Simon Pegg reveals he was initially irked by how director J.J. Abrams offered him the role of Scotty in the 2009 Star Trek. For several years, the film side of the Star Trek franchise remained dormant after 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. Eventually, however, Paramount brought Abrams on to revive the property in a new film with a brand new cast. Pegg was cast as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the USS Enterprise's chief engineer. Abrams' first Star Trek focused on how the crew of the Enterprise came to be in its own timeline that was adjacent, but ultimately separate from that of the original series. Pegg was joined by fellow stars Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Karl Urban (Bones), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), John Cho (Sulu), and the late Anton Yelchin (Chekov).
This cast went on to star in two other "Kelvin timeline" films, 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness and 2016's Star Trek Beyond. Abrams only directed the former, with Justin Lin taking over for the third installment. Pegg also had a hand in writing Star Trek Beyond, which was positively received by fans and critics. However, it disappointed at the box office, and since then, the future of the franchise has remained in limbo.
Pegg reflected on his time in the Star Trek franchise as part of Vanity Fair's video series where stars break down their careers. When it came to how he scored the role of Scotty, Pegg said with a laugh that he was, at first, irked by how Abrams offered him the role. "I got off an airplane, a flight from New York back to London, and opened my phone, and there was an email from J.J., and it said, 'Do you want to play Scotty?'" Pegg said. He continued with this:
And I was almost annoyed by that. The tenacity of it irked me. Because you can't just throw the ball into my court like that and expect me to smash it back. I need some time to think about it. But of course, three or four days later, I was like 'Yes, of course!' But it just felt like such a, like he was just handing me this massive opportunity, and I wanted dinner and a movie.
For some time now, fans have wondered if the reboot cast will return for a Star Trek 4. There have been numerous developments over the years, but they have all fallen apart before they could get very far. The most recent seemed to occur last November, when Fargo's Noah Hawley was hired to write and direct a Star Trek film. Fans immediately assumed Hawley would be working on the fourth Kelvin film, but both Pegg and Hawley cast doubt on that not long after.
For the time being, it remains to be seen if Pegg and the rest of his castmates will return for a fourth adventure on the Enterprise. At the same time, Star Trek continues to flourish on television, its original medium, through shows on CBS All Access. Pegg has indicated the cast is interested in returning, but only time will tell if they actually will.
Source: Vanity Fair