ST09 Cast

Will there be even more Heroes connections to Trek? In a Comic-Con interview with IESB.net star James Kyson Lee said he wanted to join his co-star Zachary Quinto (the new Spock) in the new Star Trek movie – as the new Sulu. It does not appear that the actor has had any contact with the production, but he does know some people with director J.J. Abrams’ phone number (like Greg Grunberg and Quinto). The leaked casting sheet says Paramount would ‘prefer’ a Japanese actor so the Korean-born Lee would still qualify, however at 32 he is probably too old for the part. A few months back another Heroes star Masi Oka told TrekMovie.com that he "would be honored" to play Trek’s original helmsman, but noted that he didn’t think he would be able to work it around the Heroes schedule. Although NBC Universal and Paramount came to some understanding for Zachary Quinto, it may be a bit much for them to spare two Heroes cast members to the new film.

Grindhouse hottie (and daughter of Oscar winner Syndey Poitier) Sydney Tamiia Poitier revealed last week that she auditioned for J.J. Abrams new Star Trek film. Rotten Tomatoes report on the Grindhouse DVD panel at Comic-Con quotes the actress asking "did they announce the cast of Star Trek? I auditioned for it and I’m curious who got what roles in there." She asked this while Paramount was making the Nimoy and Quinto announcement in another hall at Comic Con. No indication as to what role she might have auditioned for, but a good guess might be Uhura. However, Poitier is 34 which is a few years older than they appear to be looking for that role. It could be another role…a love interest for Kirk perhaps?  

The casting news is coming faster and faster these days…now from the Hollywood Reporter no less. According to trade paper, the up-and-coming  (and Russian-born) Anton Yelchin is in negotiations to play Pavel Chekov for the new Star Trek film. THR also confirms that casting is under way (in New York and London) for "Kirk, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, the film’s villain and the Federation captain." It is not entirely clear what they mean by ‘federation captain,’ it is possible they actually mean ‘fleet captain’ which would be Chris Pike. THR reports that Abrams is expected to sign bigger-name actors for the villain and the ‘federation captain.’ roles. Yelchin is only 18, but has been working steadily since 2000, most recently with a recurring role on the Showtime drama Huff. He is starring in two feature films opening in the fall of 2007 (Charlie Bartlett and Fierce People).

It was long rumored, and has since been confirmed, that the new Star Trek film will recast the Original Series characters Kirk and Spock (with Spock already cast with Zachary Quinto). TrekMovie.reported last October that the film will also have McCoy and Scotty and now (if a new report is to be believed) it appears we will get the whole gang. AICN claims to have obtained a partial character casting sheet for the new Star Trek film which includes Kirk, Scotty, McCoy, Uhura and Sulu (but no Chekov who didn’t join until the second season).  Details below:

Just an update on the rumor that singer Robbie Williams was the leading candidate to be the new Kirk. Although Paramount policy is to not comment on rumors, a source tells TrekMovie.com that it is 100% not true, and it seems likely that Williams own people are behind the rumor. So that is enough of that. 

More and more reports continue to support the story that Zachary Quinto will be the new Mr. Spock. Moviehole is now reporting that that Quinto has finalized his deal with Parmount. TVGuide.com has also confirmed the story and noted that Heroes exec producer Tim Kring says he is ‘thrilled’ for his star to be the new Spock. One of the big issues for Quinto is how will he fit Trek in with his current job playing the villain Sylar (pictured right) on the NBC hit Heroes (currently shooting). Quinto himself is already dealing with juggling with the publicity. In a new article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Quinto states I would love for it [the Spock role] to be true. We’ll see what happens. We can only talk about ‘Heroes’ today. I’m under a strict directive from NBC. When I have something to say about ‘Star Trek,’ I will.

You heard it here first. We have been reporting on Zachary Quinto as Spock since last December and it appears our sources that recently told us that Quinto is in talks were correct. E is now reporting that the Heroes star has a deal in place to be Spock for the new Star Trek movie, and all that is left to do is a few lawyers to sign off. Assuming that this is true this means two things we have been reporting would also be true Abrams is looking at lesser known actors for the major roles Abrams is looking at young actors, but not as young as 20 (Quinto is 30) UPDATE: Deal complete – Quinto will split time between Heroes & Star Trek. 

