27-year-old Chris Pine has landed the job of playing the new face of Captain James T. Kirk in the eleventh “Star Trek” movie. Pine won the role but at the cost of having to give up another plum part opposite George Clooney in the movie adaptation of “White Jazz” based on the James Ellroy crime novel. Pine joins Zachary Quinto (“Heroes”), Zoe Saldana (“The Terminal”), Simon Pegg (“Shawn of the Dead”), John Cho (“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”), Anton Yelchin (“Huff”) and Eric Bana (“Troy”) in the movie which is scheduled to begin filming next month. Rumored to be the frontrunner to play the Enterprise’s chief medical officer Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy is Karl Urban (“Doom”, “Pathfinder”). J.J. Abrams (“Mission Impossible 3”) will direct the movie and he has a budget of $150 million dollars to play with.

Pine has starred in “Smokin Aces”, “Just My Luck” and “The Princess Diaries 2” but this will be his big break. Abrams is recasting the roles made famous by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy in the hopes of breathing new life into the 40 year old sci-fi franchise. Bana will play the movie’s villain, a Romulan time traveler who messes up the timeline and prevents Kirk from taking command of the famous spaceship. Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock in six of the movies and on the original television series, will reprise his role in the new movie as the older Vulcan.

Two of the new cast members of the U.S.S. Enterprise have been revealed. As Paramount Pictures makes it plans for an eleventh “Star Trek” feature film actors Zachary Quinto and Anton Yelchin have been cast in the film to play the roles of science officer Mr. Spock and navigator Chekov respectively. Quinto is best-known for playing the mind-stealing supervillain on NBC’s “Heroes” while Yelchin starred opposite Justin Timberlake in “Alpha Dog”.

J.J. Abrams (“Alias”, “Mission Impossible 3”) is directing the new “Star Trek” film which is set to open on Christmas Day 2008. Casting is underway for a new generation of actors to play the iconic roles of Capt. James Kirk, Engineer Scott, Lieutenant Uhura. Helmsman Sulu and Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy. One interesting rumor is that Abrams has asked his “Mission Impossible” pal Tom Cruise to make a cameo appearance in the new “Trek” as the retiring captain of the vessel, Capt. Pike, who hands over command to a young Capt. Kirk. Casting is also underway for the film’s villain although details on who this character will be have been kept top secret.

At least one of the original crew will make their appearance in the new movie. Leonard Nimoy, who created the role of Spock for the original “Star Trek” television show, will make an appearance as the older version of his character. William Shatner may also reprise his role as Kirk if a deal can be struck between the actor and the studio.

The sun may have set for Patrick Stewart and his crew from “The Next Generation” but Paramount Pictures isn’t giving up its popular “Star Trek” brand because the actors are getting older. The studio has hired “Lost” and “Alias” creator J.J. Abrams to direct the eleventh “Trek” movie and is planning a 2008 release for the film. Abrams is a self-confessed “Star Trek” fan and is planning on rejuvenating the flailing franchise by casting younger actors to play the legendary figures of the first television series, namely Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Doctor McCoy.

A rumor reported by IGN states that offers have gone out to Matt Damon, Adrien Brody and Gary Sinise to play Kirk, Spock and McCoy in the new picture. The story would tell of the first space adventure of these three Starfleet officers as well as introduce younger versions of Chief Engineer Scott, Lieutenant Uhura and Helmsman Sulu. Another rumor has Scottish actor James McAvoy (Mr. Tumnus in “The Chronicles of Narnia”) in the running to play the new Scotty.

But Abrams isn’t shutting out the old school fans of the original “Star Trek” altogether. While the majority of the movie’s story is set in the early days of the original Enterprise crew, the beginning and end of the movie flashes to the “present day” and shows Kirk and Spock reminiscing about their glory days. Both of the actors that originated the roles on TV, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, have been approached to don their Starfleet uniforms again.