetube) July 21, 2018
More from SDCC to come
TrekMovie has already posted a number of articles from San Diego with our own coverage and more (Click here to see all our SDCC 2018 coverage), and there is still much more to come. So stay tuned.
They are talking about the stories and writing with such reverence. But it was such bad writing. There was no twist we couldn’t see coming, while the twists that did surprise us were absurd and weak – like wrapping up a pointless season-long war arc with a simple bomb under the enemy’s planet’s surface finale. I like the actors, but this isn’t a crew I have warmed to in any way. The previous Star Trek series were so good at introducing you to an ensemble cast and you found yourself understanding and rooting for them. I’ve watched Discovery’s first season twice over now and I still can’t remember some names. It’s pretentious, style-over-substance garbage and has no respect and in no way honours it’s past. They shouldn’t selectively visually change things. Improve things were you can but making your most recognisable alien race unrecongnisable, changing technology design and adding go-faster-stripes to established ships… Change for the sake of change. Because even if they had kept the Klingons looking recognisable, or the Enterprise accurate to it’s slightly clunky 60s design – their modern production values and ridiculously overused blue grading filter on ever scene, would of made it look ‘modern’. Disney wouldn’t dare visually reimagine the Millenium Falcon because it’s a cultural icon – but Moonves and Alex don’t feel Star Trek’s first hero ship has earned that same respect. The Smithsonian would say otherwise…
You should have posted just “First!” Impressive. We have a winner here? Or should it be a whiner?
Agreed, DSC was a hard watch.
Hey, Captain Neil, do you know what else was hard to watch? The justice league movie.
Take a guess which movie I will never watch again and will not watch sequels to? Take a guess which movie I will not go online and talk about anymore because it was released last fall?
I’ll give you a hint: it’s a movie that I found hard to watch.
I had issues with DIS but yes JL was just a complete level of bad lol. I was on a 16 hour flight to Asia and it was one of the options to watch…I was bored, not suicidal.
“There was no twist we couldn’t see coming, while the twists that did surprise us were absurd and weak ”
You mean like figuratively castrating the most interesting character in the show. Many people saw it coming but I dismissed it as so amazingly stupid there was no way the people running the show would be that out of touch. No way. Then, there it was. Complete facepalm. The good news is nearly everyone responsible for it has been canned.
Do people not have anything better to do than to regurgitate the same complaints in every single discovery article? At this point we’ve heard the same people make the same complaints every day for the past eight months.
When will you have something new to contribute?
I had my issues with discovery. I made my comments and moved on. We are now talking about season two and again the same complaints in every single article. It is tiresome.
If you have nothing new to contribute to the discussion I beg you to keep your mouth shut.
Who are you to tell someone to keep their mouth shut? There’s a lot here to complain about, and most of it bears repeating. You find it tiresome? That’s nothing to how tiresome this show and its publicity has been.
Yeah, you’re right. My dream is to come back here in ten years, click at the newest post, and see how much you loathe Discovery’s Season 1. In fact, I think you should create a whole blog to post every single day your opinions on Discovery’s Season 1. That ought to be a lot of fun! :-)
But you seem to think no one should criticize the show either? The point of message boards are threefold: To speculate, to imagine and to analyze.
Analyzing is clearly a big part of what happens here, ESPECIALLY for new shows and films. I agree it would be nice if everyone finds a decent balance between praise and hate but its no fun to listen to only one side either. Imagine if you come here and its nothing but total praise of every episode, character and plot line, in every thread (ZZZZZzzzzz). Just the opposite and of course you scare away anyone who likes the show. Neither are good. DIS has a lot of issues to me too, but then I also see the potential where it can improve and I don’t think the show is that bad in general. But others do, so what? Same time others think the show has no faults, no one is telling them to stop being so positive about it.
In other words if you disagree with him, fine, tell him WHY he’s wrong then! If he’s not insulting you or outright trolling then he should say what he wants. Take my word for it, trying to shut people up on the internet just because you don’t like their POV doesn’t work!
BOY does it not work.
By the way, there’s plenty to praise about the first season of Discovery. The casting was mostly great, the show looks terrific, it was rarely boring even at its worst; there were a few episodes I liked, and a lot of great individual scenes/moments/elements.
I have yet to hear ANYONE deliver a positive critique of the series that made me think there was anything more to it than that. The series has massive problems at both the conceptual level and the level of execution. My frustration and disappointment with the series is that it failed to live up to its potential.
Fans of the series often seem to feel that the people who criticize it are doing so in an empty manner. And sure, there’s probably a lot of that. But I could say the same about some of the love I’ve seen for the show, which seems to me almost always to be based not on love for specific things, but more on love for loving things. I’m not convinced some of these fans are fans of the series so much as they are fans of their fandom for the series.
And hey, so be it. I can’t imagine why dissenting opinions from people like me would change that for them, so … what’s the objection, exactly?
The thing is I have NEVER heard anyone who is super positive about the show to be told to shut up about it. People have argued their opinions of who may like certain elements of the show but you don’t see people trying to completely shut down their feelings over it.
I get its easy for people to say ‘if you hate it so much why do watch it’ type of argument. And its a VALID argument. Why are you wasting time watching something you hate? Its the equivalent of eating something you hate…every week. So I get that. Everyone does.
But that’s not how fandom works either. Fandom always has had a love-hate relationship with their franchise. Sports fandom has a great history of this. Star Wars fans more so than us these days lol. But most watch things they are disappointed with because as fans they still feel loyal to that brand and invested so much history with it they still root for it even when they hate it. They may hate DIS for example but they still care about Star Trek and that’s the rub. So its very complicated.
And DIS isn’t going through anything differently than every spin off show before it. And people DO have to admit, that season two trailer looks so different from season one is because the producers obviously listened to people moaning about canon, feeling too dark, lack of exploration, unlikeable characters, etc. They clearly got the message of where fans had problems with the show and trying to reconcile that. That’s why I’m more excited for second season than I was for the first. If it looked exactly like what came before it would’ve been a hard Picard face palm for me.
Doesn’t mean it will be good (or executed better) but they are clearly trying to find that balance. Thats only because of fans on sites like this airing out their grievances. I’m sure some of that was going that direction anyway but my guess is most of it was by the reactions of people unhappy with the show (and maybe dropping subscriptions along the way too).
