saldana's star trek role

Zoë Saldana

Movies: Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond

Character(s): Nyota Uhura

Zoë Saldana is an American actress and model who played Nyota Uhura in Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond.

Saldana was working on James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar when Abrams offered her Star Trek. Because she was already committed to a project and had a “lack of knowledge about Star Trek,” Saldana was reluctant to accept the role of Uhura. Despite the scheduling issues it would cause, Cameron insisted that Saldana take the role, even going so far as to invite Abrams to the set to discuss the situation. After finishing Star Trek, Saldana completed her work on Avatar.

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• May 11, 2024 | Interview: Elias Toufexis On Making Star Trek History Playing L’ak And Nerding Out In ‘Discovery’
• May 10, 2024 | ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Debuts On Nielsen Streaming Top 10
• May 10, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Breens Out On “Erigah” With Commentary From Elias Toufexis Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
• May 9, 2024 | Star Trek Franchise Wins Peabody Award
• May 9, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Gets Cool Under Pressure In “Erigah”

Zoe Saldana: ‘Star Trek’ Cast “Excited” To Reunite For Fourth Movie; Says It Would Honor Anton Yelchin

| March 1, 2022 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 50 comments so far

Two weeks ago, Paramount announced they were moving forward with a fourth film set in the Kelvin Universe, reuniting the cast of the 2009 Star Trek film. Later, it was reported that the announcement took the cast by surprise. Now one of the actors is talking about how the movie could honor the late Anton Yelchin.

Zoe Saldana talks fourth Star Trek movie and Anton Yelchin

The announcement may have come as a surprise to the Star Trek cast, but according to Zoe Saldana (Uhura), they are looking forward to getting back together for a fourth movie. Entertainment Tonight caught up with the actress on the red carpet for her new movie The Adam Project , where she talked about how the cast feels about reuniting: 

We’re excited. Obviously, it’s bittersweet because we are coming together for a fourth time and one of us is no longer with us… with Anton’s passing. But we honestly feel that going back and keeping the Star Trek family together is a way to really keep him alive in our thoughts and our hearts. Because he was such a fan, and he was such a devoted artist to the craft and also to Star Trek. So it would be great to go back to work and get to be together with again.

Here’s the video:

Zoe Saldana says making ‘Star Trek 4’ will be “bittersweet” without Anton Yelchin, but “keeping the Star Trek family together is a way to keep him alive in our thoughts and our hearts.” pic.twitter.com/vl27oeYRBN — Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 1, 2022

Yelchin passed away in 2016 in a tragic accident shortly before the release of Star Trek Beyond . A fourth film with the Kelvin cast would be the first one without him as Pavel Chekov. Producer J.J. Abrams has previously said “ there’s no replacing him ” when it comes to the idea of recasting the character, so there won’t be a new actor in the role. It remains to be seen how the Chekov’s absence would be handled.

Behind the scenes on Star Trek Beyond with Anton Yelchin and John Cho

During the Paramount Investor Day presentation two weeks ago, Abrams said of the project:

We are thrilled to say that we are hard at work on a new ‘Star Trek’ film that will be shooting by the end of the year that will be featuring our original cast and some new characters that I think are going to be really fun and exciting and help take ‘Star Trek’ into areas that you’ve just never seen before. We’re thrilled about this film, we have a bunch of other stories that we’re talking about that we think will be really exciting, so can’t wait for you to see what we’re cooking up. But until then, live long and prosper.

The film is set to be directed by WandaVision ‘s Matt Shakman. The latest draft of the script is written by Josh Friedman ( Avatar 2 ) and Cameron Squires ( WandaVision ), based on an earlier draft by Lindsey Beer ( Sierra Burgess Is a Loser ) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet ( Captain Marvel ).

If the project moves forward, Paramount is hoping to start production this fall. They have set a release date of December 22, 2023.

Find more news and analysis on  upcoming Star Trek feature films .

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I am glad Yelchin won’t be recast though I hope there is an in universe explanation for his absence, as opposed to his simply no longer being there.

Just mention that Chekov has been reassigned to the new Uss Reliant.

Why? They will probably say that he died saving the ship and morn his loss.

I’m guessing Chekov is first officer on the Reliant by this point. Hopefully the crew will have graduated to their maroon TWOK uniforms.

But leave Khan out of it! I mean seriously. Just leave him alone.

Long way from Ensign to Commander in five or six years…

not in the Kelvin universe :)

Really? Cause Kirk kinda went from Cadet to Captain in like 5 min.

I was hoping they’d put that stupidity behind them. Foolish me! :-)

There is no reason to believe that he’ll follow the same path as Prime Chekov. He could have been killed on a away mission or got married and moved to Risa…….could be anything.

Actually, they could discover that John Harrison wasn’t really Khan after all. He was just John Harrison, a British scientist, pretending to be Khan, and Into Darkness is instantly a better movie.

Except… Why would he pretend that? And how would he get the strength and skills? Would he decide to be a comic book villain and test his new drug on himself?

My personal decision would be to recast him. But writing him off the ship for some reason would work too and do understand why that might be the preferred method.

I don’t see the need to replace Chekhov either. And frankly there has been so much time between the last film and considering how fast people get promoted in that universe, he’s probably a Fleet Admiral by now. ;)

But if this movie really does pull off a miracle and actually gets made, the one thing I always wanted to see in the next one was Spock and Uhura married…and with babies! That just seems like the next logical step, right? And they probably been together about 8-10 years at this point, it’s time to make Uhura an honest woman Spock!

Maybe the movie can start with their wedding and Kirk marries them! Just too bad Burnham can’t be…dammit, wrong timeline again!

I agree that it would be great if they evolved the Spock-Uhura relationship and just didn’t drop it out of fear. It’s obviously one of the things, like the destruction of Vulcan, that distinguishes the Kelvin films from the rest of Star Trek. I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t take the relationship further if it’s written well.

I’d also like to see them bring back Alice Eve as Carol Marcus. I’m a bit dissapointed that they dropped that relationship from the last film, although I understand why they did. It would be nice if, for instance, Kirk reconnects with Carol and finds he’s now a father. That might be a source of good drama.

One other element that’s similar that I wish they had explored in TOS or its films is from McCoy’s backstory. We know now that McCoy was married and is divorced. However, in the TOS writer’s bible they also said he had a daughter who was originally supposed to be in “The Way to Eden” and be a love interest for Kirk, which would have caused tension with McCoy, one of his two best friends.

It’d be cool if they had a daughter for McCoy in the Kelvin films.

In any case, I really hope the film is great. I really loved all three of the Abrams films (though of course I have quibbles and some things I wish they’d changed). Beyond in particular was so much better than its box office. My wife said that she thought it was far better than The Force Awakens. I hope this next film is great too!

Exactly! What’s the point of having a relationship if it’s not going to grow? And I think the one cool thing in Star Trek is that every show actually had a couple who eventually got married: Tom/B’Elanna, Dax/Worf, Sisko/Kassidy and obviously the most famous non-couple couple Riker/Troi. Add one more to the list!

Of course they can break up or moved on but I think that would disappoint their fans more than anything (at least the ones who like the relationship) by this point. I was also disappointed Carol didn’t come back in Beyond either. I was hoping she just became part of the crew and you saw her and Kirk form a relationship in the next film. Could still happen I guess, so we’ll see.

I actually heard for the first time Bones had a daughter from someone on this site. But I had no idea was suppose to hook up with Kirk. Man how old is Bones suppose to be lol.

The writers guide puts the two characters at 11 years apart in age. Interestingly, the two actors are both 11 years apart as well! Regarding Kirk falling for McCoy’s daughter… You do the math. It’s probably a good idea to NOT pursue that storyline….

Burnham is likely actually serving her sentence for mutiny in this universe. Are Spock and Sybok not speaking in this universe, either?

That is kind of interesting actually…….with the Nero thing, would any of the Klingon stuff even happened? Where is Burnham them?? She may never had be orphaned in the first place and never been Spock’s sister at all in the Kelvin……….

