From the first day it was announced that the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie would be a prequel to the original series, showcasing either the Starfleet Academy days or the years during Kirk and Spock’s first starship missions, it was speculated that the character known as Captain Christopher Pike would have to play prominently in the film.
Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have neither confirmed or denied that Pike would be a factor in their telling of the legenday Gene Roddenberry saga, but now IESB.net is reporting that “Stealth” star Josh Lucas is on Abrams’ very very short list for the part.
Captain Christopher Pike was the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 before Captain James T. Kirk took over command. Pike appeared in the original pilot episode, which NBC rejected as too cerebral for a 1960’s audience. Award-winning actor Jeffrey Hunter portrayed Pike in the pilot episode, which had segments of it used later by Roddenberry in the only two-parter the original series ever aired called “The Menagerie.” When the series was eventually picked up Hunter was under committment for other projects and William Shatner was hired as the more robust and younger new captain of the Enterprise.
The rumor that Lucas will be the new Pike is just that..all rumor with no confirmation at all from any official source. Even IESB admits that their source for this one is not the same one that clued us all in ahead of time for the other accurate casting choices.
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IS that one beep or two?