With the announcement of a fourth Star Trek film with the rebooted J.J. Abrams cast, fans were excited that this particular cast would be returning. Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Karl Urban are all excepted to return once deals are finalized but one name tragically missing from this list is Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the films. Yelchin died in June 2016 after a shocking and tragic vehicular accident ended his life at the young age of 27. The entire Star Trek crew was close to Yelchin and one of his co-stars, Zoe Saldana, is opening up about making a new installment without him.
Saldana is making the rounds promoting Netflix’s The Adam Project and she was asked about the Star Trek sequel by Entertainment Tonight. Saldana said that Yelchin’s absence will be “bittersweet” and she also reminisced about his devotion as an artist as well as how much of a Star Trek fan he actually was. Here is what she had to say:
“Obviously it’s bittersweet because we are coming together for a fourth time and one of us is no longer with us, with Anton’s passing. We honestly feel that, you know, going back and keeping the Star Trek family together is a way to keep him alive in our thoughts and our hearts.”
Yelchin died from blunt traumatic asphyxia after his Jeep rolled over in his driveway and pinned him against a pillar. His death occurred one month before the release of Star Trek Beyond which was then dedicated in his memory. Yelchin was one of the most promising actors of his generation and if you take a look at his credits, he did a lot of projects in a relatively short amount of time. At 27 he was well on his way but you can tell that he loved the work and loved the creative process of working with his peers. If you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend the documentary Love, Antosha, released in 2019, that chronicled his short life and showcased just how amazing this guy was. Gone too soon but certainly left his mark.
What are YOUR thoughts on Star Trek 4 without Anton Yelchin?