Actually, after recently watching the first season of Discovery, I wonder if there was even a Federation-Klingon War. Wasn’t the Kelvin destroyed years before the Klingon attack that killed Burnham’s parents?

After that point, the timelines diverge. Initially, for ST 2009, Nero and his crew were captured by the Klingons before escaping after 20+ years. That, of course, was cut from the final release of the film, for time and pacing reasons, but it’s a good explanation of what Nero was up to in that over 20 year span. The only thing that’s left in the film is a reference to Klingon ships being attacked by Nero’s ship. IMO, they should have kept this in, since it’s a better explanation than just having Nero waiting around for Spock Prime.

Anyway, what I’m saying is this: An early encounter with Nero after the battle with the Kelvin may have impacted the events leading up to Kvuma (or whatever his name was) attempts to ressurect the Klingon Empire by starting a war with the Federation.

If there was no encounter, as was implied by the theatrical cut of ST 2009, then it all becomes more iffy.

On another note, I think it’s high time the Okudas got to work again on a new edition of the ST Encyclopedia and Chronology. The last one had material up to ST 2009. Now we have 2 more films and 4 new series that need to be documented and, hopefully, with gaps patched.

LOL I didn’t think about that at all. But as Rocketscientist stated, I don’t think there was ever a Klingon war in this universe. That would basically erase the entire point of STID since Admiral Marcus issue was fear of one happening.

As for Sybok, we saw Spock starting as a kid to a full grown adult in this universe too, Sybok was never even hinted there either. I think we’ll learn in season 2 of Picard that in order to save existence itself, they had to wipe Sybok from every known universe and why no one remembers him. Canon saved.

I’m betting it’s only a matter of time before Lower Decks has fun with the Sybok thing.

Good grief, Star Trek V was bad. By comparison, it makes Nemesis look like an Oscar winning film.

Though TOS is my favorite show of all time, I’m afraid I agree with you, One Lion.

TFF was a huge letdown.

TNG’s GEN, INS, and NEM weren’t nearly as bad.

TFF is at the bottom and I think Shatner bears all the blame for that.

That said, I’ll take TFF anyday over Shoemaker’s Batman and Robin or Campbell’s Green Lantern. Those were worse for me.

Great post — I agree with all of it!

You need to read up on all the issues Shatner faced making that movie.

It’s probably best for the KU to completely ignore Burnahm and all of them.

Say what you will but I am super glad that they’re not having Tarantino directed or touch the film at all.

I can not express this fully enough when I say I 100% agree with you !

And I was one of the people originally intrigued with the idea and supported him doing it. But once he started talking about it, really didn’t sound like he respected or even cared about canon at all and worse, what the premise of the film was going to be…just a hard pass! For the record, it could’ve still turned out great, but on paper it sounded like the complete opposite of a good idea to me and happy it will only remain on paper.

And I never buy fans who say they don’t care about canon because of all the whining over the Kelvin movies seem to be direct proof most actually do care about canon lol. The biggest irony being those movies were made to make their own canon by doing their own thing and yet you still have people who want to ‘reset’ the Kelvin universe to the Prime one even though these freaks know it takes place in a parallel universe and timeline. That’s a huge reason why so many even hate the films today, they can’t seem to just accept it as its own entity, rules and characters away from the Prime universe.

And Tarantino sounds like all he was going to do nothing was muddy the waters even more with his screwball ideas and make things much worse when it came to canon. The Kelvin movies actually respected canon by saying they were going to touch as little of it as possible. Tarantino blatantly sounded like he just didn’t care.

To be perfectly honest, I never believed a QT Star Trek movie would ever happen. Once we got a few years past Beyond none of the talk, until the recent Abrams statement, felt like there was a chance in hell of happening.

While my initial reaction is this idea is no, I will give it this, it would be bold and new. And I wonder if a cute Vulcan toddler might get the same kind of overwhelming positive public reaction that Baby Yoda got?

You are kind of talking me into this against my better judgement…LOL

They would have to write that they got back together at this point. They broke up in Beyond.

I just hope they give Saldana something substantial to do as Uhura. And more of a truer portrayal of the character of Uhura than we got? In the 2009 film her role was basically to be Spocks girlfriend. She needs an arc of her own.

Agreed! Besides, she’s and A-list actress and more famous worldwide then Pine, so they really need to up her role from that perspective as well.

Subtle wording in this article – IF the project moves forward…. Saldana’s statement is also carefully crafted. This cast has been excited about making another Trek feature for years now. Nothing new there. Notice she didn’t say “of course, I’ll drop everything I’m doing now for principle photography in the fall”…

Yeah I’ll still remain skeptical it’s fully happening until they are all signed on and standing on a set in uniform. I think a lot of people will be. ;)

But this is the closest it’s been to happening in over 3 years, so progress!

It’s a different timeline, so if Vulcan is gone, then Chekov can be, as well… as sad as that is. But an in-universe acknowledgment of his passing would add more stakes to the Enterprise’s mission. Not everyone gets out alive, even the youngest among us.

That said, we have the technology to replace the character with Mr. Arex, which I think would be awesome. They can use a combination of prosthetics and CG effects to make the character look absolutely real, and I think his extra arm could come in handy on a dangerous away mission, and add a grace note of humor, too, if handled correctly.

They can have Simon Pegg voice him.

Notice that her quote doesn’t mention one thing about her being surprised, and she basically confirms (using “we” multiple times) that the cast all wants to make the fourth movie.

As I said previously, I think that whole “the cast is all surprised thing” was THR talking to a couple of the cast’s agents, who are trying to manipulate this (as they should, it’s their job) to get their clients the best deal.

So that entire headline from THR I am calling BS on.

That was way overblown. Some folks need to kick their addiction to doom posting and chill.

I had an idea that it would be interesting for this movie to take place at the end of the 5 year mission – Enterprise and crew are coming back to earth, and we learn of Chekov’s passing. The crew is tired and ready to be home but of course – they are called back into action, just when they were ready to move on. Then the end of the film could begin to set up the events in TMP, if those events still exist in the Kelvin universe. But since the “end of the 5 year mission” is one that hasn’t really been explored in film or TV (except for the fan films and the novels) it might be an interesting place to tell a story.

Beyond was kind of almost the end of the 5y mission

have the opening pre titles sequence be the end of TMP: v’ger exploding. “Out there, thataway”

Main titles (movie font style) Horner-esque score.

Then maroon uniforms/Admiral Kirk/Captain Spock/Lt Saavik/mushroom spacedock/movie nacelles time

I like the end of the Five Year Mission setting, but they don’t need to kill off Chekov. They could just say he was promoted to Lieutenant and went back to Earth for Command Training (what Saavik was doing in Wrath of Khan ) a few months before at the same time Ensign Jayla, fresh out of the Academy came aboard as the new Navigator.

Agreed – but I think there is a kind of poetic finality and tribute in recognizing Yelchin’s death by having Chekov die. The only reason to leave him alive in the ST Kelvin universe would be to tease a possible return and there’s really no reason to do that. We know already that all bets are off in terms of the future of our characters because it’s a different universe, and in the first movie McCoy does his “space is disease and death” thing – it would be good to pay that off for once. We know that death really is only permanent in the ST universe if you’re not a main character – and this would be an opportunity to reinforce that what they do – exploring the galaxy – has real risk and real repercussions. Let the crew (as the cast has) deal with his death and make it part of the story – why we’re out here…”risk is our business” – right?

You know… Just spitballing here… There could be an opening sequence where Chekov dies off screen. Maybe using the “Egon” type of thing from the beginning of Afterlife. Maybe use some Yelchin lines that were cut from other films. And the rest are dealing with that sad reality.

I feel that they should make the death of Chekov an integral part of the story, with Kirk and crew dealing with the impact of the loss

Here’s the issue….there are several shifts, and bridge officers on this (or any) starship. There’s been plenty of action where the Big E is getting the snot knocked out of it, with plenty of crew getting blown to bits, sucked into space, or vaporized by the technobabble weapon of the week. Why would a Chekov screen death tie this crew up in knots, when others close to the senior crew have also died? At a minimum, this movie is going to hit the big screen eight years (or so) after the last one, so why is having to have Kirk and crew deal with it interesting theater, as opposed to gratuitous fan service? It sounds cold, but no one is really going to care if he’s just not there.

