The official announcement of JJ Abrams as the director of the Star Trek prequel would bring a flurry of more news, I predicted over the weekend. If IGN’s scoopers are correct, my prediction could be about to come true – the site claims to have the names of the five front runners for roles in the film.
IGN’s source confirms the much-rumored Matt Damon as James T Kirk (I guess he’s not a Captain yet), saying that Damon is in advanced talks with the studio to take the role. And who would fill out the rest of the Big Three? If the scooper is to be believed, Adrien Brody is in talks to play the half-Vulcan Mr. Spock while Gary Sinise could end up as Dr. McCoy.
Sinise would be inspired casting as the crotchety doctor, down to the fact that he’s a little bit older than the rest of the rumored actors. Brody I’m not so sure about – I just don’t see that Queens accent being submerged enough to be a credible Vulcan. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I hope the Brody rumor is bullshit.
IGN repeats James McAvoy as a possible Scotty – he hasn’t been denying it while doing the rounds for his newest film, Starter for 10, so who knows… he could really be in talks or he could just be holding out hope that he’ll be asked. Finally, the site mentions Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim as a potential Sulu. That is the rumored casting that I buy the most, since Abrams is one of the creators of Lost and has been known to cast from within his little group.
None of these rumors tell us what role Greg Grunberg would play. Here’s hoping he gets the plum role of Uhura.