Everyone associates the late Leonard Nimoy with the Star Trek TV series and films, and some are ensuring that no one forgets the man who played the iconic character Spock.
In the upcoming Star Trek: Beyond , the passing of the actor will get a definite mention, plus a documentary by Nimoy’s son about his famous father airs at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday.
As reported by Movie Pilot , Leonard Nimoy played Spock all the way through from the initial pilot of the TV series Star Trek in 1966 to his final film appearance in 2013.
While Heroes star Zachary Quinto played the younger version of Spock in the 2009 film Star Trek and the 2013 film Star Trek: Into Darkness , Nimoy played a cameo as his much later self in the films.
Cool. #StarTrek https://t.co/HgckJNuN7V
— K94 (@K943Rocks) April 12, 2016
After Nimoy passed away at the age of 83 in February last year, mention of the actor’s death is definitely going to be worked into the new script for Star Trek: Beyond , set for release this summer.
Film Journal International reportedly interviewed director Justin Lin, who confirmed this fact. Lin said, “It’s something you’ll see in the film. It obviously affected everybody because he’s been a big part of our lives. There’s an attempt to acknowledge that in some way.”
The scenes shared by Nimoy as the older version of Spock with his younger self played by Zachary Quinto were full of emotion and revealed a real-life mutual respect between the two actors.
In an interview with Time, Quinto spoke of his respect and admiration for the veteran Star Trek actor , saying he lost his own father when he was very young.
“So to have this man come into my life and resonate so many qualities to which I aspire, and be such an example of dignity and grace and fulfillment — that was the part of it that so far exceeded any expectations I could have had.”
Documentary on Leonard Nimoy to air at Tribeca
Leonard Nimoy is also the subject of an upcoming documentary, produced by his son, Adam Nimoy. The resulting film, For the Love of Spockis set to air at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend.
It was shortly after the death of his father than Adam committed to making the documentary, which chronicles his father’s impact in the role of Spock.
When Adam was interviewed at the Star Trek convention, five months after his father passed away, he promised to make the definitive film about Spock. He said the role was a character that was perfect for his dad, who he reckons was also an outsider trying to fit in.
“My father nailed that role because it was him, the son of Orthodox Jewish immigrants hoping to assimilate and get a career in Hollywood,” he said, adding, “He was a numbers guy.”
Adam Nimoy’s new Spock doc For The Love Of Spock has a trailer. Sniff. https://t.co/KlIEGRsxNy pic.twitter.com/r2LdeJCYjt
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) April 14, 2016
According to a report by the LA Times , in a Kickstarter campaign last year, Adam raised more than $662,000 in funding to create the documentary, which features interviews with a number of other Star Trek cast and crew members, including William Shatner and George Takei from the original Star Trek series and films .
Actors from the new movie franchise, including Zach Quinto and Simon Pegg, are also interviewed in the documentary, and in fact, it is Quinto – the new Spock – who narrates the documentary.
Adam Nimoy is not new to film making, as he is already an accomplished television director, having been involved in Babylon 5 , NYPD Blue, and Gilmore Girls . It turns out he was also, rather appropriately, involved in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Reportedly after For the Love of Spock airs at the Tribeca Film Festival, it will be made available for online streaming.
With the combination of his upcoming mention in the latest Star Trek film and the new documentary about him, Leonard Nimoy will definitely “Live long and prosper” in his fans’ memories.
[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]