A Tale of Two Spocks: New Trek Film Actor Announcements

Well it didn't take long for the news from ComiCon to hit the internets at warp speed.

I apologize for that cheesy, news-style pun and I will refrain from doing that again.

Director JJ Abrams confirmed the rumor at geek Mecca yesterday that the role of Spock in the upcoming Star Trek film will be played by two actors. Young Spock will be played by Zachary Quinto and older Spock will be played by Leonard Nimoy.

Nimoy, who hasn't glued on the rubber ears for a film since 1991's "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" was on hand for Paramount's panel at ComiCon to give his endorsement of the project:
"People have been asking me why I'm doing this movie, and I think the answer is obvious-we have a great director, a wonderful script, and a wonderful young actor playing Spock, so...it was logical,"I wasn't there, but it's not too difficult to imagine all the fanboys squealing like little girls at that last line. "OOOO!! He said "logical!" how kewl!"

An E! News article mentions Quinto's comments about the dual role with a somewhat surprising answer:
When asked how much of his take on the half-Vulcan Enterprise veteran will be inspired by Nimoy, Quinto, [who] was last seen opening skulls and getting skewered as the power-hungry Sylar on Heroes, said: "Well, as much as he'd like it to be, since he's working on the film, which is an honor."

But, "I certainly intend to bring my own spin to it, and working with these guys, I'm sure I'll find it," he added.Hold on a sec....Excuse me? Bring your own "spin" to it??
Exactly who are you again?

Shut your mouth and know your role, Quinto. This is "Mr. Spock" we're talking about here, not some never-before-seen character in a TV show. There is no "spinning" this character into something it's not. Save your creative license for some other film where the character doesn't have 41 years of already established, on-screen character history behind him and do the part the way Nimoy and the producers tell you to.

...Lest you encounter the wrath of the Trekkies, and Hell hath no fury like a Trekkie scorned.

Speaking of Treks army of fanatical followers, one commenter hit the nail on the head about the way this particular franchise has been run and controlled:
"I think the Trekkie is the biggest weight around the neck of the franchise it could have. Not just because of the fact that they turn people off to Trek by their overwhelming nerdiness (and they do!), but because every one of them is an armchair film maker who is constantly ticked off that the light in the background should have been blue, not red ('what, are these film makers idiots!?'). They seem to be one of the most fractured and sniping group of fans out there.

...Plus, the studio had banked on Trekkies eating up whatever crap they were given for so long that quality storytelling was thrown out the window. And when the crap finally stunk so bad people stopped watching, the studio said nobody wanted Trek anymore and dropped it.

But it's not that people don't want Trek, it's that they're sick of crap."Whether Paramount agrees with those comments or not, the "Star Trek" franchise is controlled by its fans. Those people will vote with their wallets to decide the fate of a film that is part of a legacy as big as this one. Zachary Quinto should consider that before he decides to reinvent a character as prominent as Mr. Spock.

Story details about the new film are still under close security, but the basic premise is that the it will be based around the time that young Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are in the academy. Which also means that it's safe to suggest that there will be some fantastically detailed CGI shots of the old-school USS Enterprise gloriously floating on the big screen, much to everyone's delight.

Abrams said at ComiCon that the role of Kirk has not yet been cast and that they are trying to find a way to get William Shatner involved in the project. Something tells me that this shouldn't be too difficult, since Shatner's pretty good at wanting to re-live the glory days of his youth on screen as much as possible. However, rumors are still flying around the net that the role of young Kirk will be Matt Damon - despite the fact that Damon has already stated he's too old for the part - and possibly Gary Sinise as Bones (but all of this seems more like fanboy wishful thinking than any credible news)

Principal photography for the latest Star Trek film is scheduled to start in November and is tentatively scheduled for a December 08 release.