And in time people who hate it will probably come around like many did for TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT etc. Although for ENT case come around a little faster lol.
So that potential may get there…or it may not. As long as they are trying to get there I think most will give it a chance at least while still airing out their problems as they should.
You make a great many excellent points here. I thought the season two trailer looked good; the Spock subplot annoys me, though, and the reacting of the role swung me back toward not subscribing (I’d been reconsidering prior to that).
For my own part, good lord I certainly hope I’ll NEVER tell anyone to shut up if they are talking passionately about something they enjoy that I don’t. Trust me, I’d love — love love love — for somebody to be able to persuade me to enjoy Discovery. Find that person and point me toward them, somebody; please do. I’ll not hold my breath waiting on you, but if you do find them, I’d love that.
No I’m not super excited about the Spock plot line either. In fact I wish NONE of that story line was happening. But I have resigned to the fact long ago that they were going to go down this direction so I have accepted it. And I just hope its good and not just done to get people drooling over a Spock appearance. I try not to over state my true issues with the show that much because I have been literally told to shut up about it lol but like you I can’t help it. And obviously it doesn’t stop me.
I LOVE Star Trek. I want it to feel bigger, to go forward, to try something new, etc. Instead its feeling the complete opposite. The universe feels smaller when everyone knows everyone and all you are doing is recounting adventures that has technically happened. But I can still get excited for the sense of adventure, exploration, science plots, etc. All the things missing in season one IMO. So while I’m not happy (along with many others) the producers feel they need rehash old characters to keep people over 50 interested, obviously I understand it. But same time, why not just make a Pike show from day one like they did the Kelvin movies? Why beat around the bush? You think old TOS characters will sell your product to other old fans, just make that show and be done with it? But I digress lol.
Hopefully the season itself will be good and not just easter eggs for The Cage. Ugh. But I don’t want anyone to convince me to love it. I want the show *itself* to convince me. Hopefully in time it will and the trailer is a good step in the right direction at least, even with caveats.
@Bryant Burnette — I’ve never understood the need for someone to try and persuade people to enjoy something as subjective as entertainment, beyond being involved with the success of the program somehow. Likewise, I’ve never understood why anyone wants to persuade me that a show I enjoy is terrible, unless they are affiliated with the competition somehow. It just makes no sense. But this is what some hard core fans do. Tell me your opinion all day, and I’ll do the same. But beyond that, anything else is really ridiculous. And even if you give a person some kind of objective reason why some aspect of the show is bad or good, the whole thing is subjective anyway, and won’t likely influence a person’s enjoyment, or disdain for it one way or the other.
Well, good news for you, then: you’ll likely get your wish.
There are still people here complaining about TNG first two seasons and that was literally 30 years ago lol. In other words people still bring up past issues with shows and films ALL the time. In Discovery’s case its brand new so its not a shock they will talk about its issues just as people still bring up past Trek issues for shows that are no longer on.
This is the internet, it how it works.
I still can’t believe NBC actually aired THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR, and that was over 50 years back.
(Don’t tell anyone, but I think I like the first two seasons of TNG more than I like the last two seasons. I love the whole series, but I really like those early episodes.)
LOL
No
Everyone keep on chatting what you think.
No one has the right to shut another person up for any reason.
Some people will like STD, some not so much.
Some will like the Kelvin timeline, so will not.
Each series, each iteration of ST will have it’s pros & cons.
Some will embrace it, some will not.
But either way you can’t shut them up.
To me STD is nothing more than corn ball blandness and with Kurtzman entering the fold even more wrongness can be expected.His fixsation on Khan (despite being part of my SN) is well documented and he’ll likely spiral back to it in some form or another.
So for me there’s no promise of anything new and exciting.
I find no faults with your point. I, too, want to hear ALL viewpoints on the show. Even if they are repeated. I don’t tell my fellow Giants fans to stop following the team just because they suck at the moment. I would not expect Trek fans to NOT watch the latest iteration of their favorite franchise just because it sucks. You keep watching because of what made you a fan to begin with and hope the show/team improves. Again, it’s called being a fan.
Well said. So much potential…so little of it realized. Terrible writing!
Ugh, keyboard warriors galore. CBS doesn’t care what you think – either put up or shut up.
CBS will care if none of us pay them that $5.99 per month. Which I currently have no plans to do for the second season; I might yet be convinced to change my mind, but this new-Spock thing is not a step in the right direction for me.
Thank you! Very well said. (Now of course you have to suffer personal attacks via the ignorant.)
Mount’s restatement of Trek’s belief in humanity is why I believe in Star Trek.
Shame that at the end of Season One humanity wimped out and handed the fate of the galaxy to a genocidal space Hitler.
More parallels to our present?
Recasting Prime Spock from Nimoy? No thanks.
Unless this is Spock as a child/teeneger in flashback or something I’m afraid this is going a step too far for me. We’re not talking re-casting someone who appeared in a handful of episodes. Nimoy’s Spock is probably the face of both the franchise and the Prime Timeline. He is irreplaceable. Even Quinto is a poor imitation, despite his best efforts.
I never thought I’d say this but I am beginning to appreciate the efforts JJ Abrams went to to try and respect canon and the past with the Kelvin-verse.
Can you imagine people in Shakespeare’s time saying “There’s no way you could EVER cast anyone but Richard Burbage to play Hamlet?” Thankfully they didn’t have film in 1619, otherwise people would have got the silly idea in their heads that ONE person’s performance of a character is the ONLY performance that there ever should be.
I mean, the US didn’t stop after George Washington (thank goodness).
Spock is a role and a character. It is an enduring one, and other actors, over time, will inevitably take it on. Each will bring something different to it. Some might be arguably better or worse at it, but to try to stand atop an ever-changing world and shout ‘stop’ is futile.
It is also not helpful to over-venerate the work of Leonard Nimoy. He is the actor most associated with the role, of course, but he was in his own way, as much of a stagey ham as Shatner – without taking anything away from either man’s talents or personal charm.
Nobody on the original Star Trek could be said to be doing naturalistic acting; nobody in real life delivers complete, well-thought-out paragraphs of dialogue without so much as an um or ah, or accidentally talking over someone else, or with such stiff and stagey body language.
So are we to conclude there is only one possible school or style of acting in which to perform the material? The evolution of styles of film and stage acting did not stop in 1945.
