Simon Pegg Reflects on Future ‘Star Trek’ Projects Amid Co-Star’s Tragic Loss
Simon Pegg, the ‘Star Trek’ actor, has expressed his desire to be part of a fourth installment in the franchise. However, he acknowledged that the series would forever carry traces of sadness due to the premature loss of Anton Yelchin. Pegg, now 54, starred alongside Yelchin in J.J. Abrams’ famed sci-fi trilogy. Yelchin’s sudden death at the age of 27 in June 2016 cast a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the series, told The Mirror.
Despite this, Pegg remains keen on reprising his role, though he knows any future projects will be marred by the memory of Yelchin’s unfortunate passing. During his appearance on ‘The Sackoff Show’, Katee Sackhoff’s podcast, he said, “I’d love to do more. Obviously, it’s been forever tainted because we lost Anton, and that was a really hard thing for everyone involved, and for the real world, let alone anything else.”
He added, “If we do come back, if there is another opportunity to come back, then I’d love to. Because, as we were saying earlier on, it’s a group of guys that I dearly, dearly love and don’t get to see very often. It would be good to get back together with them.”
In addition to Pegg, other ‘Star Trek’ cast members, including Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana, have shown interest in revisiting the franchise. Pine, 43, mentioned that he’d be “curious” to know how the story would progress in a possible next film. Chatting with PopVerse, he shared, “We all like one another a lot. I’m good friends with everybody I’ve worked with. We have a great time doing it. I’m a lot older now, so I would be curious where that next story lands us in terms of what it would be and what we’ve said in the press.”
Saldana, who portrayed Nyota Uhura, also expressed her eagerness to return. Speaking to ComicBook.com, the 46-year-old star revealed, “I just heard they’re gearing up to do a new one with a younger, sort of, take on it… I don’t know if it’s from the before or the after, but they really still hope to grab all of us veterans and bring us back for one last round.”
“Listen, I know it’s a lot to wrangle a whole bunch of people with busy schedules. But working with J.J. Abrams, and for J.J. Abrams at Bad Robot, was always just a wonderful and beautiful experience for me. So, if I get to do that one last time, I would be so grateful,” Saldana added. The possibility of a new ‘Star Trek’ film continues to intrigue fans and cast members alike, with the legacy of Anton Yelchin ever-present in their minds.