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Simon Pegg Is Mr. Scott – Great News… Or Is It?
Good… Freaking… Goodness. Seems like the amazing Star Trek cast announcement from yesterday (Eric Bana being cast as the main bad guy “Nero”) is continuing on the momentum by a HUGE announcement coming out of the Hollywood Reporter today.
First of all, Harold and Kumar’s John Cho has been cast as Mr. Sulu. Not bad… not bad. I’ve never been thrilled with anything Cho has done, but at the same time I’ve never been put off by any of his performances either… so I’m neither here nor there on that one. But the BIG news is this:
Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star Simon Pegg has been cast as Mr. Scott. You’ve got to be kidding me!!! That’s extremely cool news. I love Simon Pegg and seeing him move to the full blown main stream is neat to see. However… and I’m going to take a lot of flack for this… but I have to ask:
IS THIS A GOOD THING? I’m not 100% sure it is.
I know that every other fanboy site out there is panting like a dog at this news and think it’s the best news ever, but think about it for a second. I love Pegg, but is he really the right guy for this role? Remember, I’m not asking if Pegg is great. I’m not asking if Pegg is talented. I’m not asking if you love Pegg. I’m asking if he’s the right fit… is Simon Pegg really the right guy to play the role of Scotty? I’m not really convinced he is.
Is Scoty going to be a comic relief character in the movie? Remember, in the original show, he did have some funny bits, but aside from Spock, he was also the most no-nonsense and serious character (until the later movies that is when he got really fat and jolly). The only time I’ve seen Pegg try to look hard and serious is in Hot Fuzz… and that didn’t work… even came off as comical (even in the parts that weren’t supposed to be comical).
Please understand, I’m not saying this is a bad move… not at all. I’m just wondering if this is the right fit… and what casting Pegg in the role says about the nature of the movie itself. Maybe something… maybe nothing.
Either way, good fit or not, it’ll be fun to see Pegg up there.
Hmm… really not sure what 2 make of this
I am very optimistic about this movie and this might be an ok move. I’m just hoping that they give him a dark wig or something instead of red hair. Scotty’s hair was almost like Spock’s, dark, dark ,dark. We’ll see. I’m staying optimistic for now. I’ll let you know my feeling’s after seeing the first trailer.
First reaction was WTF?!!?? After digesting Pegg’s casting as Scotty for a bit I think its brilliant! Pegg is talented and can pull this role off easily. Just because he’s best known for comedies doesn’t mean he can’t participate in other kinds of movies.
Really looking forward to this.
Now let’s hear about who’s playing Kirk and McCoy!
I like Pegg and I’m sure he will do very well BUT he is not Scottish.
What was casting thinking – Well his English that’s close enough? I’m English from London town, and a Scottish accent is hard.
I hope he can pull it off as well as Mel Gibson did in Braveheart, voice coach, just a suggestion.
I’m getting a bad feeling about this movie. It seems like they want to make this be some sort of a comedy by some of the actors they have chosen already. It all seems very weird to me and i’m not going to get too excited for this just yet.
@Nick
I agree with you.
IMHO, after the not-so-brilliant ‘Enterprise’ what the world needs is another pre-TOS production, regardless of the fresh blood in the franchise.
How did casting Eric Bana make a movie into a comedy? I never thought of Bana as a Trek actor, but meh. So far the casting sounds a bit messy imho.
Clearly i was joking about this being a comedy. It is very weird though that they would cast Pegg and Cho in this. Especially Cho since the only things he has ever done are comedies that, in my opinion, aren’t even that good. At least if he had good performances in those movies i would let this go but i don’t even think he is that good of an actor.
I understand your caution John, and i share it. However, i do think that Pegg can turn in a very solid, SERIOUS performance.
It got me thinking. I think it was Joss Whedon who said something along the lines of ‘I cast comic actors in all of my serious roles. Not because i want the whole movie to be comedic & funny, but when it calls for it, they will be able to oblige.’
Many people dont give enough credit to “comedic” actors. In many, many interviews and whatnot i have heard actors speak of how acting in a comedy or acting ‘funny’ is one of the hardest things for an actor/actress to do.
So, while i still HATE this whole Trek “relaunch” or whatever they are calling it… at least they seem to be getting a good set of talented actors for a cast. I just wonder why they couldnt have scored some of this talent in the previous 40 F*!$in years of Trek. Then maybe a relaunch wouldnt be needed!