Ugh, no. Enough dark and gloomy in Trek. Let’s have some optimism and success in this movie.

This guy seems to have been genuinely loved. It’s typical in Hollywood for lip service to be paid to the deceased but all the cast members I have seen quoted about Anton have expressed genuine affection and devotion to him.

Zoe Saldana

Who Is Zoe Saldana?

Dancer-turned-actress Zoe Saldana started her acting career in films like Crossroads , Drumline , The Terminal and Pirates of the Caribbean . After years of diverse work, in 2009 she landed leading roles in the blockbusters Star Trek, Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy . She's also been a model for Avon, the Gap and Calvin Klein.

Born in Passaic, New Jersey on June 19, 1978, Zoe Saldana grew up in Queens. She is of mixed ethnic heritage, with her mother being of Puerto Rican descent and her father hailing from the Dominican Republic. At the age of nine, her father died in a car accident, and her mother subsequently moved Saldana and her two sisters Cisely and Mariel to the Dominican Republic, where they lived with their grandparents.

The three siblings grew up very close while Saldana studied a variety of dance forms at ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy, developing a particular fondness for ballet. She moved back to New York at 17 and continued dancing while also joining Faces, a teen-oriented theater group, and the New York Youth Theater, through which she was discovered by a talent agent.

'Center Stage,' 'Drumline,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean'

'guess who'.

During the mid-2000s, Saldana continued to act in a number of ensemble films, both commercial and indie, and appeared on TV with roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Six Degrees . In 2005 she starred in Guess Who , a comedic update of the Sidney Poitier and Spencer Tracy classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ; the newer version switched the racial roles of the original, with Bernie Mac as Saldana's wary African American father and Ashton Kutcher as her beleaguered white fiancé. She was also later featured in the 2008 thriller Vantage Point .

'Star Trek' and 'Avatar'

The year 2009 was a blockbuster year for Saldana's career. After the thriller The Skeptic , Saldana starred in the remake of Star Trek by director J.J. Abrams, in which she played Communications Officer Uhura. In December 2009, she starred as Neytiri, an alien warrior, in the 3D sci-fi epic Avatar , which would go on to become the world's highest-grossing film. Director James Cameron used performance capture technology to create Saldana's computer-generated character, driven by her bodily movements and facial expressions in a studio setting. Saldana spent months training for the athletic role, taking up horseback riding, archery and wushu martial arts.

The following year, Saldana starred in the ensemble comedic remake Death at a Funeral with Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence , as well as two action capers — The Losers and Takers — and the comedic Burning Palms . In 2011, she landed the sole lead role in Colombiana , which featured Saldana as an assassin out to avenge the murder of her parents.

'Guardians of the Galaxy'

In 2012, she starred in The Words , a return to serious drama for the actress about a struggling writer, portrayed by Cooper, who plagiarizes another person's work. She also co-directed episodes for The Rope , a web series developed by Vin Diesel about bouncers and the world of nightlife.

Saldana returned to the Star Trek franchise with the 2013 sequel Into Darkness . And the following year she added comic-book hero to her list of roles, portraying the green-skinned assassin Gamora in Marvel's well-received Guardians of the Galaxy , which broke August's domestic box office records for debut earnings. The project also co-starred Diesel and Cooper, among others. In 2017, Saldana returned to her Guardians role in the sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 .

In 2016, Saldana starred as jazz musician Nina Simone in the biopic Nina to much controversy. Not only did Simone's family object to Saldana's casting, but critics were also outraged over Saldana's "blackface performance" (she wore darker foundation) and conventional good looks, which they argue did not reflect the musician's experience as a Black woman.

'Star Trek Beyond' and 'Avengers'

After starring in the Star Trek sequel, Star Trek Beyond (2016) and Live By Night (2016), Saldana reprised her Guardians role as part of a star-studded ensemble superhero cast in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and Avengers: Endgame in 2019.

Modeling Career

Outside of acting, Saldana has a strong interest in fashion. She has appeared in Calvin Klein lingerie commercials, in which she's performed monologues offering tidbits on vulnerability, mystery and strength. She's also appeared as a spokesperson for Avon, and modeled with her sisters in a Gap print ad and W magazine editorial. Saldana has appeared in many other magazines as well, including Elle , Vanity Fair , Latina , GQ Italia , Essence , Nylon and InStyle .

Husband and Kids

Saldana was reportedly romantically linked with Bradley Cooper after her relationship ended with longtime boyfriend, actor Keith Britton, with whom she partnered to found the website My Fashion Database . In 2013, Saldana married Marco Perego. In 2014, the couple welcomed twins boys Bowie and Cy and three years later, another son named Zen.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth Year: 1978
• Birth date: June 19, 1978
• Birth State: New Jersey
• Birth City: Passaic
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Zoe Saldana is an American actress known for starring in blockbusters such as 'Star Trek,' 'Avatar' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy.'
• Theater and Dance
• Astrological Sign: Gemini
• ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy
• Nacionalities

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Zoe Saldana Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/zoe-saldana
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: September 1, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
• I got so much out of being a dancer. The stillness of it. The discipline. The dedication.
• I loved stories that helped me escape, and those happened to be the stories that fall into the category of geekiness. So, therefore, I am a proud geek!
• I think in American society, we're messing up our kids by taking away the education on awareness of sexuality and replacing it with violence, guns and video games.

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Zoe Saldaña Opens Up About Star Trek Role And Meeting Franchise 'Icon' Nichelle Nichols

Star Trek's Zoe Saldaña gives a moving tribute to her fellow Uhura actress.

Star Trek ’s Nichelle Nichols passing away at the age of 89 came as a shock to many fans and co-stars. As soon as the news hit the press, the condolences and tributes started pouring in. Fellow Star Trek icons, including George Takei and William Shatner, paid tribute to the Uhura actress , while Star Trek vet Whoop Goldberg shared a heartfelt response to Nichols’ death on The View . But one voice was missing from the Star Trek chorus – the veteran actress’s successor Zoe Saldaña. Now the Kelvin universe’s Uhura opened up about her Star Trek role and meeting the franchise icon.

The Star Trek actress finally broke her silence this week by paying tribute to Nichols through her Instagram Stories. Saldaña penned a moving message pointing out the influence the late actress had not only on television, but on pop culture at large. The Guardians of the Galaxy star opened up about how Nichols helped her cope with taking on the iconic role during their first meeting.

Meeting Nichelle was truly a very special moment in my life. Her energy was infectious every time I was in her presence. She convinced me in believing that anything was achievable, if you put your heart into it. I mean she inspired Mae Jemison to follow her dreams of becoming an astronaut and that’s exactly what Mae did. I knew I had big shoes to fill when I was chosen to play Uhura, and Nichelle made me feel safe, told me to play her with all the confidence in the world. My hope is that we continue to keep her memory alive by celebrating her amazing body of work, and by spreading the message of peace and equality amongst all people. She lived a long impactful and not only prospered, but helped so many others prosper too.

Meeting with Nichelle Nichols about playing Uhura appeared to help Zoe Saldaña deal with the expectations Trekkies had for the iconic character. The actress had so much more to say about Nichols in her full Instagram message below with a nice nod to the space-traveling franchise.

Nichols’ reassuring words to the Kelvin universe actress echoed the sentiment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he convinced the Star Trek icon to stay on The Original Series , as Nichols was on the verge of quitting after the first season. Thankfully, she stayed on the show and not only inspired Saldaña, but millions of others like Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel into space. She extended her influence to promote NASA programs and recruitment. The late entertainer’s reach went beyond just television or the six original Star Trek films.

Using the Maya Angelou quote was a nice way, to sum up, the impression Nichelle Nichols left on the world. But as Zoe Saldaña pointed out, the film and TV actress’ words and actions were as impactful as the feelings she provoked across multiple generations of viewers. That’s why the Star Trek icon was referred to as a trailblazer in television and sci-fi.

