One of the biggest challenges facing J. J. Abrams when setting out to produce the 11th feature film, titled simply Star Trek and opening the weekend of May 8, was assembling a group of actors worthy and capable of filling the enormous shoes of the original cast. Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and the rest are so iconic and familiar to audiences, recasting them opens the door for comparisons. So does Abram’s reboot cast successfully set the stage for re-launching the franchise?
Here’s a guide to which new cast members kill and which are just “set to stun”.
Played by Chris Pine
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Pine starred opposite Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries 2 and in the romantic comedy Just My Luck, opposite Lindsay Lohan.
Old vs. New Smackdown – If you peer into the bloated and bloodshot eyes of the caricature that is today’s William Shatner, you can make out the faint outline of the Capt. Kirk of the late 60’s. That cavalier demeanor, that need to bed every short alien skirt that passes by, that ability to not only bend the rules when needed but to change them up to win the game…that was what we loved about him. Unfortunately those qualities are less endearing on Pine, whose amateur Kirk cheats his way to the Captain’s chair in the very beginning. Without having paid any dues, Pine’s Kirk comes off as bratty and spoiled. At least until New Kirk grows up in a sequel, Shatner still holds the crown.
Played by Zachary Quinto
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Best known as serial killer villain Sylar on Heros, Quinto also starred one season on the show 24.
Old vs. New Smackdown – As the only original cast member appearing in the new film, Leonard Nimoy not only plays an integral role in the time travel plot line, but also acts as a tangible bridge between the old and the new universes. His presence also makes it a bit more difficult to compare Quinto and Nimoy. They seem to bring the Spock out in each other and it feels like Nimoy is literally handing Quinto permission to become the character on screen. As a young Spock, Quinto aptly possesses and displays the half-human, half-Vulcan contradictions, but holds them in a hip, sexy and sleek package. Even without the pointy ears, Zachary Quinto is Spock.
Played by Karl Urban
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – You may have seen Urban in the second and third installments of The Lord of The Rings trilogy, in The Bourne Supremacy and in The Chronicles of Riddick.
Old vs. New Smackdown – Of Star Trek’s great trinity, Urban’s McCoy gets the least amount of screen time. And in light of his borderline-insulting caricature of DeForest Kelley’s McCoy, that’s a good thing. He basically gives some people some shots, chews on some scenery and delivers every clichéd catchphrase as…well a cliché. On this Enterprise the doctor is not in.
Played by John Cho
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Playing Harold in the Harold and Kumar flicks is Cho’s pre-Star Trek claim to fame.
Old vs. New Smackdown – George Takei, the original Sulu has been respected and revered by the LGBT community since coming out in 2005. Now repeat after me, “John Cho’s Mr. Sulu Kicks Ass”! Switching from a helmsman bottom to a buff sword-fighting top, Cho’s interpretation catapults out of a plummeting ship free falling toward an endangered planet and into the foreground of this Enterprise’s action.
Played by Zoe Saldana
Where You’ve Seen Her Before – Recognized from a supporting role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Saldana also appeared in the film Drumline.
Old vs. New Smackdown – Saldana’s Uhura is defiantly her own woman. But it’s hard to compete with the original, Nichelle Nichols. She was one of the first black actresses in a key recurring role on television and she even knew Dr. Martin Luther King! What’s missing from Saldana’s Uhura is the quite elegance embodied by Nichols. But perhaps in today’s media, that quality would seem outdated. This one feels like a draw.
Played by Simon Pegg
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Despite a dramatic turn in The Band of Brothers, Pegg is more commonly known for his comedic roles in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
Old vs. New Smackdown – Much like Quinto, Pegg seems to have been born to play this part. Pegg portrays the Scotsman’s engineering brilliance with ease and employs his razor-sharp timing to fire one-liner torpedoes...but never ventures into camp. “Beam me up, Simon!”
Played by Anton Yelchin
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Following up on his roles in Alpha Dog and Charlie Bartlett, Yelchin stars in two of this summer’s likely blockbusters, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation.
Old vs. New Smackdown – Much like Cho, tasty little cutie Yelchin amps up his character way beyond “supporting role” status. A math whiz and skilled navigator, the new Chekov both helps save the Earth and serves as eye candy. (Walter Koenig, the original Chekov, is rumored to have been hired in part for his resemblance to teen idol Davy Jones in an attempt to attract a younger audience.) Even discounting the cuteness factor, new Chekov wins the match.
How do you think the two casts compare?
(Photos: Paramount Pictures)
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