There are so many iconic Star Trek villains. Think Ricardo Montalban in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan and Benedict Cumberbatch as the same character in Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Turns out we could’ve had one of the most celebrated actors of all time in Star Trek: Generations – none other than the Godfather himself, Marlon Brando.
The writer of the 1996 movie Star Trek: First Contact recently shared some details with Syfy about the almost legendary get.
“I remember [producer] Rick Berman saying: ‘I just heard from Paramount that there’s a chance that Marlon Brando might be interested in doing this,” Moore said. “Rick was like: ‘Wouldn’t that be amazing? That’d really be something.’ And I walked out of the room going that will never happen. Never, ever going to happen.”
The role eventually went to Malcolm McDowell. McDowell played Soran, the role that Brando would’ve played had he agreed. Soran was a bad guy who wanted to find an energy ribbon to help him forget the loss of his family.
“With movies like this, there are always lots of names on a wish-list,” Moore said. “Many, many names are thrown around for many, many reasons. But, you just knew that this one was just not going to happen.”
Brando wasn’t the only famous actor potentially considered for a big role in a Star Trek film. Tom Hanks was allegedly in the running for the part of Zefram Cochrane, the man who invented the warp drive in Star Trek: First Contact.
That role ultimately went to James Cromwell. Moore said it was a possibility that Hanks might’ve gotten the part. “I’m sure Tom Hanks’ name was floated around, in some capacity, but it was never really on the table.”
The next Star Trek movie is currently in development. WandaVision director Matt Shakman was hired by Paramount to direct the film. It will be the first Star Trek movie written by female screenwriters Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.