Of course, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura and Nichelle Nichols’ legacy will continue to live on as Saldaña is expected to return as the communications head in the fourth Kelvin installment, which will be the first movie without co-star Anton Yelchin . On the television front, Celia Gooding plays a young Uhura in the Christopher Pike-focused series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . The series' Emmy-nominated first season can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription . If you're not on that platform, you can get an Amazon Prime subscription to watch Nichols' performances in the first six Star Trek films.

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A boy from Greenwood, South Carolina. CinemaBlend Contributor. An animation enthusiast (anime, US and international films, television). Freelance writer, designer and artist. Lover of music (US and international).

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Zoe Saldana: ‘I loved Star Trek. I didn’t learn until later that it was unorthodox for women to be obsessed with science fiction

She’s become sci-fi's it girl, casting an interested eye on spock in star trek, motion-capturing the avatar franchise, and starring as a kick-ass galactic outlaw in guardians of the galaxy. it’s a natural progression for someone raised on classic space opera in a house full of women.

‘When I go to someone’s house and the toilet seat is left up I get very offended,” says Zoe Saldana. “It means it’s a house where men live. I get it. But it means there are not enough gentlemen living in that space.”

Oh, Zoe. As if anyone would ever dare do such a thing in your presence. Curled elegantly into an armchair, the star of Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy has kicked off her nude, classically fashioned shoes so that they are Just Out Of The Way. If Nancy Mitford had gotten around to describing the correct way to ditch your heels, this would pass with flying colours.

But back to that lack of gentlemen and how to deal with those lavatory-seat offenders.

Guardian angel: Zoe Saldana at the UK Premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy on July 24th, 2014Z

“It’s all about repetition,” she smiles. “You can’t assume that someone will know better. Sometimes you have to keep saying something until it can’t be forgotten. I’m learning that.”

Happily, the Italian artist Marco Perego, whom Saldana wed in secret last year and is now expecting her first child with, does not seem like the type to sit around scratching himself with his house keys. After the marriage, the couple moved to Hollywood, not far from where Saldana's two sisters live.

She’s the middle one in a particularly close trinity of siblings.

“We grew up with so much love,” recalls Saldana. “And sometimes when you grow up with a lot of love you don’t know how to filter it when you’re outside the family. You go up to other kids and you kind of freak them out, and they’re like ‘ugh, get off me’. But my sisters and I quickly realised that the way we cared was too much for some people. It was a blood thing.”

Culture Shift Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario was born in New Jersey and was raised in New York until the age of nine, when her dad was killed in a car accident. Saldana and her two sisters were subsequently sent to live with their late father's family in the Dominican Republic. Their Puerto Rican mother remained in New York to earn enough money to pay for private school for her daughters.

That must have been a massive culture shift, even for someone who was raised speaking Spanish at home.

“Starting over was difficult,” she nods. “A kid’s world is a very cruel world. If you can survive that kind of transplant and you still have a true sense of yourself then you’ve made it. It wasn’t that all kids were mean. But at some point, my sisters and I gave up trying to impress other people outside our union. I think that saved me. We had each other.”

Her walk and, in particular, her bum earned a good deal of unwanted attention, she recalls.

“I don’t know if it’s a Latin thing,” she says. “But I do have a very particular walk. Kids used to make fun of me at school. And even now, when I’ve practised a movement for a role, I can still see the Zoe walk coming through.”

The younger Saldana also found solace in dance. Having enrolled in the ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy, she studied ballet, contemporary and jazz, the perfect training, she says, for her future career as an action hero.

“It gave me discipline and focus and it taught me how to survive disappointment at an early age. You develop a thick skin. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. Well, you can. But after an hour you have to stop feeling sorry for yourself or you’ll be closed to other and better possibilities.”

She laughs: “And ballet is the reason I can kick.”

She remains a student of screen movement: "Patrick Swayze moved so beautifully," she gushes. "When he did action movies you wanted to see him fight because even when he was hitting people, he moved like a gazelle. There was nothing clunky or violent about it."

Ballet also led to her first film role in 2000, as the female lead in Nicholas Hytner's teen hoofer drama, Centre Stage . She worked steadily after, often in high-profile projects, for much of the next decade, appearing alongside Britney Spears and Kim Cattrall in Crossroads (2002), popping up as a swashbuckling pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), and starring as a Trekker in Steven Spielberg's The Terminal (2004).

There was a neat synchronicity when, in 2009, she was cast as Uhura in JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot: "Growing up, I loved Star Trek and I loved science fiction. I didn't learn until later on that it was a bit unorthodox for women to be obsessed with science fiction. But my mom and my sisters and I always had an affinity for it. It was what I loved to read. It was what a loved to watch. More than any other genre."

Green screen, green skin Zoe Saldana loves science fiction, and science fiction, in turn, loves Zoe Saldana. "I guess you just gravitate towards what you like. Or what you feel comfortable with. I love all the possibilities of it. And it puts you in contact with film-makers who are capable of imagining the unimaginable."

Between Trek movies, Saldana played the Na'avi lead in James Cameron's Avatar . Her performance-capture skills will be required for that film's three sequels. Right now, though, in a cinema near you, Saldana is Guardian of the Galaxy 's Gamora, the newest, green-skinned superhero in the Marvelverse.

It’s typical – aside from the green colouring – of the kind of roles Saldana pursues. Is there a guiding principle at work?

"When I read something, if I don't think it's a realistic representation of what a woman is, then it's not appealing for me," says the 35-year-old. "There's a lot of material out there that features a woman or women. But they're not that relevant to the movie. They don't impact on the story. They're fluff. They're just there to be serviceable. That's why so many women end up chasing after the same roles. I know that for Out of the Furnace and Nina Simone [Saldana won the lead role in both films], a lot of actresses read for those".

She shakes her head. “Honestly? I wouldn’t know how to do fluff at this point. It’s too unnatural for me. I wouldn’t know how to start putting a character like that together.”

When Saldana talks about her family, it sounds like a beehive, replete with grandmother, mother and female-only siblings. There's a strong sense of maternal influence: growing up, the girls and mother watched 2001: A Space Odyssey and the original Star Trek together. Saldana similarly attributes her fashion sense – thought to be impeccable by folks who know about such things – to her grandmother, who worked as a seamstress in various New York fashion houses during the 1960s.

This kind of matriarchal environment must surely have contributed to her aversion to fluff roles.

“Yes. But it wasn’t just the women. Even after my father passed away, there were men around. There were uncles and cousins. And they were just as pro-women and just as encouraging as the women in my family. I don’t know what it’s like to be in an environment where a woman is expected to submit or serve. Or to be secondary.”

Behind the lens For the Saldana siblings, interests continue to be shared interests. Saldana and sister Cicely have just signed a deal with Lionsgate to develop and produce Latino-centric media projects, under the banner Saldana Productions.

“I always loved movies but it’s more recent that I think about who the cinematographer is or the importance of knowing about French cinema and Italian cinema and Asian cinema. I’m going to take some time in the fall for movies. Now I have the production company with my sisters, that’s more important than ever. I should know more about my business. But so far I’ve done okay. Maybe I’ll get to a festival in the next few months, and just avoid all the cameras and see everything.”

Do the cameras make a difference for such an apparently steely person? Or has the relatively recent blossoming of her career made a sizable impact in terms of profile and intrusion?

“I feel it and I don’t. I’m very much a skip to work person. And when I’m not working I’m just living my life in such a normal way. I’m not aware of my profile. I really like hearing that the films are doing well or hearing someone say they thought the story was really beautiful. But I don’t know how to measure popularity. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

She smiles: “I mean, what website is that?”

