During an interview with the Associated Press at CinemaCon 2016, Star Trek Beyond co-writer and star Simon Pegg has revealed that the upcoming film will pay tribute to Leonard Nimoy, who sadly passed away in February 2015.
“How could there not be?” replied Pegg when asked if the movie will include a tribute to the Trek legend. “Leonard was, for many people, the face of Star Trek, Spock is such a recognisable, beloved character that we wanted to, in some degree, pay tribute to him and we have done. It felt like a no-brainer really.”
Director Justin Lin also echoed the sentiment, telling Film Journal International that: “It’s something you’ll see in the film. It obviously affected everybody, because he’s been a big part of our lives. There’s an attempt to acknowledge that in some way.”
Nimoy reprised the role of Spock – or rather Spock Prime – for both 2009’s Star Trek and its 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, and it seems very fitting that Beyond will pay tribute to him in the 50th anniversary of the franchise.
Star Trek Beyond is set for release on July 22nd 2016 and features returning cast members Chris Pine as James Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Zoë Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Anton Yelchin as Chekov alongside new additions Idris Elba (Luther), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Joe Taslim (The Raid), Lydia Wilson (About Time) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog).