Producer J.J. Abrams has made the decision to not re-cast Anton Yelchin’s character, Pavel Chekov, in future Star Trek movies.
Abrams told the Toronto Sun: “I would say there’s no replacing him. I can’t possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better.” Yelchin portrayed Pavel Chekov for three reboot projects of the Star Trek series.
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On June 19, 27-year-old actor Anton Yelchin died in a tragic accident at his California home. He was killed after getting out of his car, and while he likely believed it was in park, the vehicle rolled backwards down a hill and pinned him against a mailbox pillar.
Abrams also told the Toronto Sun that he could not disclose at this time whether the upcoming Star Trek movie would include the death of Chekov’s character. “I have thought about it, we’re working on it, and it’s too early to talk about it,” Abrams stated.
On Monday, Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Bad Robot announced that they were going to move forward with the fourth film in the series, starring Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth, according to Variety. Hemsworth, who appeared in 2009’s Star Trek, will return to the series in the role of George Kirk. Other stars of the upcoming movie include Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg.
The screenplay will be penned by Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne and J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber will produce through Bad Robot Productions. Also, Dana Goldberg and David Ellison of Skydance will executive produce.
There was no information as of yet regarding who would direct the film.
Do you think J.J. Abrams made the right decision not to re-cast Anton Yelchin’s role in the Star Trek series.