On television and film alone – not counting fan works, radio or animation voiceover – We’ve had dozens of actors play Sherlock Holmes (in multiple languages, no less), thirteen Doctors, six Supermen, 6 Batmen, at least 6 Bonds, 5 Jack Ryans, two Han Solos, and two completely different casts for the entire Fantastic Four (or three, if you count that low-budget one they made to retain copyright). All of them brought something different to their roles and characters, for better or for worse, and depending on the quality of the scripts. We might all have a favourite Doctor or Bond but it’s not going to stop them from casting someone else when the actor retires or dies.
We don’t know who’s been cast, we haven’t seen their performance. To immediately claim it will be terrible is far too premature. The producers would not do this lightly, as they know what this character means to the franchise; and they likely had a very small number of actors in mind – they didn’t do a cattle call casting for it.
At the same time, Spock isn’t going to become a series regular; I’m guessing S2 is a longer-running Search for Spock and he’ll show up in person nearer the end. So, like Tyler Hoechlin on Supergirl, he will not get so much screen time that it erases whatever you liked about the character, but might provide some interesting new insights.
This is excellently argued and you changed my perspective on this. When was the last time that happened on the Internet?
The issue with all that is that Nimoy was fundamental in the creation of Spock. You cannot day that about characters like Bond, comic characters or Shakespearean characters. They were were teen for the page and then interpreted for the stage and screen. In contrast Nimoy was integral to the development of Spock from day one.
Do you one of the reasons many non-Star Wars people skipped out on the Han Solo movie? Just isn’t the same without Harrison Ford.
When making the recasting argument and comparing it to thinks like Superman you need to both consider whether or not the previous actor had a key role in creating the character and how much he’s own personality d mannerisms are associated with the character. Otherwise your argument is that because some characters have been played by more than one actor in the past recasting is always a good idea and always works. Personally I don’t think it always works. I think it depends on the character and the legacy of what came before.
Nimoy didn’t create the character, other people did.
El Chup, you are sounding delusional here and I love your posts in general. But these are fictional characters. If Nimoy had decided he didn’t want to play Spock anymore on the show they would’ve replaced him with someone else. He never owned the rights to the character the studio did. He simply played him. Yes by the time the movies came around it would’ve been harder to replace him and so they didn’t try when he wanted out in TWOK. But that was a very long time ago now. And they weren’t rebooting the series like they are today.
And your argument is wrong because there have been tons of characters created in films and TV that has been remade over and over again by other actors. The list is so long there is a wikipedia page for it.
Yes the longer an actor plays a role the harder it is to replace him, but sooner or later they are all replaced. There has only been one Indiana Jones so far but there will be another one in time. Meanwhile there have been more Dr Who actors than there have been Bond films and that show is older and just as iconic as Star Trek.
“El Chup, you are sounding delusional here and I love your posts in general”
Arguments that insult me from the off by calling me delusional are meant to convince me, eh?
If you don’t think Nimoy helped to create Spock then your behind the scenes knowledge of TOS is patchy at best. A different actor in the role would have given rise to a very different character. Nimoy’s contributions to the role inform not just the character of Spock but every Vulcan to every appear on the show.
I’m not insulting you, I’m saying your primary argument is both false and delusional.
I don’t have to ‘convince’ you. You’re on the internet, there is evidence of other actors playing roles other actors created first, including Spock himself as you brought up. Thats what makes your point delusional. It literally happened ten years ago already. Did you seriously think it wouldn’t happen again? Why exactly?
He helped come up with ideas for the character like EVERY actor who plays a character. But the origin of the character was created by someone else before Nimoy even auditioned. That’s what I’m saying. Yes I know he came up with great ideas like the Vulcan neck pinch. He still didn’t create Spock of his own doing.
And yes a different actor would’ve given rise to a very different character and guess what, everyone would be talking about how brilliant THAT guy is today. That’s the point, every actor gives a different performance to a character, most people accept this and understand thats how it works. In fact MANY people look forward to different interpretations of a famous character with a different actor and the entire reason why people were curious about the first Kelvin film. Every Bond fan who gets attached to the current Bond actor always say how that actor was so great and its hard to imagine someone else taking over…until they do.
And man if you don’t like it, don’t watch the show. But since we all know you WILL be watching it, just give a chance. All you can do.
You’re right, El Chup, that Mr. Nimoy did more than just portray Spock; he actively helped to develop who the character was. We wouldn’t have the Vulcan neck pinch or the Vulcan salute without him — he created both of those things — and he also created many more subtle aspects of the character.
I really didn’t want them to re-cast Spock. But now that they have, I’m going to keep an open mind. The original Spock will always be my hero — as will Leonard Nimoy — but Spock is too great of a character to allow him to die just because Mr. Nimoy has.
The one thing that gives me hope is that Mr. Kurtzman DID articulate what makes Spock so difficult to play, so it’s clear that he does understand that you need an actor who can hint that there’s an emotional whirlwind happening under the logical and dignified surface. Let’s hope they found an actor who’s up to that!
Its like suggesting only Gene Roddenberry can make future Trek shows and films since he was the one to create the whole thing. No one would suggest that for obvious reasons and there has been tons of Trek made without him even when he was still around. An actor playing a ROLE doesn’t have ownership of that character. I don’t care if he personally came up with the idea of Spock’s ears, made them and wore them to the audition that got him the part. It doesn’t work that way, never has.
Yep, and in my personal opinion they did a good job Zachary Quinto for Spock in the KT movies.
Yeah I’m fine with Quinto too. He definitely felt a bit different from Nimoy but it worked IMO. Most of us are old enough to expect different interpretations of a character. He may not have been the best actor to be Spock but he’s definitely a suitable one. And for people who only watch the Kelvin films THAT is Spock to them now.
Tiger, have you forgotten about Sean Patrick Flanery who played Indiana Jones in the TV series “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”?
Not to mention River Phoenix
as Jones being given the famous hat.
LOL I did forget that. Although I never seen the Indiana Jones TV show. I remember it now that you mentioned it but I never seen it.
But even getting back to the current Indiana Jones it was rumored a few years ago Chris Pratt might have replaced Harrison Ford in the next film. Obviously that was just a rumor but we know once Ford does this last film that will be it for him (unless they are literally planning another one when he’s in his eighties) and they’ll find someone else in time. Yeah some people won’t like it, but it won’t stop them either.
