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Although James McAvoy recently seemed to be relishing keeping the ‘cast as Scotty’ rumors going, he has now definitively stated he has not been cast. McAvoy tells Empire “No. There’s no truth in the Star Trek rumours. I am a Trekkie, but no – absolutely not." But as a Trekkie he left the door open when asked if he would be open to a part, saying  “Hmmm [smiling]…I’d have to see.” It is worth noting that the big IGN casting rumor from last week (with Damon, Brody and Sinise) also cited ‘sources’ saying that McAvoy was ‘in the mix.’ It is of course possible that McAvoy is on some one’s list at Paramount or Bad Robot (Abrams production company), but that is a long way from being cast. The same can be said about the other actors being talked about.

Of course since the film was first leaked last April the working assumption in the media is that Trek XI will feature the classic characters of Kirk and Spock, but both the studio and the film makers have continued to say that they will not discuss plot details. Over the weekend Trekmovie.com has received some messages about an email newsletter from StarTrek.com that reads in part " …we know this: J.J. Abrams will be directing "Star Trek XI," centering on the younger Kirk and Spock characters…" Some have taken this the ‘official’ confirmation from Paramount – it is not. According to StarTrek.com, they were citing the Hollywood Reporter article which mentioned Kirk and Spock and that it is still not ‘official’. Of course TrekMovie.com long ago stated that we will no longer say ‘maybe’ or ‘reported’ with relation to Kirk and Spock, since we know it is about Kirk and Spock. However Paramount, JJ Abrams and his team have never confirmed anything about the plot or characters. The closest they got is perhaps the teaser poster that features the Kirk and Spock uniform colors and textures, but it is not ‘official.’

Now that the film is a go, the casting (and therefore the casting rumors) can begin in earnest. IGN is reporting that Paramount are in talks with Matt Damon, Adrian Brody and Gary Sinise to play ‘the big 3’ of Kirk, Spock and McCoy in Star Trek XI. Damon’s name was first mentioned last July when Marc Malkin of the Insider reported that Abrams was interested in the Oscar winner for James Kirk. Late last year Damon said he had not been approached, but would be interested if he liked the script. Brody and Sinise’s names have been suggested by many fans, but there had not previously beeny any reports connecting the actors to the production. IGN didn’t just stop with the big 3, they are also reporting that there may indeed be truth to the reports of James McAvoy playing Scotty and even threw in the name of Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim for Sulu. The IGN report also states that Damon’s talks are the farthest along.