Hey Jim Walker,
You said:
“I just wonder why they couldnt have scored some of this talent in the previous 40 F*!$in years of Trek.”
Acting talent hasn’t been the problem with Star Trek the last 10 years or so. Actors don’t make up the bad stories, or write the bad dialog or come up with the bad and over used plot devices. That’s the writers.
That’s why I always say writers of a movie are far more important than the actors in them (but you still need good actors for sure or else good writing goes to waste)
I actually agree with you John. But I think this whole Star Trek reboot endeavor is ludicrous! People like the universe and don’t want ‘prequels-constrained-by-continuity” – same thing (amongst other factors) killed the prequel SW trilogy.
The fact that J.J Abrams is directing this makes me even less interested. I know his has fans from his TV work, but for me he will forever be the guy who made a huge budget Mission Impossible so flat that it looked like it was made on a TV pittance budget on a rushed schedule. Sad Really. And he wasted Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a villain role (didn’t help that Hoffman’s one good scene was basically the teaser trailer for the film).
I Should clarify – I actually agree with John in that Pegg should be doing other better things than wasting his time re-inventing a character so Iconic already that it is hardly worth the bother to do imitation or re-definition..
I’m worried. This needs to be careful not to become a comedy. I’m currently watching the original series for the first time and although the sets and special effects are somewhat laughable, and most of the stories involve an evil mirror image of something/someone, the characters themselves always believe it to be serious. The odd one-liner will be fine but can that really happen with Pegg? I hope Scotty is a peripheral character in this movie. It needs to be about Kirk and Spock.
Oh and I’m prepared to say that Eric Bana may be the best casting decision this year. Totally out of the blue, but I can already see it!
“not a trek actor” wtf….hey man im not a fanboi so i can give a crap less….if u can act u can act…..remember when people thought jim carrey could only do comedy…..wtf is a trek actor supposed to do….shitty acting and cheesy dialogue…..like to be honest this movie sounds like the cast would be better doing a movie other then the over used star trek series….oh so well im not a fanboi screw me lol ….but eric bana is a phenomenol actor…and well simon pegg is funny but in a british humor kind of way wich could be better i guess.
I’ve long suspected that this prequel Trek will not be bound by all of the previous films or the interpretations of those characters the way the Star Wars prequels proved to be.
My guess is Abrams will have Bana and the Romulans change the timeline in the past, perhaps altering the fate of the Romulan War — which according to Trek chronology took place before the original Shatner and Nimoy series. This would in effect creating a pocket universe where this new series of films can take place, making it a paradox much like the evil 1985 created by Biff’s sports almanac in Back To The Future 2. That would allow J.J. to keep the characters and core that worked so well in the original Trek (and has never been as good since, sorry TNG fans) but will be free of the audience’s perception that the characters can’t die because it’s a prequel — one of the issues that made so much of the Star Wars prequels feel lifeless.
Getting back to Simon Pegg…perhaps he ISN’T playing the Montgomery Scott played by James Doohan. Maybe something happens in this new timeline to change events and characters in ways that we wouldn’t expect. Since I agree with John that Pegg isn’t a classic fit for a more serious (and techncial) character, maybe that won’t be the Scotty we meet.
As for casting actors known for comedy in more serious roles, it worked with mixed but mostly positive results in Firefly/Serenity but was a big part of the reason why Emmerich and Devlin’s 1998 Godzilla failed.
I still hate the whole concept of this movie.
The cast so far looks really good (except Zachary Quinto), but I don’t care.
And the only thing this casting choice proofs:
This won’t be the same characters, they’ll just have the same names.
Pegg is in no way like James Doohan, his whole persona is totally different.
Eric Bana as the villain is good though, I’ll give them that.
I want to see Eric Bana as a Romulan. :)
I am very optomistic on this one. I mean Simon Pegg is an awesome actor and can easily pull off a role like this. But what are they going for? Being a prequel, I’d imagine they’re going for the skinny scotty, which Pegg can pull off, easily I think. But the bigger, jollyier Scotty? That I am scared for Pegg. I can Mr.Pegg having some big difficulty’s.
