A New Spock Has Been Chosen For Star Trek: Discovery
by Erik Amaya
The white plum of smoke has issued forth from the Vulcan Science Academy and Star Trek: Discovery has cast the third man to play Mr. Spock in Star Trek.
TVLine reports actor Ethan Peck will assume the role created by Leonard Nimoy in 1965 for the original pilot of the storied science fiction franchise. Peck will be familiar to viewers of ABC Family’s 10 Things I Hate About You, Madam Secretary, and Gossip Girl. The site also points out he is the grandson of legendary actor Gregory Peck, who starred in such films as McKenna’s Gold and The Omen.
But don’t expect to see Peck when Discovery begins its second season in January. The search for Spock took months, coinciding with both the production of the first six episodes and the replacement of showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts. New showrunner Alex Kurtzman conducted the final leg of the search during a planned hiatus in the production. Which suggests the first half of the season will see Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) assuming command of the Discovery to unravel whatever mystery led to his science officer taking a leave of absence.
In a statement, Kurtzman said he looked for an actor who would “effortlessly embody Spock’s greatest qualities, beyond obvious logic: empathy, intuition, compassion, confusion, and yearning. Ethan Peck walked into the room inhabiting all of these qualities, aware of his daunting responsibility to Leonard, [Star Trek 2009’s Zachary Quinto], and the fans, and ready to confront the challenge in the service of protecting and expanding on Spock’s legacy. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to welcome him to the family.”
Of course, it will be interesting to see if Peck plays Spock as the more emotional Vulcan see in the original Star Trek pilot “The Cage.” First envisioned as a fiery character, Spock’s trademark lack of emotions and devotion to logic was transferred over from another pilot character, Pike’s first officer “Number One.” Played by Majel Barret in the 1965 pilot, the character will played on Discovery by Rebecca Romijn.
Star Trek: Discovery resumes its ongoing mission in January on CBS All Access.