Casting: James McAvoy as Scotty? Bell to Heroes

The UK Daily Mirror is reporting a long-standing rumor that James McAvoy (best known to genre audiences as the son of Maud'dib in Sci-Fi Channel's Children of Dune mini) has been cast as Montgomery Scott in JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot. As much as I loved Jimmy Doohan--RIP--it'd be nice to have an actual Scotsman in the part.

If true--Paramount has not yet confirmed--McAvoy would be the third actor confirmed for the cast (the first two being Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy, both as Spock).

In other casting news, Kristen Bell--who in the last couple of weeks was thisclose to taking a season-long recurring part on Lost--decided instead to take a short-term recurring gig on Heroes. Apparently, she wasn't too keen on moving to Hawaii.

Update: McAvoy's people are denying this report, but apparently no one is denying that 19 year old TV vet Anton Yelchin has been cast as Chekov... Yelchin was born in St. Petersburg, but has been acting in American TV since he was 9. Still, no confirmation from Paramount, but the source (Zachary Quinto) is fairly reliable.

The 2 Spocks

Trek Casting Update: Zachary Quinto as Spock?

E! is reporting that a deal is "in place" for Zachary Quinto to take on the role of Spock in JJ Abrams' upcoming, big budget Star Trek reboot.

On Heroes, Quinto plays Sylar as a psychopathic (and superpowered... oh, and quite possibly cannibalistic) Mr. Spock... so this is not a stretch.

Trek producers Abrams & Damon Linelof (who also created Lost) have been saying that they intend to reveal major casting (if not the entire cast) for the movie at ComicCon this weekend, so there's a decent chance this rumor is true.

Meanwhile, Matt Damon has gone out of his way to debunk the rumor that he will play Kirk in interviews for The Bourne Ultimatum, saying that although he was interested, he was never asked. He did meet with Abrams, who told him they were looking to cast younger. Kirk is apparently early-to-mid 20s in the film.

The movie--which is called, simply, Star Trek--will open Christmas Day 2008... Oddly enough.

Update: Quinto confirmed, though it still hasn't hit the trades.

According to a new report by TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, "Heroes" evil brain-eater Zachary Quinto (Sylar) is neither confirming nor denying reports that he's in line to play a young Spock in the new J.J. Abrams-helmed "Star Trek" movie. When asked about the rumors, Quinto contended that he's "under strict orders not to say anything."
Greg Grunberg, who plays nice cop Matt Parkman, on the other hand, seems to be bursting at the seams about the possibility of his cast mate playing Spock.

"How exciting is that?" Grunberg said. "Now I've got to beg, plead and scrape to get in that movie! I mean, what's wrong with me as Scotty? Down in the engine room, rotisserie chicken ..."

For what it's worth, I think Grunberg (Abrams' best friend since childhood) would make a *fantastic* Scotty. (I think it's safe to assume that he will be in the movie in some capacity.)