John, you’ve been saying for months, maybe years, Trek should be completely re-envisioned. “An alcoholic 2nd officer, the chief engineer is humping the ship’s doctor, etc” – are you starting to have second thoughts about that?
…and it’s “flak” not “flack”. Though either is technically correct, “flack” generally means having to do with a press agent or the state of being a press agent. Flak means harsh criticism or anti-aircraft fire.
Kurt above mentioned Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Abrams’ previous film, MI:III. While he wasn’t really comic relief…is it coincidence that Simon Pegg had a small supporting role in MI:III?
It also should be said that some comedic actors have turned in fine -even great- dramatic performances in the past. Yet it sometimes can be a big hoop to jump through with some audiences, because they identify that actor with a genre.
I also don’t have a problem with Pegg as Scotty. Would he make a better Chekov? Maybe.
Simon is awesome and Hot Fuzz was nothing less than brilliant.
My question is what happenend with James McAvoy?
They should have Mike Myers play Fat Bastard as Scotty :)
Hey Drew,
Actually, you make a really good point. When I wrote that I was thinking too much of what Scotty on the show was like… and I shouldn’t do that.
I think both Simon Pegg and John Cho are going to surprise most people with their dramatic acting chops.
I was pleasantly surprised by some of Cho’s guest spots on TV shows and Pegg was awesome as a villain in that one episode of Doctor Who.
Also Anton Yelchin is amazing and I’m really excited to see him in this new Trek movie.
Pegg’s casting seems odd to me…but I should not underestimate his ability to act seriously…I’ve love him in the movies he’s been in and remember there were some dramatic moments in Shaun of the Dead that he pulled off quite well along with all that comedy.
As for Cho…that seems like a weird choice…I never pictured “Harold” as Sulu…it’s going to be hard to get past that “Harold” thing when I see him on screen…
So far the casting choices seem OK…maybe somewhat even somewhat weird. The only thing I’ve really liked is Eric Bana who surprised me by taking this role…he’s such a great actor who really has his choices of prime meaty roles. Why Trek? That baffles me.
What! Simon was supposed to come off comical in Hot Fuzz because it was blatantly a comedy!
Thanks Johan,
I was going to mention that it is unfair to compare Simon’s acting to what he may do in Star Trek, Thing behind Hot Fuzz is he was so seriouse as a cop and up tight he was supposed to be taken seriously for us. Not to mention they perposly put in almost every single action movie cliche you could think of.
this is not a role I’d naturally pin on him. But who knows what the new vision for star trek is and how he might fit in that larger picture.
I am not a star trek fan, and I don’t find myself being excited about this, but I’m a huge Simon Pegg fan, and this is great news for him. I just hope it does not taint his future movies from being as good as his pre-startrek movies.
No hesitation from me about this; this is worth seeing. Even as a comedic actor, Pegg is not an overacting, gurning prat and Hot Fuzz proved that he is quite willing to let others take all the laughs and be a straight man. And if the script calls for a few laughs, he will deliver them perfectly. I think of him as an actor.
Now we just need this guy to play Bones:)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253126/
Okay, I emailed John all excited about this last night, but now, I’m starting to have second thoughts. First and foremost, I ADORE this guy. We all know how over the moon I am for Hot Fuzz. That being said, I’m starting to believe that he can only be truly funny and shine when Edgar Wright is directing him. I got to see Run Fatboy Run not too long ago, and that flick is beyond pedestrian and stupid(you can click on my name to go to another site and read my review cheap plug cough cough), and Pegg was pretty meh in it. Will he be meh in this? I dunno, but I do know that I now have a reason to see Star Trek that I didn’t have before. I am no Trekkie!
And am I the only one who finds it odd that they cast Pegg, who will be 38 in February, with a cast full of younger people like Sylar and Zoe Saldana? Like I said, I’m not a Trekkie, so I don’t know, but is Scotty supposed to be the older father-figure or something? And is Pegg gonna have to do a Scottish accent?
@Phil
LOL! Simon Quinlank as Bones. Genius.
“You may wish to drink your weak Romulan Ale!” :)
I guess we will all have to wait for the movie to come out to see if they made the right choices.
Donna A.
Does anyone know what happenend with James McAvoy? Just curious…
why shouldn’t you be thinking about scotty from the show john?
that is who pegg will be playing….
this is not a reboot.
nimoy is going to be in as spock as an old man…therefore the spock quinto is playing is the same spock we know.
so this is a prequel.
not a reboot or restart….it is a traditional reboot.
