According to The Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams has cast Russian-born Anton Yelchin (“Alpha Dog”) as Pavel Chekov in Paramount Pictures’ “Star Trek.” As every Trek fans knows, Chekov is the Russian-born navigator of the USS Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk.

Yelchin joins earlier named cast members Zachary Quinto (Young Spock) and Leonard Nimoy (Older Spock). Casting is under way in New York and London for actors to play Kirk, Doctor McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, the film’s villain and various other important Federation personnel. Finding the perfect actor for the role of Kirk will be crucial for the success of this film.

In the Original Series and in 7 of the current 10 Star Trek films, Chekov was played by the legendary Walter Koenig, but he didn’t join the cast until the second season of the television show, so, if this latest development pans out to be true, then the timeline for this Abrams imagining is beginning to take shape. Walter was a guest on one of our past shows.

As we reporterd earlier in the month, Abrams was able to get the highly sought for Christmas Day 2008 as a release date for “Star Trek” (aka “Star Trek XI”). It will be produced by Paramount and Bad Robot. Abrams’ “Lost” collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci wrote the screenplay and will executive produce along with Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof.

Story Submitted by: Kreg Steppe (SoSF Contributing Fan)