I was over at Joe Carnahan’s blog reading his thoughts on the strike (he’s prepping for a summer 08 shoot, thinking that only the writers will strike) when I saw that he announced Chris Pine dropping out of Killing PabloWhite Jazz in order to ‘go where no man has gone before,’ according to Joe. That means that Pine is definitely going to be playing Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek movie.
I don’t know who Pine really is – I’ve only seen him in Smokin’ Aces – but I respect Carnahan’s respect for him. The guy is promising to cast him in Killing Pablo. Still, Pine is the capper on a less than scintillating cast for JJ Abram’s take on Star Trek. I’m in the middle of a Devin’s Advocate explaining why I suspect this film will be a disaster, so I’ll save the details, but suffice it to say that I think the Enterprise needs to be led by a face that audiences will know.
Expect an announcement in the trades soon. And keep in mind that Joe Carnahan updates his blog like a madman, and it’s always worth reading.