It's a good time to be a Star Trek fan. With CBS bringing Star Trek: Discovery to your devices this fall, the franchise is once again returning to the small screen, which has always brought the most iconic and beloved aspects of the property. But there is still a film franchise out there, although its unclear if a fourth Star Trek film will actually happen. While the last film, Star Trek: Beyond, was a welcomed change from the dreary and somewhat predictable aspects of Into Darkness, promoting the film was no walk in the park. Karl Urban recently revealed how difficult it was to do interviews and press for the project, considering that actor Anton Yelchin had suddenly died just a few weeks prior.
We were obviously devastated at his loss, absolutely devastated. It was brutal. And to literally four weeks after we lost him to go out there and promote Beyond was the toughest thing we ever had to do.
This certainly sounds terrible, as Anton Yelchin's loss was so fresh when the rest of the cast was forced to do interview after interview regarding the threequel. And it's touching that Karl Urban has since been so public about this process.
Press junkets for major blockbusters can be grueling for actors. The cast is expected to speak to an endless amount of outlets and TV stations, many of which are asking the same old questions. And according to Karl Urban's statement at Star Trek Las Vegas (via Trekie Movie), Anton Yelchin's tragic death was hanging over the press tour. The cast was dealing with their own feelings about Yelchin's passing, and at the same time they were asked about the young actor's death ad nauseam. This was probably like pouring lemon juice onto a fresh wound, as the shock and sorrow of the tragedy were consistently brought up.
For those who don't remember, Anton Yelchin died in a freak accident last June. When exiting his vehicle at his home, the car ended up rolling down the steep hill and pinning the young actor between the vehicle and a pillar outside the residence. He was just 27 years old, and his unexpected death was one of the more shocking celebrity passings of 2016. Yelchin played Pavel Chekov in all three of the recent Star Trek films, and he died a little over a month before Star Trek Beyond arrived in theaters.
It's still unclear if the Star Trek franchise will continue on, but it seems like the majority of the cast is down. Both Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban have expressed interest in reprising their roles, although a major presence would be missing in a future installment in the form of Anton Yelchin.
Trekies can watch Star Trek: Discovery starting on September 24, 2017, and you can catch Karl Urban in Thor: Ragnarok on November 3, 2017.
