Star Trek Beyond Ditched A Main Character For A Good Reason
The largely disappointing Kelvinverse film Star Trek Into Darkness had some bright spots, including the addition of Alice Eve’s Carol Marcus. This character has major connections to Captain Kirk in the Prime Universe and fans were hoping to see even more of her in the sequel. However, she was completely absent from Star Trek Beyond for a good reason: writer Simon Pegg worried that with this tightly focused script, the character would not be “given the amount of screen-time she deserves.”
Carol Marcus In The Wrath Of Khan
What is it that makes Carol Marcus such a major figure in Star Trek history? She was originally introduced in The Wrath of Khan as both the lead scientist of the Genesis project and the mother of Kirk’s son.
Unfortunately, that son dies in the next movie and Carol never appeared in any other Prime Universe films, though we have recently learned a bit more about her and Kirk’s relationship in Strange New Worlds.
Carol Marcus In Star Trek Into Darkness
In other words, Carol Marcus was a perfect candidate to bring into the reboot films because there is so much more for us to discover about her character. Arguably, though, that movie really squandered her presence–we mostly find out that she looks great in her underwear and that her dad (in this reality, at least) is a Section 31 big wig and a classic Star Trek evil admiral. Still, Eve herself did a great job with what little she was given, and fans hoped to see more of her in the sequel.
She Wasn’t Forgotten
That didn’t happen, of course: Star Trek Beyond ended up being a “back to basics” kind of film that focused primarily on our core cast of characters. That meant no Carol Marcus, leading some critics to think Paramount had forgotten about her character entirely. However, film writer and Scotty actor Simon Pegg recently clarified that he had a very good reason for leaving Marcus out of Beyond.
Ready To Return
According to Pegg, “it felt like we would under-serve her if we included her” and “she might end up feeling like she hadn’t been given the amount of screen-time she deserves.”
Because these movies are set in a different universe, there was always the option to dramatically kill her off, but that’s an option that Pegg immediately as “cynical” and “the worst thing to do.” Instead, he left Carol Marcus out of the film so she would “be alive, in canon, and ready to come back at any time.”
Star Trek 4 Return?
It’s an honest approach to writing that reveals how much Pegg cares about these characters, right down to supporting players like Carol Marcus. Instead of just shoving her into the film to sell action figures or motivate Kirk with her shocking death, Pegg held the character in reserve so that she could always come back at a later time.
If we end up actually getting a Star Trek 4, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Marcus pop up again, quite possibly as the mother of Kirk’s child.
Of course, if is the operating word there: the lack of updates about Star Trek 4 and the fact that Paramount is working on a completely unrelated Star Trek origin film means that we may never see Chris Pine suit up as Kirk again. If that happens, we will never find out the ultimate fate of Carol Marcus in this alternate universe.
Still, we’re glad that Pegg didn’t bring her back just to kill her or give her a crappy story, and we’ll always remember Alice Eve’s performance as a bright spot as JJ Abrams took the franchise into darkness in more ways than one.
Source: SyFy