I will say the difference is Indiana Jones franchise is about that character so there is literally no choice. No one wants to watch Indiana Jones forgotten brother, Arizona, to take up the reins in a spin off lol. Star Trek is clearly multi-faceted and been expanded for decades so technically they don’t have to revisit any old character to keep that franchise going. But its still Hollywood and nostalgia play a big role in all these franchises and why we even have the Kelvin films now. People can’t be shocked about it.
” He never owned the rights to the character the studio did. He simply played him.”
This line reminds me of what Mark Hamill said when he disagreed with what Rian Johnson did with Luke. He said he didn’t like what happened to Luke but Luke is not his character. He just plays him.
True. And Hamill got a good dose of that reality and what is being talked about. Actors get all the fan fare for playing a role but end of the day they get very little say on the character, they are just another tool in the box. Obviously when you become a big enough actor and the entire movie is happening because you’re starring in it then of course you have more say, but you can still be overruled if the studio/director/etc sees it differently.
Its also why a lot of movie actors become producers on their films because then they get more of a say on the production as a whole.
Actually they had slated Lawrence Montaigne [Stonn in “Amok Time”] to play Spock if Nimoy departed. But in many ways Nimoy made the role his own. As did Zachary Quinto after him.
As for Indiana Jones, there was another actor playing him in the series “Young Indiana Jones,” but I know that’s not what you meant.
I think the idea of an alternate timestream/timeline/universe for Disco would have been a good one. It worked for me with AUTrek, aka Kelvin Trek.
Wow did not know that! You’re right though, Nimoy made it his own. But Quinto made it his own and whoever is playing the next one and if its more than just five mins of fan service he will too in time.
Chup,
Sure, as the first actor to play a character, Nimoy’s contribution is indelible.
But he’s gone. He’s not going to return from the dead to play him again.
For millions of people, Quinto’s portrayal is equally indelible. It is in no way a clone of Nimoy’s. As a version of Spock from an alternate reality, we see different aspects surfaced, a different quality to his intellect, his physicality, his emotion, logic, sarcasm; we dig into his ‘child of two worlds’ nature and see what happens when he is subjected to trauma. He’s unquestionably Spock, but one that – in the course of one movie, as opposed to three series – we understand quite well, thanks to Quinto’s nuanced portrayal.
Burbage is gone. Olivier is gone. They still do Hamlet. Every year, in every city. Some productions are excellent, some passable, some just OK. Some actors are brilliant, others just OK. It is the nature of the business.
A lot of what has accumulated into canon about the character Spock will stick around just as we know things about Falstaff or Sherlock or Bond.
But those are merely facts. Facts do not make the person nor the play. You are not merely the sum total of the places you’ve lived, schools you’ve attended, or places you worked. Right?
It is up to the writer, the director, and the actor together to decide how to interpret those facts, what they mean to the character and the show; what to surface and what to leave out. To create new facts that illuminate some aspect of the character, to add to the canon, vs. slavishly replicating.
I understand you have an emotional attachment to Nimoy’s Spock. We all do. But change comes whether we want it or not. We can critique whoever it is, but we should critique them for themselves, not damn them for not doing a Nimoy impression.
Perfectly stated. Thanks Fred. I can’t wait to see what they do with this. So sad for the old school fans who can’t look to the future. They’d rather have a digital Nimoy in CGI until the end time, rather than a new interpretation that challenges their expectations, and may actually shed light on a character thought to be known so well to us all, as Shakespeare plays have been doing for centuries as a living breathing work of art that would have otherwise been lost to popular audiences centuries ago if not for new talent bringing them to life for current audiences.
No. This “old school fan” would rather not have Spock period. Or The Enterprise. Or other legacy characters.
This old school fan wants, primarily, good and intelligent scripts. Not lazy gimmicks.
I actually agree with this 100% and why I hate prequels in general. But this exactly why it is a prequel, to do stuff like this, so I’m not remotely surprised by it. I am shocked how quickly they decided to do it but I always knew once they made Burnham Spock’s sister and they were serving in Starfleet literally at the same time, it was going to happen.
I just preferred they did it later after the DIS crew came into their own like they waited for more TOS characters to show up on TNG.
They’re going to do something awful like make Burnham the reason why Spock is more logic-based and less emotional in the Kirk years, aren’t they?
Ugh.
Absolutely agreed, Chup. Like I said below, Boldly Going, Into The Past.
Thank you! It’s a freaking fictional character. If we have actors portraying real life people in movies and TV shows we can have someone else replace a 50 year old fictional character. And yes the most iconic roles in history are constantly getting new actors for different generations.
There was a time no one thought anyone but Christopher Reed could play Superman, forgetting numerous others actors did and that guy is unfortunately dead now. Its no way Superman himself would’ve stayed the same. Spock was going to get recast at some point. As stated the guy already has, so complaining about it now is odd.
This is where fandom can get too obsessive at times.
“It’s a freaking fictional character.”
Couldn’t have thought it better myself.
We have to remember that this is a retcon, not a reboot (of sorts). Everything we have seen up until now … we the viewer know there’s a HUGE difference between the John Eaves 1701 and the Jeffries 1701. We know that the uniforms the Connies wear are far different than what we saw in The Cage and the rest of TOS.
To these fictional characters in this fictional universe, it has ALWAYS looked like this. Stylistically or otherwise, this is what it looked like to them.
Imagine if you will, Yesterday’s Enterprise. When the timeline changed – to those people in the alternate timeline, everything looked just like it did. Guinan is US, the fans, saying “WTF this ain’t right!”
Having thought this way, I’ve embraced Discovery’s stylistic changes even more. These characters don’t give a crap if the Klingons had smooth foreheads or bald heads as a result of the Augment virus – because to them, they’ve always looked like that even if WE, in reality, know differently.
If Spock is recast, while I am tempted to say “If it’s not Nimoy (who can’t because RIP) or Quinto, it won’t be Spock,” to these characters, the guy who will be playing Spock IS Spock. If his performance is good, even great, I will be happy. It’s a retcon and I can live with it…
It also I looks awesome to me.
