Leonаrd Nіmoy's Stаr Trek 2009 Role Creаted A Glаrіng Cаst Problem I'm More Tһаn Hаррy To Aссeрt

Leonard Nimoy's presence as Spock in JJ Abrams' 2009 Star Trek movie is the project's biggest connection to the sci-fi saga's Prime Universe, and although he's a brilliant addition to the Star Trek 2009 cast, Abrams' choice to include the franchise legend also poked a big hole in the logic of the Kelvin Timeline. That being said, it's an issue that I am content with ignoring, as I really like the reboot movies, and the canonical blind spot doesn't massively harm the story being told. If it did, I might feel slightly differently about the narrative dissonance caused.

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After playing Spock as part of Star Trek: The Original Series' cast, Nimoy reprised his role when he returned to voice the Vulcan in Star Trek: The Animated Series. He also went on to embody the character in six movies alongside the cast of the show that started it all. However, the end of the TOS-era Star Trek movies wasn't the final time the actor would return as Spock. Despite the character largely belonging to Zachary Quinto in the 2009 soft reboot, Nimoy starred in the same movie as the Prime version of the Vulcan. It was cool, but imperfect.

The Introduction Of Leonard Nimoy As Spock In 2009's Star Trek Made The Newer Cast Harder To Accept

Kelvin Spock should really just look like an older version of Zachary Quinto

Leonard Nimoy as Spock in Star Trek 2009

When Star Trek was released in 2009, the franchise had been inert since Star Trek: Enterprise had ended in 2005. As such, the JJ Abrams project was largely being marketed as a hard reboot of the franchise that was more a tribute to Star Trek: The Original Series rather than having canonical ties. Every character was recast, which strengthened the impression that the movie was leaving the past in the past.

Abrams' decision to bring back Nimoy as Prime Spock in the same movie where Quinto had already replaced him sort of undid the creative overhaul.

However, Abrams' decision to set the movie in an alternate timeline set in motion by the destruction of the USS Kelvin meant the 2009 effort was simply the beginning of a new in-universe Star Trek reality. I still think this was an incredibly respectful way of paying homage to the Prime Universe without changing or retconning anything from the larger franchise. That being said, Abrams' decision to bring back Nimoy as Prime Spock in the same movie where Quinto had already replaced him sort of undid the creative overhaul.

Spock's birthdate is the same in the Prime Universe and the Kelvin Timeline. So, when the USS Kelvin was destroyed and the new timeline came into existence, Spock had already been born in both realities. Therefore, Spock should really look like Leonard Nimoy in the 2009 effort, not like Quinto. Without Nimoy in the cast, this would have been an easier quirk to ignore, but seeing both actors in the same place highlights how borderline nonsensical it is. This also applies to the other recastings, like Chris Pine taking William Shatner's place as Captain Kirk.

Introducing Nimoy's Spock To The Kelvin Timeline Was Too Cool Not To Do

It's easy to forgive Abrams' strange decision to merge both Star Trek casts

Even though two actors share a role that shouldn't technically be shared within the context of 2009's Star Trek, recalling Leonard Nimoy to the franchise as the original version of the legendary Vulcan was still an awesome decision. I truly believe that connecting the reboot movies to the Prime Universe via such a recognizable figure was a big part of what helped them become successful. Furthermore, the movie stitched Nimoy's Spock so expertly into the plot that it would have been completely different without him there, and the version we got was amazing.

Star Trek's Kelvin Timeline Movies In Release Order
Movie	Year	Rotten Tomatoes Score
Star Trek	2009	94%
Star Trek Into Darkness	2013	84%
Star Trek Beyond	2016	86%

There's also the matter of the other possibilities that Nimoy's presence in the movie opens up for future Kelvin Timeline installments. Although no other legacy actors have appeared in the current trilogy of Abrams movies, Star Trek 4 is supposedly still in development. As such, William Shatner's expected Star Trek comeback could happen in the Kelvin Timeline as a future version of Pine's Kirk. Plus, if the Kelvin Timeline movies ever move on to cover the franchise's 24th century, then members of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast could cross over into the other arm of the franchise.

How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Cast Got Around The Same Problem

Ethan Peck as Spock in Star Trek Discovery

2019 brought another Spock actor into the fold when Ethan Peck was cast in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. This scenario was a little different, as Peck's version of the character is canonically a younger version of Nimoy's, as both actors are playing Prime Spock. That being said, Peck is playing Spock just a handful of years before the character was first seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. As such, it makes about as much sense as recasting him with Quinto, which wasn't much sense at all.

I didn't have as much of a problem with Peck's casting, in that I had no problem with it at all. I worked out that the reason for this is that Peck now owns the role in the Prime Universe, and hasn't had to share the screen with the original actor in either Star Trek: Discovery or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Sure, Discovery does show Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) looking at some archive footage of her brother, in which he is played by Nimoy, but that's very different from him being physically present in the project as he was with Quinto in 2009's Star Trek.