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Zoe Saldana (I)

IMDbPro Starmeter Top 5,000 185

• Contact info
• 20 wins & 74 nominations

Photos 1065

• Neytiri (as Zoë Saldana)

• Uhura (as Zoë Saldana)

• Post-production
• In Production
• Lieutenant Uhura (rumored)
• Pre-production

• Zoë Saldaña (as Zoë Saldaña)

• Gamora (as Zoe Saldaña)

• Neytiri (as Zoe Saldaña)

• Amy Wheeler (as Zoe Saldaña)

• Irma St. Clair (as Zoe Saldaña)

• Laura (as Zoe Saldaña)

• Maya (voice)

• Rosa (voice)

• Becky (as Zoe Saldaña)

• Princess Buttercup

• executive producer

• 10 episodes

• created by (creator)
• In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

• Zoë Saldana
• 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
• June 19 , 1978
• Passaic, New Jersey, USA
• Marco Perego June 2013 - present (3 children)
• Children Cy Aridio Perego-Saldana
• Parents Asalia Nazario
• Relatives Cisely Saldaña (Sibling)
• Other works TV commercial: Macy's department store.
• 3 Interviews
• 4 Pictorials
• 26 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

• Trivia Had done an intense nonstop six-month preparation for Avatar (2009) including martial arts, archery and horseback riding.
• Quotes When I go to the D.R., the press in Santo Domingo always asks, "¿Qué te consideras, dominicana o americana?" ("What do you consider yourself, Dominican or American?") I don't understand it, and it's the same people asking the same question. So I say, time and time again, "Yo soy una mujer negra." ("I am a black woman.") [They go] "Oh, no, tú eres trigueñita." ("Oh no, you are 'dark skinned'") I'm like, "No! Let's get it straight, yo soy una mujer negra." ("I am a black woman.")
• Trademark Often plays strong, dominant heroines
• Salaries Avatar: The Way of Water ( 2022 ) $8,000,000

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Thirteen years after the original, "Avatar" is back. Its star, Zoe Saldaña, has barely slowed down in the time since.

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If you thought you were busy, you haven’t been paying enough attention to Zoe Saldaña. The actress is a name probably associated first with “Avatar,” the 2009 James Cameron behemoth that would become the biggest movie in the world. But she’s also part of “Avengers” and “Star Trek” and wasn’t she in that Netflix series you bawled your eyes out to the other week? And isn’t “Avatar” finally returning with a sequel in December?

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Yet all the time in the world’s biggest movies has left her with very little room for anything else — something she’s started carving out for herself lately. That includes this fall’s “Amsterdam,” the David O. Russell ensemble cast comedy, which was not particularly widely viewed, and the Netflix series “From Scratch,” which very much was. (It has consistently been one of the streaming platform’s most watched series since it debuted in late October.)

Come December, Saldaña has “Avatar: The Way of Water” and, in May, the third installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” will debut. There’s also the “Star Trek” franchise, in which she plays Lieutenant Uhura, which will return at some point, and the additional “Avatar” films she’s committed to. 

“There was a time where it was so exciting to seem [like I was] and to know that I was one of the hardest working people,” Saldaña says. “Now I’m actually embarrassed because this whole idea of productivity and overproducing yourself too much is just a lot.”

Despite that, Saldaña exudes energy, focus and drive. She’s extremely personable and intentional in how she speaks, and any symptoms of tiredness are well hidden.

She’s at work on “Lioness,” an upcoming series from “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan that Saldaña is leading and coproducing alongside Nicole Kidman. The show has had her based in Baltimore, Maryland, since late August, though production will halt for nearly a month while she heads out on the “Avatar” press tour, which involves stops in South America, Europe and Asia.

“‘Avatar,’ it’s just my baby. It’s everybody’s baby. And to see this baby now being a teenager, like a young adult and getting to share it with the world is just…I felt like this day would never come and it’s finally here,” she says. 

“Avatar: The Way of Water” comes 13 years after the original and offers the chance to introduce a whole new audience to the world of Pandora — a thrilling task for Saldaña and the cast.

It’s naturally an entirely different world 13 years after the first “Avatar” movie was released, and the moment of course leads to reflection on how Saldaña’s life and career have changed in that time. 

“In terms of the way that I approach work, I seem to have gone back to the way I started, which is just to give 120 percent and do the homework and go to bed early and focus on my work. But after ‘Avatar,’ when you’re young and all of the time you have, the opportunity to travel and to go to lavish dinners and wear beautiful outfits and the nightlife became very attractive,” she says. “It was a lot of working hard and a lot of [playing] hard that sometimes got in the way of me feeling fully, fully proud of the work I was doing — because I did the work. And now that I’m a little older and I would like to consider myself a little wiser, it’s going back to that [feeling] of having those healthy boundaries for myself of ‘go to bed early, really work. I know you’re tired. I know you really want to go out and go with your kids and just say, “F–k my rehearsal and f–k my practice and f–k this session.”‘ But I don’t. I still manage to focus on family life and also focus on my work. And I feel good.”

It’s an “all hands on deck” moment for Saldaña and her family, which includes her artist husband Marco Perego Saldaña and their three sons, ages five and seven-year-old twins. Their parents have been called in for support, and they’ve talked with their kids about how hectic the coming months will be for mom.

Saldaña has been experiencing another dilemma, a creative consequence of being attached to such high-profile blockbusters.

“I feel that for the last 10 years of my life, I’ve been just stuck. I felt stuck doing these franchises,” she says. “I’m very grateful for the opportunities that they provided, from collaborating with amazing directors and getting to meet cast members that I consider friends and getting to play a role that fans, especially children, love. But it also meant that I felt artistically stuck in my craft of not being able to expand or grow or challenge myself by playing different sorts of genres and different roles. So this is something that I wanted to do for a very long time. And wrestling, too, with this pressure that society puts on women that your youth is gone as soon as you have children and you go into your 40s.

“But today, now that I’m 44, I’ve been able to have these opportunities, and I took control over my aging and I took control over my voice and how I consider myself as a woman. And I’m so happy that I’m able to collaborate with filmmakers and producers and people in this industry that want that for women, that want women to be ageless and who don’t fetishize women’s youth. And so it’s interesting. It’s really interesting.”

Filling that order is “From Scratch,” based on the memoir by Tembi Locke about her travels to Italy, her love story with her husband, his battle with cancer and, ultimately, his death. Saldaña had been craving a love story project, and even though Locke’s is a sad one, she didn’t shy away. 

“You know what I loved — I loved that so many people were so brave to stick through the whole show, even though they knew they were going to just open themselves up and hurt and just find themselves living in that feeling and that sensation of complete sadness and seeing, and they still did it,” Saldaña says. “I really do consider ‘From Scratch’ to be a beautiful love story that has an unconventional [ending].…The ending that’s full of hope and joy and happiness and purpose.”

“‘From Scratch’ scared the living s–t out of me,” Saldaña says. “And ‘Lioness’ did as well.”

Sheridan first called her in 2020 about the project but with the recent death of her grandmother and the ongoing, still fresh pandemic, she wasn’t in the right space to consider a challenge. Then, while in Italy shooting “From Scratch,” she texted him.

“And I’m happy. I’m so happy I did it. I’m tired and every day I wake up with a lot of panic, but I do the work and I get there and every day I come home and I’m like, ‘no matter what happens, I did my best. I gave it my all and it feels good.’”

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Every Karl Urban Movie, Ranked From Worst To Best

One big reason the world's end feels different to edgar wright's other cornetto trilogy movies, 8 biggest changes j.j. abrams’ star trek made to zachary quinto’s spock.

• J.J. Abrams' Star Trek helped launch the careers of Chris Pine, Zoe Saldaña, and Zachary Quinto into Hollywood stardom.
• The cast of the 2009 Star Trek reboot have gone on to star in major Hollywood films, showcasing their range and talent post-Star Trek.
• Each member of the Star Trek cast, from Zoe Saldaña to Chris Pine, has continued to amaze audiences with their diverse and powerful performances.

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies made household names of Chris Pine and his fellow cast members, who have multiple credits beyond the starship Enterprise. The cast of the 2009 Star Trek reboot were well on the way to becoming big stars, with Zachary Quinto rising to fame as sinister supervillain Sylar in Heroes , and Simon Pegg breaking Hollywood with Shaun of the Dead back in 2004. However, their casting as alternate timeline versions of the Star Trek: The Original Series cast pushed them into the stratosphere.

