Asked by IGN about the possibility of recasting the character, Abrams said: “I can’t possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better”. “There is no recasting”.
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But one Starfleet crew member who won’t be in the series’ fourth installment is Pavel Chekov, who was played by the late Anton Yelchin in the first three films.
Just weeks before Star Trek Beyond was set to debut in theaters this weekend, a terrible freak accident left star Anton Yelchin dead. The actor portrayed the character in both the 2009 reboot, sequel Star Trek Into Darkness and upcoming outing Star Trek Beyond, before dying in a freak accident last month. “I have thought about it”, said Abrams. In addition to Star Trek Beyond, we’ll also see him in Rememory, We Don’t Belong Here, Porto, and Thoroughbred in the coming months.
It’s been almost a month since the tragic passing of legendary Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin on June 19th. Yelchin, who has been part of the franchise since 2009’s Star Trek, died in a freak auto accident last month.
Yelchin (27) was pinned between his vehicle and a brick mailbox attached to the security gate of his San Fernando Valley home one month ago. As the production team is no doubt going into overdrive in creating a story for Star Trek 4, producer J.J. Abrams reveals that Chekov’s fate has already been determined. His death sent shockwaves throughout the Hollywood community, and hit his “Star Trek” castmates particularly hard.
From Paramount Pictures and Skydance, Star Trek Beyond is a Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark, Perfect Storm Entertainment production.
“Star Trek Beyond” also stars Simon Pegg – who acted as co-writer – Idris Elba, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Karl Urban and is out in cinemas on July 22.
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Director Justin Lin says the actors and filmmakers have struggled to proceed with the press tour for the film. His new film, Star Trek Beyond, opens worldwide this weekend.
