Peter Weller to Star in J.J. Abrams’ Next ‘Star Trek’

Peter Weller, the veteran actor who played the title role in the 1987 "Robocop," has joined J.J. Abrams' next "Star Trek" movie, TheWrap has confirmed.

Details about Weller's character aren't being revealed quite yet, but Weller has "Star Trek" experience, having played John Frederick Paxton on two episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005.

The Paxton character is the murderous leader of radical group Terra Prime, which advocates expelling all non-humans from earth and the entire solar system.

The 3D movie is a sequel to Abrams' 2009 successful "Star Trek" reboot, which starred Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura and Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Those actors all are returning, joined by Alice Eve in a new role.

Also read: J.J. Abrams Beams Up Alice Eve for 'Star Trek' Sequel

Widely published reports say that Abrams wants Benicio Del Toro to play the movie's villain.

Abrams is writing, directing and producing. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof also wrote. Kurtzman, Orci, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, and David Ellison are producing.

Also read: Paramount Moves 'Star Trek' 3D Sequel Back 11 Months to 2013

The movie is scheduled to be released May 17, 2013.

The 2009 "Star Trek" grossed $257.7 million domestically and $127.9 million internationally. It had a budget estimated at $150 million.

In addition to "Robocop," Weller played the title role in the 1984 "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension." 

Source: www.thewrap.com