Star Trek was a box office smash on release in 2009, and the cast were soon in demand for a variety of roles, big and small, in major Hollywood movies. In the same year, Zoe Saldaña starred in Avatar , her first major step toward becoming one of the highest-grossing actresses of all time. In the 15 years since Star Trek released, its cast has gone from strength to strength, making it difficult to pick just one great role between each member of the USS Enterprise's crew.

Star Trek 2009 Cast & Character Guide

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek relaunched the movie franchise and reintroduced audiences to Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise.

7 Anton Yelchin (Ensign Pavel Chekov)

Pat in green room (2015).

The late Anton Yelchin worked with an impressive list of auteur directors following the release of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek in 2009. The Chekov actor worked with Jim Jarmusch on Only Lovers Left Alive alongside Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton, and starred in Paul Schrader's Dying of the Light alongside Nicolas Cage. Anton Yelchin's best role between Star Trek movies was in Jeremy Saulnier's gnarly crime movie Green Room . Yelchin played Pat, a member of a punk rock band who witnesses a brutal murder in the neo-Nazi bar they've been booked to perform in .

As the band try to make their excuses and leave, they find themselves in life-threatening danger as the neo-Nazis refuse to let them leave. Anton Yelchin is terrific at performing the panic of the situation, as he fights for survival against increasingly impossible odds. Green Room is also notable for featuring Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Patrick Stewart as the group's leader, Darcy. It's a chilling performance from Stewart as he calmly copes with the brutal violence around him to try "reasoning" with Anton Yelchin's punk band.

Honorable mention: Jacob in Like Crazy .

6 Karl Urban (Dr. "Bones" McCoy)

Judge dredd in dredd (2012).

New Zealand actor Karl Urban has cultivated a reputation as a cult hero for his roles in Star Trek , The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Boys , and Thor: Ragnarok . Karl Urban's best role, however, is the performance where audiences never see his face. In Dredd , Karl Urban plays the titular law enforcement officer, who originated in the UK's legendary comic book anthology 2000 AD. Karl Urban nailed the character of Judge Dredd in a dazzling sci-fi action movie that was brilliantly evocative of the original comics.

Dredd was something of a labor of love for Karl Urban, who insisted on never smiling or removing the helmet throughout the shoot. Urban also insisted on riding Judge Dredd's iconic Lawmaster motorbike himself, completing his immersion in the role of the comic book legend. Judge Dredd's monosyllabic, no-nonsense approach to law enforcement was miles away from the wry comedy of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek , perfectly demonstrating Urban's range as an actor.

Honorable mention: Billy Butcher in The Boys .

New Zealand actor Karl Urban has steadily become one of the biggest stars in the world with his role in The Boys. Here's a ranking of all his movies.

5 John Cho (Lt. Hikaru Sulu)

Jin in columbus (2017).

Prior to being cast in Star Trek , John Cho was best known for playing Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar movies. However, since playing Lt. Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek , the actor has taken on some more challenging acting roles in everything from the Karen Gillan-led sitcom Selfie to a small role in Park Chan-wook's HBO spy thriller, The Sympathizer . However, John Cho's best role since Star Trek is one of his lesser-seen performances, as Jin in the 2017 movie Columbus .

Jin is stuck in Columbus, Ohio when his father falls gravely ill while in town for a lecture about architecture. In the breaks between nights sat at his estranged father's bedside, Jin forms a bond with Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) a budding architecture student, who is caring for her sick mother. Star Trek: TNG 's Michelle Forbes plays Casey's mother, a recovering drug addict who is on the verge of a relapse. It's an understated performance by John Cho in a quiet, thoughtful movie about the sacrifices made for family and one's own ambitions.

Honorable mention: David Kim in Searching .

4 Simon Pegg (Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott)

Gary king in the world's end.

Outside the Star Trek franchise, Simon Pegg is known as one of the creative minds behind the Cornetto trilogy of movies directed by Edgar Wright . In the trilogy's third entry, The World 's End , Simon Pegg gives his best ever acting performance as Gary King , a middle-aged man who can't let go of his youth. Gary is a tragic figure who has spent his entire life trying to recapture the glory of his youth, with damaging consequences for those around him.

Having done zombie movies in Shaun of the Dead and cop movies in Hot Fuzz , The World's End was Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's attempt to make an alien invasion movie. It was less well-received by audiences, but that might be down to Pegg's affecting emotional portrayal of Gary, a performance that is completely different from what he'd done previously. Pegg's desire to play the less-likable character in The World's End should have been more widely appreciated, and makes the movie worth revisiting.

Honorable mention: Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

The World's End feels different from Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead since one element changed the tone of Edgar Wright's final Cornetto Trilogy movie.

3 Zoe Saldaña (Lt. Nyota Uhura)

Gamora in the marvel cinematic universe.

Arguably, Zoe Saldaña is the most successful member of the Star Trek cast, as she is one of the highest-grossing actresses of all time, with her movies earning an estimated total of $11 billion. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies are just a small part of this impressive total, as Saldaña has starred in three of the highest-grossing movies of all time; Avatar , Avengers: Endgame , and Avatar: The Way of Water . The journey that Saldaña goes on as Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe showed how multi-faceted she is as a performer.

Across five films, Gamora becomes one of the most layered and interesting characters in the entire Guardians team, thanks to Saldaña's performance . Gamora starts out as an antagonistic figure in The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 , becomes the one true love of Chris Pratt's Peter Quill, before being murdered by her villainous father, Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War . When the effects of Thanos' snap were reversed in Avengers: Endgame , Zoe Saldaña was then playing an alternate timeline version of Gamora who was much harsher than the character that audiences knew and loved.

Honorable mention: Neytiri in the Avatar movies.

2 Zachary Quinto (Lt. Commander Spock)

Peter in who we are now (2017).

Zachary Quinto has moved from the Star Trek universe to the Ryan Murphy cinematic universe in recent years, appearing in multiple seasons of American Horror Story . Quinto is also an accomplished stage actor and in 2022 received positive reviews for his performance as Gore Vidal in Best of Enemies on the West End. However, many will point to Zachary Quinto's role as troubled veteran Peter in the 2017 indie movie Who We Are Now as one of the Spock actor's best performances.

Zachary Quinto's supporting role in Who We Are Now was highlighted for tapping into the emotional nuance of a former soldier living with PTSD. Quinto credited his performance to his director Matthew Newton (via Deadline ) saying that " he really gets to the humanity of the characters that he writes in a unique and beautiful way. ” Peter is a more grounded and emotional character than Star Trek 's emotionally repressed Vulcan, but he was just as engaging in the hands of Zachary Quinto.

Honorable mention: Harold in The Boys in the Band .

J.J. Abrams made significant changes to Zachary Quinto's Spock for the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies that subverted audience expectations.

1 Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk)

Edgin in dungeons & dragons: honor among thieves.

Since Star Trek , Chris Pine has played Spider-Man, romanced Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), alongside deeper character work in movies like 2018's Outlaw King or 2022's Don't Worry Darling . 2023 saw the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves , which was anchored by Chris Pine's best and most entertaining role since Star Trek 's Captain Kirk . As Engin, Chris Pine clearly delighted in playing a charismatic scoundrel, and it was a joy to watch.

The roguish Engin was a welcome reminder of everything that Chris Pine brought to the role of Captain Kirk in 2009's Star Trek reboot. It also proved that, seven years after Star Trek Beyond , Chris Pine can still lead a big franchise picture. With Star Trek 4 still languishing in development hell, fans may have a long wait before the older, roguish Chris Pine reprises the role of Kirk for one last mission aboard the USS Enterprise.

Honorable mention: Toby Howard in Hell or High Water .

All three J.J. Abrams produced Star Trek movies are available to stream on Paramount+.

Zoe Saldana's "Star Trek" role Crossword Clue

Zoe saldana's "star trek" role answer is: uhura.