“… So, finding an actor convey what we know to be very Vulcan, but also reveal so much emotion in the eyes and in the small gestures, so you understand there is just a tornado of things just happening under the surface is critical. So you need an actor who can do both of those things at the same time, which is very challenging…”
That statement right there has me excited to see who they got to play Spock in the STDisco-verse. There are few actors who can do that — say so much with subtlety and make your breath catch in your throat with their performance. Such work is to be cherished and enjoyed. This dude — whoever he is — had better deliver!
Hear! Hear!
The British change actors/actresses in established character roles a good portion of the time—even in the middle of a “series” (What we call a “season.”)—without ruining the show. Admittedly, being an American and not accustomed to this, it is disconcerting at first, but I have found it is really not so difficult to make the adjustment.
@Charlie Pullman — American’s tend to replace the character along with the actor, LETHAL WEAPON is the latest series to do this by replacing Riggs along with the actor they fired who played him. Imagine that franchise without Riggs! Then again, we’re the same country who infamously replaced Darrins in BEWITCHED in the 1960s as if no one would notice or care. And today, some franchises are rebooted every few years with brand new actors, and nobody seems to bat an eye. To your point, it’s not likely a problem if the execution is handled well.
Shakespear wrote plays. Star Trek was a Tv series with 79 episodes, and 6 2-hour movies over the span of 25 years. Then over the course of the NEXT 22 years, Nimoy continued to play the Spock character multiple times…the last being in 2013.
Another actor stepping into those shoes isn’t quite the same as Macbeth being performed in 2 different cities, with different casts on a Saturday night. JJ was wise enough to seek out Nimoy’s input and approval of Quinto. That isn’t an option any more. I wish they would just leave well enough alone,
I agree with your last sentence and that they would just leave well enough alone.
But the minute the Enterprise showed up in the season finale do people really think it was no possibility we wouldn’t see Spock at some point?
Well said, Fred.
Some of the TOS episodes are hard to watch today because acting styles have changed and become more naturalistic.
Yeah out of all the shows I watch TOS the least now. I been watching it for decades but even as I get older its harder to watch for some reason vs a kid when none of it bothered me. I guess because today’s TV is just so good in general and there is tons of other Trek out there of coure. I still watch it but its not high on my list because of the acting, music, etc.
Funny you and Marja say that. I find TOS stands the test of time. Once you get past the clunky sets I think it works great today. Some episodes are kinda talk-y. But I don’t have an issue with that. And if the SPFX were an issue, just check out the remastered versions. I think they did an excellent job there. Just wish on the discs the new effects were shown in widescreen as I read they did when they worked on the shows.
I find TOS to be imminently more watchable than TNG. And Patrick Stewart makes even their dog episodes watchable!
Same here. Recasting Spock won’t work for me. As much as I enjoy the Kelvin-verse and Star Trek continues, I’ve never connected with “other” Spocks.
I seriously hope they’re talking about the flashback stuff.
Spock will be replaced eventually. Every character has once the original performer has moved on or died. In this case he’s already been replaced a decade ago which makes this argument odd.
Spock is just a character to some Trek fans and that’s fine. To other Trek fans, though, Spock is a personal role model, a personal hero, a person who told us that we weren’t alone in the thing we thought we were alone in. The miracle of Spock is that this “thing” that people thought they were alone in can be anything from being biracial to being on the spectrum to being a geek to being queer to being a whole lot of other stuff.
If you’re a mainstream person, Spock is just a character. If you’re an unusual person, someone who’s had an intense personal relationship with Spock — even though that relationship has, of course, been one-sided, then all of this is huge and personal and important. Spock is like a parent or older brother or guru for some of us, and he means SO much more than just another fictional character.
Spock doesn’t mean that to you, Tiger2, and that’s fine. But your experience of the character isn’t the same as that of those who’ve had an intensely personal relationship with him, so if we have a stronger response to the character, there are good reasons for that.
Spock has ALREADY been recasted a decade ago. Are people just ignoring this???
Nimoy isn’t Spock. He was an actor who played the role of Spock, so I don’t even understand what you’re saying? How does someone else in the role change any of your fondness for the actual character?
Why didn’t they recast Tarkin and Princess Leia in Rogue One then?
Answer – because they were telling a story in an existing universe where those characters had already appeared and audiences knew what they looked like.
Not saying computer generated impersonations is the way to go, but recasting the characters, particularly Tarkin, would’ve been equally strange for audiences.
But yeah in Solo they also recasted both Solo and Lando, so I don’t think that argument holds up well. And they were the main stars of that film unlike Leia and Tarken which were basically glorified cameos, especially Leia.
Obviously RO they went a different way, which was, OK. But I don’t know if someone would want to do that around an entire TV character yet. And I imagine its still very expensive to do for movies and a long way to go for a TV budget.
That and fact they recasted Spock ALREADY. Do people not understand to 99.9% of the world Quinto is just playing another version of Spock? Now there will simply be another one. So why the outrage now? Only do obsessed fans split ridiculous hairs. They already casted the role once. No one can be remotely surprised in reboot obsessed Hollywood they would eventually do it again.
Audiences had no interest in seeing a young Han Solo. There was no ‘buzz’ about that Star Wars movie. It’s basically gone and forgotten, never to be spoken of again. The concept was at least passable to me because it was a young(er) Han Solo in a self contained story.
Personally I think they over-did Tarkin in Rogue One. I think if they’d cut the character’s screen time by 50% and really worked on a couple of solid scenes it would’ve been a lot more effective. Absolutely it probably is too expensive for TV right now, and possibly not the right option anyway. But here’s why I don’t think recasting works either.
In the time of Star Trek Discovery, we’ve already met Spock in The Cage/The Menagerie, we know what he looks like and who he is. The producers have gone to great lengths to cast people who look like the original actors who portrayed Mudd, Pike and Sarek, and honestly I congratulate them and the actors on their performances*. But it works because these are minor characters from TOS whose limited screentime previously allows them to be explored in new and interesting ways.
I’d have no issue seeing Decker, Robert April, Daystrom, M’Benga, Boyce, Mitchell, Nurse Chapel or any other minor TOS character get explored.
Spock is different though. In the Kelvin universe they had a gimmick to explain changes – a new timeline and the crew at the academy, before we met them. Their lives were completely different from the offset, so they might look or act a bit different. They don’t have that here, they’ve categorically said this is prime timeline.