A while back we squashed the Matt Damon will play Kirk rumor being trumpeted by IGN, and now (ironically) IGN has a video of Damon both denying the rumor and starting up a new one. Damon says that he talked to J.J. Abrams about the ‘internet rumor’ and recounts how Abrams told him they are looking ‘much younger,’ and that the film is ‘the early years’ of Kirk. Watch it… 

We know Zachary Quinto wants to be Spock, and TrekMovie.com has reported that we have heard some buzz about the actor being in actual talks. Now it appears that the actor himself loves the attention. Quinto tells IGN "I love these rumors, I think anything we can do to keep these going is good." When asked straight out if he really was ‘in talks’ the actor wouldn’t give a straight answer, saying "I’m talking to you about it right now, my friend. I am talking to you about this role, right now." So there you have it…Quinto is relishing the Spock talk. This has some of the same feeling as the James McAvoy/Scottie rumors, which for a while seemed to be being perpetuated by the actor himself. Hopefully we will have this all cleared up next week. Remember that TrekMovie.com will be the only independent Star Trek site reporting from Comic-Con. COMIC CON UPDATE: Quinto Confirmed (w/ photos & video) 

Sam Rockwell, who played the quintesential ‘red shirt’  Guy Fleegman in the Trek parody "Galaxy Quest" wants to have a big upgrade. The actor tells MTV "I would love to play Captain Kirk. That’s a great part,…Great costumes! I would love to be a William Shatner reincarnation,” [But] I don’t know if I could copy Bill Shatner. I mean, he’s just too genius. I don’t know if I could copy that cadence.” That doesn’t stop him. MTV also have a video where Rockwell shows off his best Shatner Impersonation. He also has some suggestions for who should play Sulu, Spock, and Uhura. Go to MTV to see it.  

Last December we reported that Zachary Quinto had expressed interest in being the new Spock for Star Trek XI. Now in a new interview with Starburst magazine he again states his interest. The actor who plays the villain Sylar on the hit show Heroes stated after being inundated with e-mails about playing Spock he started to ‘open himeslf’ to the idea, stating: "the exploration and immersion to be done with such a character would be amazing." Specifically on this role of the quintessential Vulcan, Quinto stated…

At last week’s Saturn Awards Masi Oka won Best Supporting Actor for his role as Hiro Nakamura on NBC’s Heroes and TrekMovie.com had a chance to speak to him back stage after he won. The character Oka plays on the show is an avowed Star Trek fan who often makes Trek references, however it appears that Oka only plays one on TV. "I am not really as much of a Trek fan. I worked for George Lucas, so I am more of a Star Wars fan." Before he became a break out star, Oka worked for ILM. Even though he isn’t a huge Trekkie, he still got a kick out of working with Trek’s George Takei, saying "George is fantastic…not only an amazing actor but an amazing individual as well". Oka is also up for Star Trek XI, saying "JJ [Abrams] is a fantastic director and will serve the franchise and the audience well." So what does he think about some fans suggesting that he should play the new Sulu (if there is a new Sulu)? "It would definitely be an honor," says the actor. However he isn’t sure he could do it, saying "Heroes is definitely my first love and my first commitment so I don’t think the schedule would allow it"

Long ago this site suggested that Gary Sinise would be an excellent choice for the Dr Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy. In February IGN took it a step further by reporting a rumor that Sinise was in talks for the iconic Star Trek doctor. They even had a follow-up article detailing how issues were being worked out with Sinise’s schedule to allow him to work during the hiatus of CSI: New York. However, two weeks ago TrekMovie.com reported that the Sinise rumor was not true. We also reported that IGN’s other rumors of Matt Damon as Kirk and Adrian Brody as Spock were not true and that Paramount was looking at younger actors for the film. Now Sinise himself has denied the rumor publicly, telling the Washington Times it was a "bad rumor." So that’s that. Add Sinise’s name to the growing list of those who have been associated with the film. For a full list see the TrekMovie.com Cast FAQ.