# Matt Damon is Captain Kirk! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519 "2007-07-04T19:49:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/1 "2007-07-04T19:49:21Z")
[Stick a fork in the franchise, it’s done.](http://www.ecanadanow.com/news/entartainment/matt-damon-to-play-captain-kirk-20070701.html) > [@](#): > > Beam them up – stat! Matt Damon, Adrien Brody and Gary Sinise are in talks to play the Big Three in the Star Trek XI movie next year. > > Fresh from Ocean’s 13 and The Departed, Damon is pegged for the role of a young Captain James T. Kirk, previously played by the Shat-tastic William Shatner. > > Meanwhile, Oscar winner Brody (King Kong, The Pianist) is slated for the role of Mr. Spock, which was immortalized by Leonard Nimoy, and CSI: New York’s Sinise could revive the cranky Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (made famous by DeForrest Kelley). > > Also, this week Lost creator J.J. Abrams announced he will direct the film. No mention of [Gilbert Gottfried] Affleck! [/GG] It’s supposed to be released next Christmas, so they must be _cranking_ (meth-filled implications of that word _do_ apply) this thing out. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/2 "2007-07-04T19:52:01Z")
Odd number Treks are dogs, so I’m not the least bit surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/3 "2007-07-04T19:53:54Z")
WTF? Are they serious? 😕 :eek: 😕 :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/4 "2007-07-04T19:56:18Z")
Matt Damon is as good a choice as anyone I guess, but William Shatner as Kirk (and Nemoy as Spock) have been so ingrained in pop culture, it’s really hard to see how anyone could pull this off without it coming across as a spoof. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/5 "2007-07-04T20:02:44Z")
[QUOTE=Malodorous] Matt Damon is as good a choice as anyone I guess, but William Shatner as Kirk (and Nemoy as Spock) have been so ingrained in pop culture, it’s really hard to see how anyone could pull this off without it coming across as a spoof. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s the nub. Matt Damon is a good actor, but either he’s going to try and look and sound like Shatner (which is going to look like a parody), or he’s not going to try (which means not looking and sounding like Kirk). ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/6 "2007-07-04T20:03:09Z")
I’ll depart form the crowd and say I can kind of see it. If you’re going to continue that franchise you can certainly do worse. Would this [guy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569295/bio) be too obvious as Scotty? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/7 "2007-07-04T20:03:53Z")
It’ll go no where, slowly. \ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/8 "2007-07-04T20:09:06Z")
If it’s set during or immediately after the original five-year mission, it might be worthwhile. Fortunately, the actors they’ve cast are too old to play Starfleet Academy versions of these characters, so that’s one phaser-bolt dodged. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/9 "2007-07-04T20:10:12Z")
Noooo Not Adrien Brody! He Sucks Dead Wombat Ass! ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/10 "2007-07-04T20:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] It’ll go no where, slowly. \ [/QUOTE] To slowly go nowhere, where no man has gone nowhere before! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/11 "2007-07-04T20:17:19Z")
[QUOTE=Stuffy] I’ll depart form the crowd and say I can kind of see it. If you’re going to continue that franchise you can certainly do worse. Would this [guy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569295/bio) be too obvious as Scotty? [/QUOTE] Supposedly, they’ve picked a Scot to play Scotty, but I don’t remember who he is. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/12 "2007-07-04T20:24:19Z")
It’s an excellent idea. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are great CHARACTERS. There’s no reason they always have to be played by the same actors any more than James Bond always has to be played by the same guy. The bigger question is: Will the writers be able to crawl out from under the crushing weight of the SACRED FRANCHISE and write something that feels as fresh and human as the original series? Everything from Next Generation on has been so caught up in being The Continuation Of The Legacy that it’s felt mummified. It worked with Daniel Craig and Casino Royale, so there’s a glimmer of hope … . ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/13 "2007-07-04T20:25:07Z")
Sounds interesting to me, but I don’t have much emotional investment in the original series. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/14 "2007-07-04T20:44:36Z")