If they are intending to recast Spock (not as a flashback) I think they are facing a real uphill battle.
*Haven’t seen much of Pike yet, but so far he looks awesome.
Well I agree about Solo! And it didn’t help that Harrison Ford is still around and played the original just a few years ago. I thought the actor who played him was fine overall but there were probably a lot of reasons that movie never should’ve been made.
As for your distinction why its OK to apparently cast everyone else on the Pike Enterprise but Spock, I simply don’t agree. Spock is a fictional character like the others. So because we met him before in this period he’s now off limits? I don’t even understand that argument. And why does it make a difference that its OK for Pike because he only had one episode? Shouldn’t they all be given the same standard at least?
No offense but no one would adhere to these rules. The reality is stuff gets rebooted all the time and characters are reintroduced all the time. If some Star Trek fans are just finding this out then they obviously don’t watch many TV or films outside of Star Trek. You guys knew this was going to happen because it already has. Did anyone honestly think when some genius decided to make a brand new character Spock’s foster sister, living in the same period as him and also serving in Starfleet he would never be seen? I’m sort of guessing that was the point.
Look here is where I agree with a lot of you. I DON’T want Spock anymore than you want Spock. But I also don’t want Pike, Enterprise, Number One and more lazy rehashes. And this argument is EXACTLY why I hate prequels in general. And yes no matter what happens people are going to complain and moan about Spock and he’s not as good as the great Nimoy. So that alone I wish they wouldn’t do it either as this conversation is proving.
But this is where we are. The minute you heard when the show took place, knew who Burnham was and actually saw Spock’s freaking parents for several episodes you knew it was a pretty strong possibility, right? So you can’t be surprised what is happening. This is why its a prequel in the first place. I won’t be shocked if they find a way to get Kirk in third season. Maybe Bones too. I don’t like it but this is partly why the show was created, so you have to accept it. What else is there?
Hell, the instant I heard it was going to be 10 years before TOS I expected to see younger versions of EVERYONE if the show lasted long enough. They may even find a way to shoehorn in an 11 year old Pavel Chekov into the mix.
@FrostUK — they did it because they could. If this had been 10 years earlier, they would have recast them or avoided it altogether. And the jury is still out as to whether it was effective, or even a good choice. Also, lets keep in mind that Star Wars episode 4-8 is a total of 5 films telling the exact same story in different eras with the same actors from 40 years ago. Trek is a series telling different stories for over 50 years at this point, currently one in the same era from the very first pilot episode. It would be impossible to try and revive a character from 50 years ago to play the same role in the same era in which they originally appeared. The last thing I would want to see is a CGI character to maintain some pointless visual continuity over the subtleties of a living breathing human being.
Agreed! If they are going to do it then yeah I want a real actor in the role. And because someone decided to make a prequel it was only a matter of when and not if. I would prefer its not done at all or until they waited until DIS had more time to be its own thing.
But since we know Pike is in nearly every episode next season, that idea is gone. So all you can do is hope they get competent actors to play them along with a good story to justify them being there other than the obvious fan service.
That’s what people said in 1967 after Connery left the Bond-franchise… More than one person can play a certain character in my opinion.
Yeah, but Spectre had the good sense to not claim it was occurring in the same era and timeline as Thunderball. Har.
Even more so when Connery came back and Thunderball became Never Say Never Again.
No excuse for Eon remaking YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE as THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and again with MOONRAKER, even using the same director for all 3.
And nobody replaced Connery, they just succeeded him. Dalton gave a very able alternate take that borrowed more liberally from the Fleming source material, but nobody has had Connery’s magic in that role. Moore is Bond’s gay uncle and Craig should have been playing a thug assistant to Le Chiffre or maybe Felix Leiter AFTER he lost the fight with the shark, and Lazenby … well he should have stuck to selling chocolates. Broz tried very hard but never had the material or the directors, else we’d have had THE TAILOR OF PANAMA Bond and that would have been nearly Dalton-worthy.
I am finding myself in the same boat, even with the uniforms.
Personally I have no problem recasting Spock. In fact, they sort of HAD to once they decided the Enterprise showed up. To be perfectly honest, EVERYONE can be recast.
I don’t have any inherent problem with Spock being recast. I DO, however, inherently doubt the ability of these writers to write him well, in which case the casting is irrelevant. And the odds of whoever it is measuring up to Nimoy are infinitesimal; I like Quinto fine, but he’s a tenth of the Spock Nimoy was, and whoever they get for this third Spock probably won’t be any better.
In which case, why do it?
Granted, it could turn out differently. I guess we’ll all find out, one way or the other.
Well that’s fair obviously. And even though I defend the decision I too wonder why do it KNOWING if its not perfect people are going to complain.
But I guess end of the day as long as they complain AND watch then it all that matters. And everyone who hates the idea will be watching lol.
I’ll be honest though I was really against the idea of including both Sarek and Harry Mudd first season. Mostly on the grounds its just a lazy and cheap way to get TOS fanbooys to watch but because I thought they probably would screw it up. I still feel that way for the former but for the latter I have to say I liked both characters. In fact I like this version of Harry Mudd way more than the original character (which I didn’t really like at all tbh).
So I can admit when I’m wrong and why I’m not overly bothered about Spock now. And it looks like everyone is happy about Pike. At least based on the trailer. So if they got him right I’m not too worried about Spock but I didn’t have a big issue with Quinto either.
Excellent points, Bryant. Agreed.
@Bryant Burnette — again your personal subjective opinion presented as presumed objective fact. You can’t recreate perfection so why try? Why indeed. I like Nimoy better than Quinto, but that’s not the case for everyone. I’d rather see more stories with Spock than not, and I’d rather see someone else take a stab at it, than some digitized monstrosity of Nimoy. But that’s me. I’m not going to tell anyone not to do something, and their failure to execute as I imagine in my minds eye is not going to ruin anything about a beloved franchise for me. YMMV
Wait are people SERIOUSLY upset that they are recasting Spock??? You do realize they already did this a full decade ago, right?
He isn’t irreplaceable, its a fictional character, anyone can play him. Obviously Nimoy will always be iconic being the first and playing him so long but people need to stop treating this stuff like its the bible. Star Trek is a TV show, sooner or later the original was going to get a recast so it was always going to happen. And as stated it already did.
