Well, the main cast of J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek movie have finally been cast.Chris Pine, whom I've never actually seen in anything, will be playing a young James Tiberius Kirk. (CORRECTION: I have seen Pine in something, I just didn't realize it. He played one of the psychotic "Tremor Brothers" in Joe Carnahan's Smokin' Aces. I liked the movie, but there were so many characters fighting for screen time that Pine didn't make much of a specific impression.)
Zachary Quinto, who plays the villainous Sylar on Heroes, will be Spock.
Karl Urban, who played multiple roles on Xena and Hercules, portrayed Eomer in Lord of the Rings, and starred in Pathfinder, will be playing a rather hunkier than traditional Dr. Leonard McCoy.
Simon Pegg, the brilliant star of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz will be Montgomery Scott.
John Cho, of Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, will be playing Hikaru Sulu. (UPDATE: Just saw Cho on last night's Ugly Betty. Seems like a good choice.)
Russian-born Anton Yelchin will be a very young Pavel Chekov.
And finally, the lovely Zoe Saldana will be playing Uhura.
The cast also includes Leonard Nimoy and Munich/Hulk's Eric Bana as somebody called "Nero."
For the most part, I'm pleased with the casting. It skews young, but that's Hollywood these days, and if they intend for this to launch a new series of features – and they do – it's probably a good idea to get a young, healthy cast who can grow into their roles over a number of films.
I particularly like the casting of Quinto and Pegg, though muscular kiwi Urban seems an odd choice for McCoy. Still, I've seen him play a couple of different roles on Xena (including both Julius Caesar and Cupid!), so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Both Scott and Bones seem a little miscast to me, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. We'll see how it rolls.
ReplyDeleteThis will be the first Star Trek that I've given a chance since the original cast...
ReplyDelete"Both Scott and Bones seem a little miscast to me"
ReplyDeleteWell, they're the only two I've actually seen act, and they both strike me as being very capable and talented performers, so I'll give 'em a chance.
It's the rest of them that will really have to prove themselves; Pine and Quinto in particular have big Starfleet boots to fill.
Pine looks the part, but if he can't pull of the "Alpha Male Swagger" that is Kirk then he's doomed from the get-go.
ReplyDelete