Your guide to who’s who in the Star Trek Beyond cast
Star Trek Beyond is the third film in the newest iteration of the beloved sci-fi franchise. The first two, Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, were directed by J.J. Abrams. This time around, the film will be helmed by Fast & Furious director Justin Lin. The crew of the USS Enterprise are three years into a five-year mission and starting to feel the monotony of it all. Then they’re attacked by a swarm of alien ships, splitting the crew up and forcing them to fight for their lives. Fun fact: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise and to celebrate, there are 50 new alien species in Star Trek Beyond. Let’s take a look at the Star Trek Beyond cast!
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Chris Pine as James Tiberius Kirk
Chris Pine will play James Tiberius Kirk for the third time in Star Trek Beyond. Outside of Starfleet, Pine has had roles in films like The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Smokin’ Aces, Horrible Bosses 2 and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. He appeared as Eric in five episodes of the Netflix miniseries Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. He showed the world his vocal chops when he played Cinderella’s Prince in the musical film Into the Woods. He also headed up the cast of the disaster film The Finest Hours. We’ll next see Pine as Diana Prince’s love interest in the upcoming solo Wonder Woman film set during WWI.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock
Zachary Quinto will again play the role of Spock, first performed by the late Leonard Nimoy, though fans first got to know him from his work as Sylar on the NBC TV series Heroes. He was nominated for an Emmy for his role in American Horror Story: Asylum and has appeared on The Slap and 24’s third season. Fun fact: Nimoy was given casting approval for the role of Spock, which Quinto has stated, was “liberating.” Quinto frequently performs on the stage with roles in plays like Endgame, Much Ado About Nothing and Angels in America.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
Zoe Saldana is reprising the role of Uhura, made famous by Nichelle Nichols. Fans of geek films have seen Saldana all over the place. She starred in James Cameron’s Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time, and played the role of Gamora in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. She appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, playing Anamaria, and the TV miniseries Rosemary’s Baby. She recently stared in the biopic Nina about the life of singer Nina Simone and will be returning in Guardians 2 and Avatar 2. She also voiced her Star Trek role in the video game of the same name.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Simon Pegg as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott
Simon Pegg is returning as Scotty as well as penning the script for Star Trek Beyond. He first broke onto the scene in the British TV series Spaced with frequent collaborators Edgar Wright and Nick Frost. He also worked with them on the “Cornetto” trilogy of films, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. Pegg, who also frequently collaborates with director J.J. Abrams, played the alien Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He’s also appeared as Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible series and does a number of voiceovers, including multiple voices in Cartoon Network‘s Robot Chicken and Phineas and Ferb as well as Dengar in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Scotty in the Star Trek video game.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Karl Urban as Lieutenant Commander Leonard McCoy
Karl Urban is returning as Leonard “Bones” McCoy, who will spend a good portion of this film trying to survive with fellow crew member Spock. Urban is known for playing Éomer in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Vaako in The Chronicles of Roddick, Black Hat in Priest and Judge Dredd in Dredd. Hardcore fans will remember him for playing Julius Caesar and Cupid in Xena: Warrior Princess. He appeared in the short-lived TV series Almost Human and appeared in the documentary film Reclaiming the Blade, discussing his sword work in Lord of the Rings. Urban was recently last as Skurge in Marvel‘s Thor: Ragnarok. He’ll be seen next in the Disney film Pete’s Dragon.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: John Cho as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
John Cho is reprising the role of Sulu in this film, and we know from the recent trailer that he has a young daughter that he’s been away from on this mission. Cho broke onto the scene with his work as Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar films. He’s appeared in films like the Total Recall remake and Grandma. He also played an FBI agent in the TV series FlashForward, Off Center and has a recurring role on Sleepy Hollow. He played the leading role in the short-lived sitcom Selfie where he co-stared with Doctor Who’s Karen Gillan, making him the first Asian-America to play a romantic lead on American TV. He’s also the lead singer for the band Viva La Union. He was recently the subject of a meme replacing romantic leads with his face to highlight the lack of Asian lead characters.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Anton Yelchin as Lieutenant Pavel Chekov
Anton Yelchin is reprising the role of Chekov in the new film, having appeared in the first two in 2009 and 2013, respectively. Yelchin is known for his work as a young Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation, Only Lovers Left Alive and Fright Night, but he started back in his childhood. He played the son of Hank Azaria’s character in the TV series Huff as well as episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Criminal Minds. He also voiced Clumsy Smurf in the film adaptations of the cartoon.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Idris Elba as Krall
Idris Elba will play the villain Krall in the film, but is best known for his work on the HBO series The Wire and as Detective John Luthor in the BBC One series Luther. He played the title role in the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and has appeared in American Gangster, Beasts of No Nation, Prometheus, Pacific Rim and played Heimdall in Thor, Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron. He also voiced Chief Bogo in Disney’s Zootopia, Shere Khan in The Jungle Book and Fluke in the upcoming Finding Dory. He’s been confirmed to play Roland Deschain in the upcoming Dark Tower movie as well.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Sofia Boutella as Jaylah
Sofia Boutella is unrecognizable in the makeup she wears to play the alien Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond. She’s a well known hip-hop dancer and has been seen in StreetDance 2 and Kingsman: The Secret Service, as well as a Nike ad campaign, and toured with Madonna and Rihanna. She’s the lead in the Michael Jackson video for “Hollywood Tonight.” After this film, she’ll be seen in Universal Pictures‘ reboot of The Mummy.
Star Trek Beyond Cast: Shohreh Aghdashloo as Federation High Commander
Shohreh Aghdashloo wil bring her distinctive voice to the Federation. Aghdashloo was a leading actress in Iran, moving to England during the Iranian revolution. Her breakout Western role was a part in House of Sand and Fog in 2003, which won her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in the HBO miniseries House of Saddam, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie as well as a season of the series 24. Her first American leading role was in the critically-acclaimed The Stoning of Soraya M. Aghdashloo voiced Admiral Shala’Raan vas Tonbay in the games Mass Effect 2 and 3.
Who are you look forward to seeing most in the new film? Let us know in the comments. Star Trek Beyond will hit theaters on July 22, 2016.
(Photo Credit: Brian To / WENN.com)