Phil, there is still speculation on what role Karl Urban is playing. I think he might be Bones McCoy.
Hey Alfie,
No, it’s a reboot. The writers of the screenplay used that word exactly. It’s not a prequel.
As was previously mentioned by others, what is probably happening is that the whole Timeline thing is going to be used as their device for changing everything. Thus Nimoy is there representing the old… and the rest is all gloves are off.
they can call it a reboot all they want….unless they cast a woman as kirk so far it looks like a prequel to me…..
especially since nimoy is playing the same guy he played in the original shows and films.
they cast quinto because he looks like a young nimoy..if the gloves were off and this was a reboot why cast a guy who looks just like him??
this reboot word they are throwing around is horseshit…this is same old same old right down to a fucking time travel storyline and what not.
I just thoought of something.
They could have forgot the whole time travel crap, and just brung in John DeLancie…have Q snap his fingers…
Oh, I’m sorry…got caught thinking…
but don’t get me wrong….
I am excited about seeing what they come up I am just cautious…..
filling the boots embrodied with the initials J.T.K in my opinion is going to be fucking nigh on impossible
sounds like a comedy.
I think Abrams is best thing that could happen to Star Trek and I have full confidence that he knows how to cast well. Personally though, I wouldn’t choose Pegg for Scotty.
I like Cho, but the problem is he’s a KOREAN born. Sulu was JAPANESE. Hollywood still seems to have the “all asians look the same” mentality (Memoirs of a Geisha anyone?). In order for an actor to realistically portray a character, it has to become that character, to look and sound like that character, in order to convince you that what you’re seeing is a real person. Cho looks nothing like a Japanese guy and him playing Sulu will just look fake. Like an actor with a French accent pretending he’s an Englishman on screen – it just looks fake.
Sulu’s original character sketch was described as Asian. So therefore this recast is fine.
I like Pegg but I don’t think that he is right for this role!!
Some people have brought up the whole ‘he’s not Scottish’ thing. Are most people aware that James Doohan was Canadian?
Simon Pegg does a great “stressed out” character. He’s under pressure and crazy stuff is going on around him and he freaks out but he pulls himself and his friends together and gets the job done. That’s Mr.Scott. He protests that he’s not a miracle worker and it’s crazy what’s being asked of him, but he gets the impossible done anyway, always in the nick of time. Pegg can pull it off and I’m sure he will make a fine young Mr. Scott with darkened hair and the red shirt. He’s probably a Trek fan too, or else he wouldn’t have agreed to do this. He’s got his own career now, he doesn’t “need” this role. I’m more suprised at the fact that he took the role than that they offered it to him.
I’m sure there will be funny moments in the new movie, just like every Trek movie since ST:IV, but it won’t be an outright comedy. This is the first time the crew is together and they will be playing off the audience’s knowledge of the legendary characters and who they become in the future. It’s the Star Trek origin story. Their first adventure. I’m sure there will be lots of in jokes playing on the audiences expectations. Leonard Nimoy’s Spock from the future and his interaction with the younger crew should be prime material for laughs. He’s the touchstone character for the audience sharing his knowledge of the future and the people that the young and inexperienced crew members will one day become.
I have high hopes for this movie, but I’m sure they will screw it up somehow…it’s Hollywood after all, and they are messing with the original Star Trek…sacred ground for Sci-fi fans obsessed with canon. It will be impossible to please all of them.
The casting so far has been fine I think. It’s the visual style and effects that I’m more concerned with. How will they make the Enterprise sets and props look new and futuristic and believable while still making it look like the old 60’s show? That’s the biggest challenge. Of course if the story sucks it will fail but it has to at least LOOK amazing visually in order to sell tickets and DVDs.
If Abrams pulls it off, we can expect to be seeing these guys for years to come.
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the show he did called Spaced. His other main co-star Jessica Hynes turned out to be a brilliant actress, shockingly brilliant since I’d only ever seen her do comedy. I have a feeling that Simon Pegg will turn out to have some serious acting chops himself.
I think he’ll be a great Scotty, but he needs to go to the Doohan website and get a dilithium crystal for more power.
http://www.dilithiumcrystal.com