With the future of Star Trek’s Kelvin Timeline reboot movies in a seemingly-continuous limbo, here’s a list of every character who appeared in the most recent entry from 2016: Star Trek Beyond.
Around the early-to-mid 2000s, the Star Trek franchise was stagnating. Following Enterprise’s cancellation and the box-office bombing of Paramount’s then-newest Trek film, Star Trek: Nemesis, the studio decided it was time for a change.
A reboot was conceived under the leadership of J.J. Abrams who went on to direct two movies, 2009’s Star Trek and its 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.
The third entry into this rebooted series, Star Trek Beyond, opened on July 22, 2016, to less-than-stellar financial results.
Every Character & Actor in Star Trek Beyond
Many fans argue that Star Trek Beyond is the strongest movie in the Kelvin Trilogy. It featured a quick-moving narrative, solid character beats, and even a Beastie Boys song or two.
Here are all the characters that had a part to play in the threequel and their corresponding actor.
Chris Pine - Captain James T. Kirk
Chris Pine’s Jim Kirk opens the film feeling the weight of the mission. The USS Enterprise has been exploring deep space for two and a half years, and everything is starting to feel a bit rote for the Starfleet captain.
Little does he know that a trip beyond Starbase Yorktown will result in him and his crew getting way more than they bargained for.
Zachary Quinto - Commander Spock
Everybody’s favorite half-human, half-Vulcan science officer returns, marking Zachary Quinto’s third time in Spock’s pointy ears.
Gravely injured during the first act and stranded on an uncharted planet with the rest of the Enterprise Crew, Spock must rely on the medical expertise of Dr. McCoy to survive.
Karl Urban - Dr. Leonard McCoy
Karl Urban returns as the irascible Dr. McCoy, who is teamed with Spock for much of the film as they try to find a way to reunite with the crew in between sarcastic zingers.
During the final conflict of the film, Bones and Mr. Spock man the controls of one of Krall’s drone ships to help take out the rest of the villain’s massive fleet.
Zoe Saldana - Lt. Nyota Uhura
The Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy superstar Zoe Saldana comes back for another round as Lt. Uhura, who begins the film on the outs with her boyfriend, Spock.
After the Enterprise is destroyed and the crew is taken prisoner, Uhura must fight for her life against Krall and his forces, patching things up with her Vulcan suitor in the process.
Simon Pegg - Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott
In Star Trek Beyond, Simon Pegg’s Scotty uses his engineering genius to escape the crumbling Enterprise in a photon torpedo tube.
Once on the surface of the planet Altamid, Scott meets a fellow strandee named Jaylah, and the two join forces to help get the wreck of the long-lost USS Franklin up and running again.
John Cho - Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
John Cho’s Lt. Sulu, the Enteprise’s helmsman, shares the bulk of his screentime with Saldana’s Uhura as the two try and free themselves from their captivity.
Sulu gets to put his piloting skills to the test when he’s called upon to fly the outdated Franklin off of its resting place on Altamid.
Anton Yelchin - Ensign Pavel Chekov
By the time of Beyond, the wide-eyed whiz kid Chekov has developed into a highly competent Starfleet officer, who pairs up with Captain Kirk throughout the movie’s second act.
The film is dedicated to actor Anton Yelchin, who tragically lost his life in a freak accident shortly before the theatrical release. The cast has spoken on many an occasion about how difficult it would be to make a fourth movie without him.
Idris Elba - Captain Balthazar Edison/Krall
An ex-MACO for the United Earth Military, Idris Elba’s Captain Edison fought in multiple conflicts with the Romulans as well as the Xindi.
But when the Federation was founded, his military skills and knowledge had no further use, and he felt abandoned by the very governing body he used to fight for.
When his ship, the USS Franklin, crash-landed on Altamid, Edison took control of the planet’s technology, becoming the devious and disfigured villain known as Krall.
Sofia Boutella - Jaylah
Sofia Boutella’s Jaylah became marooned on Altamid as a young girl after her parents were killed by Krall.
