Official - 18 year old Anton Yelchin is Chekov

[Plum]

The shoe has dropped...

JJ Abrams casts new Chekov for Star Trek

I think he's a great choice. Casting is coming fast and furious... they start filming soon!

 

[Jon1701]

Is it confirmed yet?

There are a few websites saying he's been cast. They are all quoting the hollywood reporter who said he was in "negotiations".

 

[Dale]

Another mention in this article of the freaking Academy setting... I'm sorry but if it turns out the TOS crew all went to the academy together like it was Star Trek High or something, I'm going to be disgusted.

"We're going on a training cruise and you all are the crew we've selected for this mission... Jimmy Kirk, you'll be in command... Nyota, you take communications... Ummm, Misters Sulu and Chekov, you take the helm and navigation positions...and our new Vulcan exchange student Spock here will be your first officer, Jimmy. Monty, you go run engineering..."

 

[Plum]

jon1701 said:
Is it confirmed yet?

The article quotes the Hollywood Reporter as if that were so ... the article might be jumping the gun (and me too) to say it's "official". I took this to be announced, I should have read more carefully. Darn reporters...

 

[Jon1701]

Empire online ran with the story yesterday. They suggested it was a done deal, which I dont think it is.

The problem with the Internet these days is that the different sites use each other to corroborate the stories.

 

[Plum]

^^^
Yea, they aren't reliable. I'm a dummy for posting so fast. I got excited!

Hell, even the network news checks their facts with Wiki... not kidding. I'll stick to Trekmovie.com ... still hasn't let me down.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

He's cute, straighten his hair and he'll do.

The Academy thing is a bit odd. Teenage Chekov would be in his first year, but the others would mainly be in Starfleet by then. Perhaps our gung-ho young Russian cadet is good enough for a training mission with the big dogs on the Enterprise?

 

[Plum]

Well, yes I suppose but teenagers do serve on warships today. I'm not sure how that works rank wise.

And straighten that hair? Good luck, that kid is gonna grow up to be Doctor Who (the Tom Baker one).

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Plum said:
^^^
Yea, they aren't reliable. I'm a dummy for posting so fast. I got excited!

Hell, even the network news checks their facts with Wiki... not kidding. I'll stick to Trekmovie.com ... still hasn't let me down.

Yes...You must give PowderedToastMan credit. If something is a rumor, he will clearly label it as such. He's more interested in giving accurate information than trying to scoop everybody -- although I'm sure he loves to scoop, too, if he could confirm!

If a fact is posted on his website, you can believe it.

 

[Plum]

^^^
Exactly so.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Temis the Vorta said:
He's cute, straighten his hair and he'll do.

His hair is straighter in the upcoming film 'Charlie Bartlett' -- in fact in the trailer his hair is rather "Chekov-like"

'Charlie Bartlett' looks to me like a cross between 'Ferris Buellers Day Off' and 'Rushmore'. Or should I say that Yelchin's character seems like a cross between Ferris Bueller and Max Fischer. Anton Yelchin and this movie are getting some good early buzz.

link: http://www.charliebartlett-themovie.com/

And I suppose he is cute...and that's coming from a completely heterosexual man

 

[Opus]

jon1701 said:
The problem with the Internet these days is that the different sites use each other to corroborate the stories.

But sometimes it can be fun if you ever wanted to spread rumors on the 'net and wreak some havoc...

Oh... Ummmmm... not that I would do anything like that...

 

[Sec31Mike]

The teenagers serving aboard warships in the modern Navy are most likely 19 year old ENLISTED personnel. Even if someone fast tracks through the academy they become an Ensign when 22. At that point they are still baby faces.

That just doesn't make sense to cast an 18 year old.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

^
^^
^^^You gave us the reason why it makes sense to cast an 18 year old to possibly play a 22 year old...because many 22 year old Ensigns have baby faces.

 

[DarthPipes]

The Academy premeise has been debunked long ago. I think the reporting is lazy.

Glad they casted another member of the crew.

 

[Aragorn]

OphaClyde said:

jon1701 said:
The problem with the Internet these days is that the different sites use each other to corroborate the stories.

But sometimes it can be fun if you ever wanted to spread rumors on the 'net and wreak some havoc...

Oh... Ummmmm... not that I would do anything like that...

Hmmm... okay, you start a rumor on here about Jake Gyllenhaal playing Kirk's older brother and I'll refer to it on Ain't It Cool News, then I'll post it in IMDB and refer to both Trek BBS and AICN, and then we'll see what happens.

 

[Lord Garth]

DarthPipes said:
The Academy premeise has been debunked long ago. I think the reporting is lazy.

Glad they casted another member of the crew.

I don't think so. If Chekov is 18 then his age pretty much says he's either a cadet or a junior crewman. No way would he be an officer, he'd have to have at least gone through four years of the Academy and be 21 or 22.

My take: Chekov is on field-training.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

I'm ok if he were cast as Chekov. He looks a lot like him just as Zachary Quint looks like Spock. I would be at peace about it.

As for the Chekov being onboard at the beginning, it's possible that he was from the lower decks for the first year or two. He was 22 in "Who Mourns for Adonais?" The minimum age requirement is 16 for the Academy. Let's say he was 16&17 during his freshman year. 17&18 for the sophomore. 18&19 for junior. 19&20 for senior. He's an ensign straight out of the Academy and would still have 2 or 3 years to play with before needing to be 22 for "Who mourns for Adonais?" He would be around for Khan to recognize him but he could have been on shore leave so he wouldn't recognize Harry Mudd the second time around. It's still a workable possibility for Chekov to have been there at the beginning. No worries.

 

[RAMA]

SO far, I like the casting news. In general the news is good. This could go really well!

RAMA

 

[Lumen]

This again:

Casting is still underway for James T. Kirk, Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Nyota Uhura, Hikaru Sulu, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the film's villain and the Federation captain. Abrams is expected to sign bigger-name actors for the latter two parts.

The villain and the Federation captain aren't the same person. Has Abrams said anything about this at all?

Although no official plot has been revealed, it's believed that the younger casting indicates that the movie will chronicle the Enterprise crew during their time at Starfleet Academy.

That's not at all authoritative; the reporter is guessing.

Anyway, now I've got a reason to go see Charlie Bartlett.