Wow. Just when you think JJ Abrams can’t pull any more Star Trek casting surprises – Simon Pegg! The bloke from Heroes! Eric Bana! Leonard Nimoy back as Spock?!? – he goes and casts Winona Ryder.
Remember her? Beautiful, talented elfin actress whose career was going great guns until that infamous shoplifting incident at a Saks Fifth Avenue store in 2001. Despite her subsequent acquittal, and the odd attempt to rehabilitate her movie star stock with the likes of Mr. Deeds, Ryder has since chosen to stay out of the limelight, appearing in films like A Scanner Darkly or The Darwin Awards, or Gregor Jordan's forthcoming The Informers. Or perhaps she just hasn’t been offered the big movies.
But that’s all changed with her role in Star Trek. She’ll play the young Vulcan mother of Zachary Quinto’s Spock in the movie, which takes place during the Starfleet Academy days of Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest of the Enterprise crew.
Now, not to get too Trek-geeky, but Trek canon (and please correct us if we’re wrong) states very plainly that Spock’s mother is Amanda Grayson, a human being from our very own planet Earth. So, we’re very intrigued to see how Abrams and his writers, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, are going to explain away the presence of a Vulcan mother – step-mum, perhaps? Foster parent? Does Spock not know at this point who his real mother is? Or are they pulling something a bit more grandiose and revisionist?
Either way, Christmas Day 2008 can’t come soon enough. And not just because we want some great presents – that’s when Abrams’ Star Trek will open, and all our questions will be answered. If they haven't already been answered by internet spoiler sites, that is.
Oh, and welcome back, Winona – we’ve missed you.