And I’m someone who doesn’t want to see a Spock show up either, but for very different reasons. But I have no issues with other actors playing these roles. Every major character in pop culture is recast and reinvented at some point, this is kind of a standard in Hollywood these days.
As I recall from one of the documentaries there was serious discussion of replacing Nimoy as Spock for season 2 of TOS.
It is pretty funny how Nimoy constantly tried to stop playing Spock since TOS and oddly ended up playing the guy literally up until his death lol.
But I think even he would tell you if he did give up the role he couldn’t balk at someone replacing him because in reality the character is bigger than the actor for the simple fact an actor dies, but a character can live on forever in every medium. That’s usually how it goes. Fortunately he stayed on as long as he did no matter how many times he threatened to quit.
Recasting Spock is exciting. If they hadn’t, everyone would just cry out “Missed opportunity!” . Do most humans you know change easily? Not really. So we can see that Spock can be interesting here in relation to Michael. David Mack’s book did a great job of it..
“If they hadn’t, everyone would cry out “Missed opportunity!”
Nope. Not everyone. I am crying out ‘Don’t recast a culturally recognisable icon!’. It felt uncomfortable to many – the recasting of the beloved TOS characters for the JJ-tripe. I would have prefered STD left Spock out, on the leave of absence mentioned in the Season 2 trailer. Spock to me should always be Nimoy, and in the same way Disney have wisely chosen not to recast Princess Leia – I think it honors the audience’s emotional attachment and intelligence. I had hoped he was away, soul searching, or we’d see him from the back, etc. It’s distracting and setting the scene up for cringe, toe-curling viewing – where instead of focusing on a storyline and character development – you’re critiquing an actor’s appearance. God forbid Discovery just told NEW stories but that would take a talented team of writers.
Given where we have started with Discovery it was inevitable — unless they were 100% certain they were never going to do it and make it into a long standing joke in the series, “where did that Spock go?” “Off with the Enterprise and speaks to no one.”
I think this is a lot like how they played Superman in Supergirl. At first he just flies in and out.
I liked how they dealt with Superman in S1 of Supergirl. They texted each other. I felt that worked great.
@ML31 In season 2 however Superman showed up in the first episode.
That he did. For a good number of episodes too. I guess they decided they needed to address that particular elephant in the room. And quite frankly, I think it makes more sense to have Superman show up from time to time on a Supergirl show (He hasn’t shown up since, however) than it is to have Spock show up on Discovery. The universe being so big and all.
You know Superman is FTL capable under his own power right?
And?
You say Superman showing up on Supergirl makes more sense than Pike on Discovery because “the galaxy is a big place” Superman & co range over a much bigger area, stretching far outside our galaxy and to many more parallel dimensions than anyone in Trek except Worf has been to. Superman’s “world” is much bigger than Trek’s is my point. Yes Kara is his cousin so he has a reason to visit. Pike meanwhile has a science officer who has served with almost a decade who has gone missing after they recieved a multiple signals from a region of space spanning 30,000 light years. This officer’s father & foster sister happen to be aboard the only Starfleet ship with the experimental tech to reach the source of these signals. How does him showing up not make sense?
Word.
Gimmicky stunt casting is rarely looked upon as a golden opportunity. So I don’t think there is really anything to “miss”.
I really enjoy Star Trek Discovery but I have to admit I have more than a little trepidation about recasting Spock. The producers were probably counting on Quinto being available but with the Viacom CBS deal in limbo, that was never going to happen. Too bad because having him on board would have been fantastic. With Nimoy’s approval, Quinto is the 21st century Spock.
I don’t think Quinto would have ever done it. He’s too expensive and probably doesn’t want to be type cast. Also, if they wanted fo bring actors back they would have gotten Greenwood for Pike instead of getting a sound alike.
Guys get it in your heads, Quinto was NEVER going to be on this show, period. Every character from the Kelvin movies have already been recast, so it was never going to be any different with Spock. I have no idea why people can’t get this. CBS CLEARLY doesn’t want any direct tie ins to the Kelvin movies.
And I know some people really liked Nimoy as Spock, but its a character, not a real person. They can recast him just as they did with Quinto.
All good points and since Quinto is not available, then the reality is we have no choice but to get used to another actor. I was unsure about Quinto back in 2009 and that turned out great, so we shall hope for the same this time around.
I’m glad I convinced someone lol. And while people don’t like this word, but since DIS is a reboot in all but name only, that means they probably want new actors to interpret these characters differently from TOS and the Kelvin movies. Once you put Quinto in there then people would expect him to play the same character as the films. That’s the freedom of recasting these roles, you can set a different standard. Hopefully that standard is as good as Nimoy’s and Quintos. We’ll see!
I didn’t like Quinto in 2009 either until I saw the later movies and realised that Spock was written out of character in 2009, compared to what we had seen before of him. It makes sense for him being younger and in an alternate universe, but was pretty jarring at first.
Another Spock to get use to . It took a long time to accept Quinton. Now I have to again.
Nimoy is Spock
Nimoy is dead. Time to move on.
You forgot to put ‘spoiler alert’ on your post, shame on you.
Oh hell. I forgot.
You green-blooded, inhuman…
LOL! Good one, Raphael. Thumbs up.
Yeah, I got a kick out of that one too, Raphael. Heard De Kelley’s voice in my head when I read it and everything.
I cant wait to see the new sprock.
There are always possibilities. #SubspaceFungalResurrection2019 #PutOnYourKatricHeadgear
I see what you did there… Heheheheheheh…
Very excited about season2!!! Very excited to see Spock again. I have confidence that they made a good choice knowing the gravity that this character has. Did I mention, I’m excited?!
Hopefully an unknown to play Spock and something tells me Spock will not be getting a lot of screen time.
And, if we’re sticking to canon, I think Michael’s death is an inevitability by the time Kirk takes command of the Enterprise.
Well of course Pike is the opposite of Lorca. Lorca was MIRROR Lorca!! File that under, DUH!
So, who has been cast as Spock?!?!? Let the speculation begin!! Anyone have a clue?
So we’re getting adult Spock, not just little boy in flashbacks?
Is the guy who played Young Spock in 2009 still acting? He could reprise it!
Jacob Kogan? He’s 23 years old now.
