FINALLY Star Trek 2 has a release date and it is May 17, 2013 with production ready to get started. On top of that already exciting tidbit of news is the announcement that Abrams and company have signed on Peter Weller in an unspecified role.
Source: Cinemablend
As odd as that sounds, Variety reports that Abrams indeed is bringing in Peter Weller, who played the cop-turned-robot in Paul Verhoeven’s film, for an unspecified role in Star Trek 2.
As hardcore Trek fans already know, Weller has experience with the franchise, having popped up on two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005 as the character John Frederick Paxton. That series served as a prequel to the original 60s series, also set aboard the Enterprise and featuring the familiar cast of characters– Kirk, Spock, Uhura etc.– whom Abrams has revived in his films. Given that the 2009 Star Trek established a completely alternate timeline, though, it seems unlikely Weller’s casting will at all reference his previous Trek role. More likely Abrams is just like you– a Robocop fan who wanted Weller on his team.
Very exciting, and interesting, news about Robocop Weller joining the cast but I’m still holding out hope for Benecio Del Toro in the villain role. I like Weller though and I can’t help but also feel that his inclusion is probably motivated out of being a fan of the man. With production starting to gain momentum I’m hoping we get more news like this in the near future and maybe some clarification on the roles of these castings.
