Posted in: Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: anton yelchin, chris pine, J.J. Abrams, john cho, Karl Urban, Kelvin Universe, simon pegg, star trek, Star Trek 4, Uhura, zachary quinto, zoe saldana

Star Trek 4: Zoe Saldaña on Cast Reuniting & Anton Yelchin's Legacy

With all the attention going to Star Trek on the television front on Paramount+, it's easy to overlook the legacy of the Kelvin Universe films from J.J. Abrams that help spark the renewed interest in the franchise. The reboot's cast provided a new take on The Original Series characters. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of her latest project with the Netflix film The Adam Project, Zoe Saldaña, who plays communications officer Nyota Uhura, opened up about Paramount's announcement of the upcoming fourth film and what it means to do the new film following the passing of her co-star Anton Yelchin in 2016, who played Pavel Chekov.

"We're excited, obviously," Saldaña said. "It's bittersweet because we're coming together for the fourth time, and one of us is no longer with us. But with Anton's passing, we honestly feel that going back and keeping the Star Trek family together is a way to 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 to Star Trek. It would be great to go back and work. Be together with the gang."

Saldaña, along with the rest of the cast in Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Karl Urban (McCoy), Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu), and Yelchin, played the younger versions of roles initially played by Nichelle Nichols, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, and Walter Koenig in the 2009 reboot. Nimoy reprised his role as Spock Prime to differentiate from Quinto's version, which helped bridge the casts and returned in 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness. The third film in 2016's Star Trek: Beyond also killed the character off to coincide with Nimoy's passing in 2015 and added a posthumous dedication to Yelchin, who passed before the film's release.

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