[QUOTE=Pochacco] It’s an excellent idea. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are great CHARACTERS. There’s no reason they always have to be played by the same actors any more than James Bond always has to be played by the same guy. The bigger question is: Will the writers be able to crawl out from under the crushing weight of the SACRED FRANCHISE and write something that feels as fresh and human as the original series? Everything from Next Generation on has been so caught up in being The Continuation Of The Legacy that it’s felt mummified. It worked with Daniel Craig and Casino Royale, so there’s a glimmer of hope … . [/QUOTE] Craig’s the exception that proves the rule that Follywood shouldn’t screw around with things. Craig is quite easily one of the best (if not _the_ best) actors to portray Bond. Having him play Bond is as close we’ll ever get to having Sir Lawrence assume the mantel. The execs also realized that they needed to ditch the direction the franchise was going and bring in fresh blood as well as going back to the original source material. Is Matt Damon a better actor than Shatner? That’s debatable, is Damon as good an actor as Daniel Craig? Nope. Is Damon in the same league as Craig? No effin way. Are they going back to the original source material? Only partially. Abrams is probably one of the best directors to helm a film in the franchise’s history, but he’s pretty handicapped by using Damon. They’re also doing this in a _very_ short period of time, usually it takes 2+ years to do one of these, and they’re aiming for Christmas next year. It’s possible that this could work, it’s also possible that Bill Gates could cut me a fat check tomorrow, but I don’t see that happening. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/15 "2007-07-04T20:51:06Z")
That article is dated in January. I’ve known about this speculation for some months now. I don’t doubt that that’s who’ll end up playing the Big Three, but it won’t be officially announced until the San Diego Comics Convention on July 26-28. [cite](http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=42031) > [@](#): > > While revealing little about the 11th Trek film’s top-secret plot, (co-writer Roberto) Orci offered a few tidbits. “Kirk is in the movie,” he said. “Some kind of Kirk. … We literally haven’t cast them yet. It’s actually one of the challenges, and so we’re hoping to have something by Comic-Con [in San Diego in July], but we’ll see.” > > Orci added that producers are wrestling with whom to cast. “That’s one of the debates, you know?” he said. “Like, how much does a familiar face hurt or not?” As for rumors that Matt Damon is in line for Kirk or Adrien Brody for Spock, Orci would only smile. “I’ve read all those rumors, too.” ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/16 "2007-07-04T20:51:49Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Craig’s the exception that proves the rule that Follywood shouldn’t screw around with things. Craig is quite easily one of the best (if not _the_ best) actors to portray Bond. Having him play Bond is as close we’ll ever get to having Sir Lawrence assume the mantel. The execs also realized that they needed to ditch the direction the franchise was going and bring in fresh blood as well as going back to the original source material. Is Matt Damon a better actor than Shatner? That’s debatable, is Damon as good an actor as Daniel Craig? Nope. Is Damon in the same league as Craig? No effin way… [/QUOTE] Okay, why was Daniel Craig such a big deal? I’m not nearly as big a Bond fan as I am a trek nerd, but still… James Bond has been played by a lot of different actors already. It’s part of the character of the franchise by now. Kirk hasn’t, and I don’t think there are any notable Trek roles that they’ve done that with. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/17 "2007-07-04T20:59:30Z")
Meh, the more important question is who will cameo as red shirt crewman on away parties? Sacha Baron Cohen? Or Paula Abdul? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/18 "2007-07-04T21:02:10Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > No mention of [Gilbert Gottfried] Affleck! [/GG] [QUOTE=Operation Ripper] Meh, the more important question is who will cameo as red shirt crewman on away parties? Sacha Baron Cohen? Paula Abdul? [/QUOTE] I think we found Affleck’s role. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/19 "2007-07-04T21:10:12Z")
[QUOTE=chrisk] Okay, why was Daniel Craig such a big deal? I’m not nearly as big a Bond fan as I am a trek nerd, but still… James Bond has been played by a lot of different actors already. It’s part of the character of the franchise by now. Kirk hasn’t, and I don’t think there are any notable Trek roles that they’ve done that with. [/QUOTE] Well, the Bond franchise had gone downhill in recent years, bad scripts, bad plots, and bad actors. When Eon announced that Craig was the next Bond, almost _nobody_ thought that he would work, and that the franchise would continue down the same path, only faster. Craig, however, is a helluva good actor, and about 10 minutes into the film, you realized that if it suddenly took a turn for the worst and slid into the worst aspects of the series, it wouldn’t matter, because Craig _was_ Bond! He brought to the screen the best elements of the character that actors before this had shown, as well as things which they’d only been able to hint at. Now, take the best elements of Kirk’s character, his way with women, his ability to whip a rabbit out his ass at the last moment, and his williness to ignore regulations when the situation calls for it. Can Damon do all that? Can he do it _better_ than Shatner (which is what he’ll have to do)? I just don’t see it based on his body of work so far. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519/20 "2007-07-04T21:10:23Z")
I rather wish I hadn’t opened this thread. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/matt-damon-is-captain-kirk/410519.md?page=2)