‘Star Trek’ Will Not Recast Anton Yelchin’s Role, Says Producer J.J. Abrams
This weekend marks the debut ofStar Trek Beyond, and by all accounts it’s quite good. So good, in fact, that Paramount is already moving full speed aheadon a sequel. But there’s a bittersweetness underlying all the warm buzz and giddy celebration —Star Trek Beyondis one of the last-ever completed roles of actor Anton Yelchin, who recentlypassed awayat the age of 27. So how will the franchise deal with Yelchin’s character Chekov going forward?
ProducerJ.J. Abramssaid the filmmakers are still weighing their options, pointing out it’s still “too early” to announce a decision. But the one thing they definitely won’t do, he revealed, is recast the role of Ensign Pavel Chekov with a new actor.
Postmedia Networkbroached the subject in an interview with Abrams, and got a frank response. “I would say there’s no replacing him,” he said. “There’s no recasting. I can’t possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better.” Abrams admitted they’ve considered the possibility of killing off the character. “I have thought about it, we’re working on it, and it’s too early to talk about it,” he said.Star Trek Beyondhad already been hit by tragedy in pre-production, whenLeonard Nimoypassed away. “We knew going into this movie it would be a bit of a heartbreak just because of Leonard,” said Abrams. “We had no idea just how devastating events would become.” Yelchin, who has been part of the franchise since 2009’sStar Trek, died in a freak car accident last month. Reports from early screenings ofStar Trek Beyondindicate that both are memorialized in the closing credits.
Yelchin had already completed shooting on a few other films when he died. In addition toStar Trek Beyond, we’ll also see him inRememory,We Don’t Belong Here,Porto, andThoroughbredin the coming months.