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Star Trek 2009 Is Worth Revisiting 15 Years Later

By Stephen Wilds

I grew up seeing a handful of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes randomly on television. They somewhat caught my attention, but my Star Trek journey truly began with The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. Until I decided to start doing full re-watches in college, my primary interactions with Captain Kirk and his crew were the movies. As much as I enjoyed and respected that original crew, I always felt they were harder to relate to than some of my favorites. Like most fans, I was unsure about a reboot, but something in the back of my mind hoped that this would get me into these characters even more. Although Star Trek 2009 has its flaws, I remember leaving the theater with renewed vigor for the franchise and the possibilities of future adventures.  

This, however, was not a universally shared opinion. Many fans didn’t like this new version of their beloved classic Trek, claiming that it wasn’t deserving of the title. A lot of the names behind the camera had set off red flags, but even if that was overreacting, what they saw on screen was flashier, faster-paced, more action-based, and violent, with the younger characters full of drama and at each other’s throats. This incarnation didn’t feel right to some lifelong fans and was hard to accept. Some enjoyed the movie, but saw it as too much of a popcorn flick to be real Trek, designed more for general audiences and less for the devoted, as if the filmmakers took all of the wrong lessons from First Contact and set it in an alternate universe – a decision that seemed to be made primarily due to merchandising rights – gave them carte blanche to completely spin the dial when it came to tone.

There are some valid arguments here, but most of it comes down to preference and what individual fans expect from their Trek. Star Trek 2009 is a reboot that still acknowledges the original timeline, even bringing over Spock from the Prime universe, things are changed, but the project does make an effort to appease everyone. For most, the new ship designs, recrafted sets, and polished visuals take a back seat to the characters and how they’re handled.

I’m a huge fan of the cast, solid choices almost all around. It is amusing to see Thor at the beginning. Zachary Quinto as Spock does an excellent job, and it’s easy to hang on to his words looking for the small bits of emotion that might escape. His relationship with the incredible Zoe Saldana as Uhura enriches them both. She compliments him and stands on her own. The character is strong, assertive, compassionate when needed, and works well under pressure. Not to mention the wonderful Karl Urban’s take on Dr. McCoy, who has some of the best lines in the film and possesses a wonderfully unorthodox demeanor and unruly presence. These are the main performances, but they are assisted by John Cho’s portrayal of Hikaru Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and Anton Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekov. I also feel like we overlook this universe’s version of Christopher Pike because Bruce Greenwood has a wonderful space dad presence and feels different than Anson Mount’s incarnation but still regal and heroic.  

“Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.” Leonard “Bones” McCoy

We always need a solid villain, though, and Trek has had some great ones, but that is never guaranteed. Captain Nero is one of my absolute favorites, certainly my #1 Romulan. In a way, he’s more Spock’s villain, a darker reflection that plays off the Vulcan vs Romulan connection, and although there should be no one to blame for what happened to his planet, he needs someone to hate. Sure, Nero could have tried to go warn his homeworld or spent that time in this alternate reality building a new life, something constructive, but he was looking for a furious retribution to help make that pain mean something. 

I think Eric Bana brought some heat to the role and he looked fantastic with the pirate vibe and a converted mining ship that resembled a savage beast on the outside and a demented clock inside. He’s quiet until the violence erupts, a working-class villain who calls Starfleet captains by their first names condescendingly while he plays with his prey, and the crew wants to ensure he’s dealt with so much that once he refuses help, they make sure there’s no way he could slip through time again, firing everything, risking their safety just to make sure Nero’s dead.

Sometimes it’s good to appreciate raw hatred and the lengths someone can go to out of pettiness. The melodrama is thick in space. We see from that first glorious scene a tragic battle, where this is a darker timeline, and people are going to die and be forced to make sacrifices. The music is also a huge boost here, no, I don’t mean The Beastie Boys, but Michael Giacchino‘s score. The notes we hear are bombastic, creating a bold sound that is also meant to jar us at times, and it succeeds in pushing the tone and giving the heroic moments some extra weight. The original theme playing over the credits also helped. 

Captain Kirk isn’t nailed

Right, I’ve put off talking about Chris Pine ’s version of Kirk long enough. I enjoy the character, his new origin, being birthed and christened by such a devastating event, forged in phaser fire and photon torpedoes, tested from breath one. He’s an angry kid with a lot to prove, just like Pike challenges him on, and his bullshit is often called out or catches up to him, the little “cupcake.” Sure, making captain so quick doesn’t make sense, even if they explained how weak the fleet was then, but that’s not my issue. I think it’s Pine. I don’t dislike him, but even after he grew on me, I’m still wondering what’s missing in his performance because it isn’t as wooden as some of his others, and he’s just a dialed-up, younger, more petulant version of the character I know, but I also think he’s the only character that doesn’t sit right with me. In a movie where even the minor characters all have moments that show their personalities and give them quirks that feel right, Kirk is my least favorite part of Star Trek 2009’s ensemble cast.

The constant lens flares, the flashy lights on top of a duller stage, the cluttered battle scenes, those weird monsters on the ice planet, there are several decisions that I understand why fans question this movie. It goes for a unique look but almost makes the film harder to follow. When things are pumping this hard, it can be tough to get into the smaller details. I absolutely love the way the movie looks in some parts, especially on the planets. My favorite moment like this is when Kirk and Sulu fall after disabling the drill and are teleported out of mid-air, landing on the transporter pad and breaking it. Little details make this 2009 movie feel like a legitimate upgrade as a reboot without trying to step on the past.

I was prepared for this movie. A friend loaned me the prequel comic, a story I genuinely enjoyed, but thought that more of the scenes, or at least the information from it, should have made it into the film. Some of the story elements feel like they come out of nowhere without it. But for many new fans, this is the one that finally got them into Star Trek, made them want to go watch and read more about it, and see what else the franchise had to offer. I know I went and watched more TOS episodes after this, I wanted to prepare for the eventual sequels which, admittedly, didn’t work out so well, but before that, this movie had me excited for what was to come. I’ll always appreciate Star Trek 2009, no matter how different it may have been.

Playing video games and watching old cartoons in the basement of Raccoon City's Police Department, where misplaced commas and lack of pizza are the biggest problems.

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Chris Pine was surprised by new Star Trek 4 update

"As it's always been with Trek, I just wait and see."

Speaking in an interview with B usiness Insider , the Dungeons & Dragons star revealed that he was surprised by the news that The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey had joined the project as a new screenwriter (via Variety ).

"There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot," he said.

When asked if he would ever consider reprising his role as Captain James T. Kirk for the films, the actor added: "I honestly don't know. As it's always been with Trek, I just wait and see."

Related: Whoopi Goldberg reveals why she joined Star Trek The Next Generation

Pine first starred as Captain Kirk (originally played by William Shatner) in 2009's Star Trek , before reprising the role for 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond (2016).

A follow-up for Star Trek Beyond has reportedly been in the works since the film's release nearly eight years ago, but it has since faced numerous setbacks.

Director Matt Shakman departed the project in August 2022, causing Paramount to delay the film indefinitely and removing it from their release calendar . Screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer subsequently left the movie in September 2023 in order to direct Pet Sematary: Bloodlines .

Related: Chris Pine's new movie Poolman confirms UK release date

However, Beer insisted that a fourth S tar Trek was "still on the tracks" despite lengthy delays, with Variety's report in March confirming that Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot were still involved in the film.

Paramount is yet to confirm any further details about the film, however it's likely that Pine will be returning for the fourth instalment alongside fellow stars Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldaña (Uhura), Karl Urban (Bones), John Cho (Sulu) and Simon Pegg (Scotty).

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Reporter, Digital Spy Brenna Cooper is a freelance journalist, who currently specialises in entertainment reporting. She joined Digital Spy in 2022, writing TV and movies stories for the site. After graduating with an NCTJ accredited Journalism Masters from the University of Sheffield in 2020 she has since embarked on a freelance career. 

