George Takei announced April 1 that a new Star Trek Movie entitled “Excelsior” has been green-lighted and Takei’s Mr. Sulu character will be the ship’s captain.
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OK, I’ll admit it… I was taken in by an April Fools prank yesterday. It wasn’t a huge one; just sort of a prank in passing, committed by that renowned pan-galactic jokester, George Takei.
On his Facebook page, the ubiquitous Mr. Sulu posted the following notice:
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Friends, I’m thrilled to share this news with you today. As announced at Emerald City Comicon, where I’m appearing this weekend, Paramount Pictures has green-lit a new Star Trek Movie entitled “Excelsior” in which I will play the captain. This announcement is part of Paramount Studio’s 100th-year anniversary campaign. The studio has acknowledged the fan enthusiasm for this concept ever since I appeared in command of the vessel in “The Undiscovered Country.” J.J. Abrams will direct, with Robert Orci again writing the screenplay.
My co-star in Allegiance, Paulo Montalban, has been cast opposite me to play the mercurial “Agha,” the grandson of Khan (played by Ricardo Montalban in the Second Star Trek Movie). Also featured are Gilbert Gottfried (playing a wily Ferengi First Officer) and Lisa Lampanelli (as a Bajoran security officer).
More to come on this breaking story soon. Thanks again for the years of support, and I’ll see you on the Bridge of “Excelsior.”
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The post raked up 81,288 likes and 10,000 true believers shared the item.
Now, I’m no dedicated Trekkie, and while I thought it would be kinda cool to advance the Star Trek story in a different direction, I wondered if it could have succeeded without Shatner and Nimoy. Still, I swallowed the bait, mentioned the new movie with Capt. Sulu once in passing, and went on with my day. Evidently, hard-core Trekkies are not so forgiving, and are planning to release their Khan-like wrath.
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