Our industry lost an extremely talented young performer when Anton Yelchin died in a freak automobile accident on Sunday. The film community spent most of the day celebrating the work that Yelchin had delivered already, advocating that curious viewers check out his spectacular work in movies like Alpha Dog, Fright Night, Like Crazy and the Star Trek reboot series. You only have to look back as earlier as this year to see Yelchin grab the screen in the terrifying Green Room, from director Jeremy Saulnier. The major tragedy of this situation is that Yelchin's fascinating career has been cut short, robbing us of what were sure to be numerous bold choices from this extremely creative actor.
Thankfully, we still have a few Anton Yelchin performances to look forward to, and I'd advise potential audience members to put these on your calendar. Variety catches us up on the intriguing slate of films Yelchin still had in the pipeline. Here what we know about each of them:
Star Trek Beyond
The third in the new series of Star Trek films, Star Trek Beyond returns Anton Yelchin as Chekov, navigator for Kirk's Enterprise crew. Yelchin has been part of this new ensemble since the series re-launched in 2009. From what we know of this new story, Beyond will find the crew near the halfway point of their five-year mission, when an attack disables the Enterprise and scatters the members of Kirk's team. This was supposed to be a celebratory year for Star Trek, as the franchise -- as a whole -- commemorates 50 years of storytelling. Expect tributes to Yelchin, a Star Trek family member, to be part of these events heading into July.
Porto
After Star Trek Beyond which opens in July, Anton Yelchin's film slate becomes a little more suspect. He had finished work on a series of films, though because the actor happily dabbled in the independent world for every studio tentpole he helped prop us, the rest of his schedule likely was looking for film-festival support and distribution assistance. Porto, directed by first-timer Gabe Klinger, is a Portugal-set drama about a romantic encounter between Yelchin's character and a young woman played by Lucie Lucas. IndieWire notes the drama was produced by Jim Jarmusch.
Thoroughbred
A little more mainstream, the psychological thriller Thoroughbred casts Yelchin opposite Olivia Cooke, who later this year will begin filming Ready Player One in London for director Steven Spielberg. Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) also co-stars in the film, which Deadline reports "focuses on a volatile friendship between two suburban teenage girls who discover that a murder might solve both of their problems."
Rememory
Directed by Mark Palansky, Rememory will be a science-fiction/thriller that, according to IMDB, follows the "widow of a wise professor [who] stumbles upon one of his inventions that's able to record and play a person's memory." Again, Yelchin is surrounded by heavy hitters, as he acts alongside Peter Dinklage and Julia Ormond in this thriller. No release date exists on the film as of yet.
We Don't Belong Here
Finally, Anton Yelchin is set to appear as Maxwell Green in the family drama We Don't Belong Here. The story centers around the matriarch of a dysfunctional family (played by Catherine Keener) who begins to fall apart at the seams when her son disappears. Director Peer Pedersen has assembled a spectacular cast, including Kaitlyn Dever, Maya Rudolph, Riley Keough, Molly Shannon and Cary Elwes. More on We Don't Belong Here as we hear it.
