Star Trek: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Kelvin Timeline Movies

Although he turned the Star Wars fanbase into a house divided against itself, J.J. Abrams did give the Star Trek movie franchise a shot in the arm with his 2009 reboot. Abrams returned to helm its 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, then when he jumped ship to create the aforementioned divide among Star Wars fans, Justin Lin took over to complete the trilogy with 2016’s Star Trek Beyond.

This narrative timeline has been dubbed “the Kelvin Timeline,” as a tribute to Abrams’ maternal grandfather. Here are 10 fascinating details from the making of Star Trek’s Kelvin Timeline movies.

10 Chris Pratt Screen-Tested For The Role Of Kirk

When the initial Star Trek reboot was first seeking out its main cast, Chris Pratt did a screen test for the role of Kirk. Joshua Jackson, Chris Prangley, and Mike Vogel all did screen tests too before Chris Pine landed the part.

Adrien Brody was also approached for the part of Spock before it went to Zachary Quinto, and Russell Crowe was the second choice for the villainous Nero if Eric Bana had declined.

9 Star Trek Into Darkness Was Originally Called Star Trek: Vengeance

The original title for Star Trek Into Darkness was Star Trek: Vengeance, in reference to the final battle, which pits the Enterprise against the Vengeance, the first Starfleet ship designed specifically for combat. J.J. Abrams changed the title when the Ghost Rider sequel, which was hitting theaters a year earlier, was titled Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

The Russian release of the Star Trek sequel kept the Vengeance title. Funnily enough, the initial title of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, from which Into Darkness borrows heavily, was Star Trek II: Vengeance of Khan.

8 Edgar Wright And Brad Bird Were Considered To Direct Star Trek Beyond

Although J.J. Abrams was initially slated to direct the movie that became Star Trek Beyond, he ended up leaving the project when the opportunity to helm Star Wars: The Force Awakens came along. Justin Lin, best known for directing most of the Fast & Furious movies, was eventually brought on as Abrams' replacement.

But before Lin was hired, the directors considered for the job included Brad Bird, Joe Cornish, Jon M. Chu, Daniel Espinosa, Duncan Jones, Morten Tyldum, Edgar Wright, and Rupert Wyatt.

7 Ricky Gervais Was Offered The Role Of Scotty

Before Simon Pegg was cast in the role of Scotty, Ricky Gervais was offered the part. However, he turned it down, due to his unfamiliarity with the Star Trek franchise. Pegg, a well-known sci-fi fanboy, was more than happy to accept the role in his place.

He wasn’t expected to audition; he was offered the role outright in an email from J.J. Abrams. Pegg has since said that he would’ve played the part for free, or even paid Abrams for the opportunity.

6 The Khan Twist Was So Secretive That Even Benedict Cumberbatch Didn’t Know It At First

The big twist in Star Trek Into Darkness reveals Benedict Cumberbatch’s character, John Harrison, to be Khan. The twist is problematic for a number of reasons, like the fact it has no weight in the movie itself, and relies on fans’ knowledge of Trek lore to have any impact.

Cumberbatch himself didn’t know about the twist until a week after he’d been locked in to play the part (having recorded his screen test on an iPhone in his friend’s kitchen). A representative from the studio flew out to meet him with the script handcuffed to their wrist, which seems a little excessive to protect a twist that every Trekkie saw coming and every non-Trekkie didn’t understand.

5 Jaylah Is Named After J-Law

After playing Scotty in the first two rebooted Star Trek movies, Simon Pegg was given the chance to co-write the third one with Doug Jung. One of the characters they introduced was Jaylah, a scavenger. The two writers didn’t have a name for the character, but she was partially based on Jennifer Lawrence’s character in Winter’s Bone.

Using the phrase “Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone” over and over again became exhausting, so they shortened it to “J-Law,” and that’s where “Jaylah” came from.

4 George Takei Himself Encouraged John Cho To Play Sulu

When he was offered the role of Japanese-American character Hikaru Sulu, Korean-American actor John Cho was unsure about accepting it, feeling that he couldn’t properly represent Sulu.

However, George Takei himself — who portrayed Sulu on Star Trek: The Original Series — encouraged Cho to take the part. Takei has always seen Sulu as Star Trek’s representative of Asia as a whole, so he didn’t want Cho to worry about his specific heritage.

3 The Klingons In Into Darkness Were Designed For The First Movie

Star Trek Into Darknessintroduced Klingons into the Kelvin Timeline. The designs for the rebooted Klingons had actually been done for the first movie, but all the scenes involving Klingons were cut.

In true sequel fashion — going back to the likes of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — the makers of Star Trek Into Darkness started by digging into unused concepts from the first one that they could use as a springboard for the follow-up. As such, Klingons were included, as the designs were already done.

2 Idris Elba Gave Chris Pine A Real Black Eye During A Fight Scene

According to Idris Elba, the black eye that Kirk has during his final fight sequence with Krall was not achieved using makeup. During filming, Elba got a little rough with Chris Pine, and actually made contact with his face, giving him the shiner that appears in the final film.

1 The Writers’ Strike Nixed A Nichelle Nichols Cameo

When the 2009 Star Trek reboot was in development, Nichelle Nichols suggested making a cameo appearance as Uhura’s grandmother (having played Uhura herself in Star Trek: The Original Series).

However, the writers’ strike had started, which prevented J.J. Abrams from writing a scene in which Nichols could appear. It’s a shame, because a Nichelle Nichols cameo would’ve been a wonderful moment of fan service.

Source: screenrant.com