Yep he could totally do it, if he’s interested. I mean its already been decided at this point. Hell they might be filming Spock by now, heck they could have even cast him twice, young & adult,by now.
I dare say our Disco braintrust is squandering Sonequa. Here is a charismatic, vivacious woman whom they have rendered as dour and glum as possible. But with Star Trek, there are always possibilities. Hence, send Burnham to the the Parallax Colony of Shiralea VI where she is deprogrammed of her dull Vulcanian personality, thereby enabling the true Sonequa to emerge and soar. She could spend a year at Parallax, but only a day passes in Disco-time, because of a CHRONITON PARTICLE ANOMALY. I’m not anti-Vulcan, far from it, but not all actors are cut out for the path of Surak…
I’ve been very disappointed in how they’ve handled her, too. She’s much better than most of this series would indicate.
Also, they keep managing to NOT allow her to be the actual focus of the series. So not even the diverse-representational side of things is truly shining through. It’s all very disappointing.
Knowing the writers’ obsession with idiotic plot twists every ten minutes, I’m fully expecting to see Pike take his mask off half way through the season and be revealed as Prime Lorca.
Season 1 was a car crash. A forgettable one, if that’s even possible. I really hope season 2 is better.
Have the crew on a planet more than once every seven or eight episodes.
Ditch the OTT blue grading
Totally reboot the space VFX shots
Fire Eaves and his ugly starship designs
And most importantly, hire better writers. Or even just “good” writers, that would be a start.
Oh and enough with this crowbar-ed in diversity nonsense. Just cast people who are right for the part, regardless of gender, race or sexuality.
t’s a science fiction show set 300+ years in the future, in a Federation with hundreds of worlds and many alien species, and in writing, in canon, onscreen, espouses “infinite diversity in infinite combinations” as a positive thing.
Diversity isn’t “crowbarred” into the show. It’s simply SHOWING the diversity in the world that exists all around you right now… but that you may be unaware of because you live in a bubble.
It’s like… have you even *watched* Star Trek?
He only watches ‘White’ Star Trek.
It makes it so hard for guys like me who applaud the diversity but dislike the actual series when people like you whine about the diversity being forced. Diversity has been a touchstone of every Trek series since the word go; and I hope it never goes anywhere unless the need for it has evaporated. Which seems like it ain’t gonna be ANY time soon.
Agreed! Agree 100%
These people whining about ‘diversity’ doesn’t seem to have a clue what Star Trek is or its history.
They have hated the show since the moment they heard that a black woman was the lead. Let’s stop being around the bush.
As we were told back in the 1960s, the U.S.S. Enterprise (and now the U.S.S. Discovery) are not “United States Ships”. They are supposed to represent a fictional “united earth” and since White males only make up about 12-13 percent of our planet, the crew should be diverse with about 50 percent women, etc., etc. That said, since they killed off Landry, they should have more Asians than just Georgiou and Rhys! (That last part is sarcasm folks!!)
It takes “Star Trek” two seasons-Just to find its soul. The first season was good, not great.
It seems as though they have all these wonderful ideas, but they seem to be having a problem expressing them properly. SEE: NGR/DS9/Voyager/Enterprise
Re-casting Spock is a MASSIVE gamble but I think it had to be done. Hope it works out well.
Millennial Spock, here we come.
As I’ve written here before, by far the best choice to guest-star as Spock (if they *must* recast him) would be Benedict Cumberbatch. Would be a nice twist if it does turn out to be him. And no, it doesn’t matter that Cumberbatch already played a major Trek character elsewhere — there are precedents for that, most famously Jeffrey Combs, Brock Peters and Tony Todd.
If it’s a different star, or even an unknown actor who’s as close a match to TOS-era Nimoy as Cumberbatch is, let’s hope he knocks it out of the park. Good luck to whoever it is, and I mean that sincerely.
Cumberbatch is too old for this point in Spock’s life.
“Cumberbatch is too old for this point in Spock’s life.”
Not necessarily. It’s pretty common in Hollywood for actors to play characters at least a decade younger than the actors are in real life.
It would be too meta. Nimoy played Sherlock Holmes, Spock quotes Holmes, Cumberbatch played Holmes, Cumberbatch’s Holmes was called Spock sarcastically by Watson, Cumberbatch played Khan & got beat down by Spock. It’s just too meta to have him play Spock too.
I hate when I’m right.
USS Enterprise, Spock, Pike, Number One, Sarek, Mudd .. etc They might as well call the show Star Trek: Redux
Exactly. Going Boldly Forward Into The Past.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Sadly right Ahmed. I get they want to appeal to old Trek fans but a lot of us really want to see Star Trek expand again. But these are the same people that has a Khan show on the table so we know no one is thinking very big or innovative over there.
Now that said I have not had any problems with who we seen before like Sarek and Mudd. They were both well casted IMO so I’m not too worried about the others. But I wish DIS can just do a few fan service episodes and move on to its own thing at least.
I must say that while I’m looking forward to new Star Trek movies and possibly a tv series, I’m hoping that there’d be a forth Star Trek movie. I loved Star Trek Beyond. I thought it was the best Star Trek movie since “Star Trek.”
Check out a few articles back, Seattle. There’ll be a fourth, and possibly a fifth.
I saw an interview with Pegg talking up Mission Impossible and he says they are basically in pre-production now for the next film. It sounds like its happening they are still trying to work cast schedules and confirm other guest stars that determines when it starts.
Just throwing this out there…..
Lee Pace (of Halt and Catch Fire and Pushing Daisies) as Spock.
I’m not a fan of recasting, in general, and am not a big fan of the show, but if I had to suggest a name, Pace might be a good choice.
Much like Cumberbatch Lee Pace is too old, besides we don’t need Ronan the Accuser as Spock.
Ha. Maybe. Just fun to speculate. I don’t really care that much. I will say that based on the Pike casting that the show runners of Discovery seem to be ten times better at casting than the JJ verse runners. Just saying.
I don’t know… Greenwood was pretty good, I thought. Further, It’s more difficult to cast for iconic roles like the original bridge crew than it is for brand spanking new ones.
Juat to throw this out there, Chris Hunter, son of Jeffery Hunter & Barbara Rush (mother of Garth Knight on Knight Rider), though Greenwood was fantastic, & he is very positive on Mount (and vice versa as Mount called him up on the stage at comic con).
ryan gosling as spock