In Beyond, Jaylah has taken up residence in the hull of the USS Franklin, a Federation vessel that went missing around the time of Captain Jonathan Archer’s missions in the mid-2100s.
Joe Taslim - Anderson Le/Manas
Joe Taslim plays Anderson Le, one of Edison’s crewmembers who was mutated into the evil Manas by Altamid’s energy transference tech.
Lydia Wilson - Jessica Wolff/Kalara
Much like her crewmate Le, Lydia Wilson’s Jessica Wolff survived on Altamid by becoming Kalara and serving as one of Krall’s underlings.
Sara Maria Forsberg - Kalara’s Translated Voice
Upon arriving in Yorktown to lure the Enterprise into Krall’s trap, Kalara is fitted with a universal translator collar which converts her alien speech into something more understandable. Sara Maria Forsberg provides the voice of the universal translator.
Deep Roy - Keenser
Deep Roy plays Scotty’s pal and fellow engineer Keenser in all three Kelvin timeline films. In Beyond, a caustic sneeze from Keenser helps the crew melt a lock to get out of a jam.
Melissa Roxburgh - Ensign Syl
An Enterprise crewperson, Melissa Roxburgh’s Syl hides a deadly weapon called the Arbonath in her cranial cavity thanks to some quick thinking on the part of Jim Kirk.
Shohreh Aghdashloo - Commodore Paris
The commanding officer of StarBase Yorktown, Shohreh Aghdashloo‘s Paris was actually added to the movie during reshoots. Some fans have also theorized that she’s an ancestor of Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager.
Greg Grunberg - Commander Finnegan
Greg Grunburg, a longtime staple of J.J. Abrams-affiliated productions, plays Finnegan, an officer stationed in Yorktown’s command center. Fun fact: Finnegan is the alternate reality version of the character by the same name from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Shore Leave."
Danny Pudi - Fi’Ja
Community’s Danny Pudi makes a cool (cool, cool, cool) cameo as Fi’Ja, a would-be assailant of Scotty’s who is put down by Jaylah.
Kim Kold - Zavanko
Savanko, another alien who tries to attack Mr. Scott on Altamid, is played by Danish bodybuilder Kim Kold.
Fraser Aitcheson - Hider
Fraser Aitcheson plays Hider, the third alien who comes after Scotty and is quickly dispatched by Jaylah.
Douglas Chapman - Sir Olden
Sir Olden, a Starfleet science officer portrayed by Douglas Chapman, is on the Enterprise when it’s brought down by Krall’s swarm ships.
Anita Brown - Tyvanna
One of the Enterprise’s bridge officers, Anita Brown’s Tyvanna evacuated the ship once it was attacked.
Doug Jung - Ben
Doug Jung wrote Star Trek Beyond’s screenplay alongside Simon Pegg. He also made a brief appearance in the movie as Ben, Lt. Sulu’s husband.
Dan Payne - Wadjet
A red-shirted Enterprise operations officer, Wadjet, was portrayed by Dan Payne.
Shea Whigham - Teenaxi Leader
Boardwalk Empire’s Shea Whigam lent his voice to the Teenaxian who appeared in Star Trek Beyond’s opening scene
Jeff Bezos - Alien Starfleet Official
Jeff Bezos (yeah, that Jeff Bezos) made an easy-to-miss cameo under heavy alien makeup as a Starfleet officer.
Carlo Ancelotti - Yorktown Doctor
Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian football manager, also made a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance as a doctor on Starbase Yorktown. He reportedly got the role because he’s friends with Zoe Saldana.
Will Star Trek Beyond Get a Sequel?
Ever since Beyond was released in cinemas in 2016, various attempts at making another sequel have been announced and subsequently shelved.
As the main cast members are typically quite busy, it would be something of a Herculean task to get all their schedules aligned so that they could work on a fourth Kelvin timeline film.
Anything’s possible, however, with Paramount's top brass claiming that they wish to move the Star Trek franchise back into features alongside its healthy TV presence.
Star Trek Beyond is available for purchase where ever movies are sold.
