J.J. Abrams, producer of Star Trek Beyond, made it clear that Anton Yelchin will not be replaced in any upcoming films within the Star Trek franchise, during a new interview released this week. “There’s no recasting”, Abrams told Postmedia Network.
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The sci-fi sequel premiered Wednesday night to more than 3,500 attendees at a flashy invite-only event held at San Diego’s Embarcadero Marina Park just outside the site of the four-day pop-culture convention. “I think there’s a lot of territory to explore”.
We don’t know much about STAR TREK 4 yet obviously, other than Chris Hemsworth will be back to reprise the role of George Kirk, the man who sacrificed his life so that his crew and family could escape safely from Nero in STAR TREK. As far as his on-screen dad, he said, “I want something at least as entertaining as (Indiana Jones and) The Last Crusade”. But it looks like another beloved character won’t be returning: Chekhov, who was played by the late Anton Yelchin. The panel that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the franchise will be moderated by All Access series show runner Bryan Fuller in Hal H. The panel will feature former Star Trek actors William Shatner, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan, Michael Dorn and Scott Bakula.
Zachary stars as Commander Spock in “Star Trek Beyond” film, his third appearance as the half-human, half-Vulcan Enterprise crew member.
While this setup is effective, there is a sense of the pro forma in the way “Star Trek Beyond” carefully makes its appointed rounds, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.
Anton Yelchin’s character Chekov will not be recast in the next “Star Trek” film. “I have thought about it”, he explained. Does Pegg fall prey to his own predicted fate, or does Star Trek Beyond manage to avoid the curse of the odd-numbered Trek?
Past television shows and films sagas have all dealt with real-world death differently: just recently, fans mourned “three years without” Glee star Cory Monteith, who died in 2013 due to an overdose.
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“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. Uhura (Zoe Saldana), smarting from her breakup with Spock, explores the treacherous terrain of Altamid with Sulu (John Cho).