Brenna previously produced lifestyle content for Checklists.co.uk and has a specific interest in music, reviewing live acts and interviewing bands such as Confidence Man and Amyl and the Sniffers.

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'I Thought There Was Already a Script': Chris Pine Comments on Star Trek 4

Pine says he is unaware of changes to the Star Trek 4 writing team, though the actor admits he is not surprised.

Star Trek 4 has undergone many development changes since the Kelvin Timeline project was first announced. While progress has been made in getting it off the ground, Chris Pine, who stars as Captain Kirk in the reboot films, was left confused when a new screenwriter signed on.

"I honestly don't know. There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script," Pine told Business Insider in a recent interview. "But I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it's always been with [ Star Trek ], I just wait and see," the actor added, referring to the many false starts the project has experienced over the years.

Original Star Trek 4 Writer Says She's No Longer Involved With The Project

Pine also talked about what it was like to play the iconic Captain James. T Kirk, while William Shatner, the actor who originated the character in the original Star Trek television series in 1966, is still so synonymous with the role. "It's interesting," he said before elaborating further. "Karl Urban decided to go head first into McCoy because Karl loved Star Trek. With Spock, you have to do Spock-like things, plus Zach [Quinto] kind of looked like Leonard [Nimoy] .

Paramount Is Committed To Star Trek 4

"Kirk is a tricky one," Pine continued. "You are the lead of the band of characters, so you don't want to occupy too much space. It's fine if they are doing a thing, but you don't want to. J.J. [Abrams] never asked me to do a thing - though I did do little nods to Shatner because it was fun . But I would say I felt most in his shoes in the third movie. By that point, I think I mellowed into it and didn't feel like I was trying too hard."

Zoe Saldaña Is Open to Returning for 'One Last' Star Trek Movie

Despite Pine being unaware of creative changes, Paramount remains committed to Star Trek 4 . Steve Yockey, who boasts an impressive body of work, signed on the pen the script in March. He previously developed and co-created the Max series The Flight Attendant, which earned several Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He is the writer and co-showrunner of the upcoming Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives and has worked on Doom Patrol, Supernatural , and the Scream television series.

The Kelvin Timeline began in 2009 with the Star Trek reboot, featuring a new cast playing iconic roles from the original series. The ensemble included Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldaña as Uhura, Karl Urban as McCoy, John Cho as Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov. Two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond were released in 2013 and 2016, respectively. Plans for a fourth film were first revealed in 2016.

Star Trek 4 does not have a release window at this time.

Source: Business Insider

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

“I thought there was already a script”: Chris Pine Was Confused by Latest Star Trek 4 Update After Matt Shakman Left Franchise for Fantastic Four

T he Star Trek franchise has been on the brink of uncertainty for quite some time now. Even lead actor Chris Pine has no clue whatsoever about the progress of the upcoming project. In fact, he even thought once that the franchise might be “ cursed .”

Upon hearing the news that a new writer is jumping onboard the Star Trek ship, Pine was shocked to know that there hasn’t been a finished script. Like everyone else, he would just “ wait and see .”

Chris Pine Remains Clueless About The Progress Of Star Trek 4

During a conversation with Business Insider , actor Chris Pine was asked if he would reprise his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise. He responded:

“ I honestly don’t know. There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it’s always been with ‘Trek,’ I just wait and see .”

Star Trek 4 Meets an Icy Grave, Removed From Paramount Release Schedule as Star Wars Fans Mark Victory After 55 Years of Intense Rivalry

The latest writer to join the team and work on the long-gestating project is Steve Yockey. He is known for his works on Supernatural and Doom Patrol , as well as Max’s The Flight Attendant and Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives .

In his interview with Esquire , Pine admitted being clueless about the project. “ In Star Trek land, the actors are usually the last people to find out anything ,” he said, before adding, “ I know costume designers that have read scripts before the actors .”

That’s quite a surprise since he’s playing a captain role and he does not have premium access to the script. Indeed, the actor finds this frustrating.

“ It doesn’t really foster the greatest sense of partnership, but it’s how it’s always been. I love the character. I love the people. I love the franchise. But to try to change the system in which things are created—I just can’t do it. I don’t have the energy .”

Star Trek 4: Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and the Returning Cast For Paramount’s Upcoming Banger

Pine is content to wait for the go-signal. Because of this system within the Star Trek universe, the actor could not help but think that the franchise “ feels like it’s cursed .”

Matt Shakman Reveals Why He Chose Fantastic Four Over Star Trek 4

To the surprise of fans, Matt Shakman dropped Star Trek 4 to work on Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four . When asked why he chose to rejoin the MCU, he told The Wrap :

“ Movies have different journeys and momentums and schedules are a little bit mercurial, and so when the ‘Fantastic Four’ opportunity came up, it was just too hard to pass up, and to go back home to Marvel, a place that I worked on ‘WandaVision’ at, with those people who are wonderful collaborators .”

“I certainly hope so”: Zoe Saldaña is Still Optimistic for a Star Trek 4 Reunion With Chris Pine After Clearing the Air About Her Marvel Return

He might have made the right choice because after the director left, Star Trek 4 remains hanging by a thread. With everything that’s happening within the project, it is understandable why he chose to move on to another more promising assignment.

Star Trek films are available to watch on Netflix and Paramount+.

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Chris Pine Left a Little Confused Over Star Trek 4 Development: 'I Guess I Was Wrong'

Chris Pine has been discussing the long-awaited arrival of Star Trek 4...

• Chris Pine is surprised by new writer for Star Trek 4 , advises to "wait and see" on future of the movie.
• Kelvin Timeline, introduced by J.J. Abrams, has unclear future with different scripts in development.
• Positive news from Roddenberry Entertainment COO suggests a new Star Trek movie is in the works.

Star Trek star Chris Pine has commented on the long-gestating development of a fourth movie in the Kelvin Timeline, revealing that he was surprised to learn a new writer has come aboard as he “thought there was already a script.” That new writer is Dead Boy Detectives and The Flight Attendant’s Steve Yockey, whose involvement was announced back in March. For Pine, he advises that we all just “wait and see.”

“I honestly don't know. There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it's always been with "Trek," I just wait and see.”

Star Trek was rebooted for the big screen by director J.J. Abrams back in 2009, with the new “Kelvin timeline” introducing younger versions of the iconic characters James T. Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew at the beginning of their Star Fleet careers. Two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016), have since been released, with a fourth movie having been in development ever since. Different scripts with very different storylines have been written, but at present, it is unknown what direction Star Trek 4 will take...or if it will ever actually happen.

Zoe Saldaña Is Eager to Return for Star Trek 4: 'I Still Have Hope'

Thankfully, there has been some positivity from Roddenberry Entertainment COO Trevor Roth regarding Star Trek 4 , who recently revealed that there is “a plan” and that there is now “every intent of a new movie coming out in the very near future.”

“I am not able to say much, but I can say that it is Paramount's intent to figure out the Star Trek side of movies and what's going on there. There's every intent of a new movie coming out in the very near future. There's a lot of secrecy around what's going to happen there. But there is a plan getting into place. And we're very excited to see it return to the big screen.”

Chris Pine 'Did Do Little Nods to Shatner' in the Reboot

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In his interview with Business Insider , Pine discussed stepping into William Shatner’s shoes to take over the role of James T. Kirk in the franchise, explaining how he felt much more comfortable in the role by the time Star Trek Beyond rolled around.

“It's interesting. Karl Urban decided to go head first into McCoy because Karl loved "Star Trek." With Spock, you have to do Spock-like things, plus Zach [Quinto] kind of looked like Leonard [Nimoy]. And then Kirk is a tricky one. You are the lead of the band of characters, so you don't want to occupy too much space. It's fine if they are doing a thing, but you don't want to. And J.J. [Abrams] never asked me to do a thing, though I did do little nods to Shatner because it was fun. But I would say I felt most in his shoes in the third movie. By that point, I think I mellowed into it and didn't feel like I was trying too hard.”

Chris Pine can next be seen in the comedy Poolman , which he directed, produced, co-wrote, and leads. Poolman is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 10, 2024.