Star Trek Beyond is full of familiar faces. Stars of the first two films, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, and Zoe Saldana, will all return to the series, while the original crew of the USS Enterprise remains mostly intact. Of course, Beyond has some new additions to its Star Trek cast — most notably Sofia Boutella's Jayla and Idris Elba's Krall — but on a larger scale, For the most part, the cast remains the same. Still, Star Trek Beyond managed to introduce some new faces through their brief appearances. These cameos in Star Trek Beyond may be hard to spot, but they sure are sweet.
Before you get too excited, the cameos in Star Trek Beyond aren't the flashy, Marvel-esque cameos you'd expect from a blockbuster movie, especially one that marks the 50th anniversary of the franchise. Anniversary time. Most of the cameos in Star Trek Beyond went unnoticed, whether because the people who made them were less famous or because they all wore alien makeup. While there were rumors that original Captain Kirk William Shatner would make a cameo in Star Trek Beyond , none of the original cast members filmed parts in the movie. In fact, these rumors were quickly shot down by Shatner himself — "There was never any conversation," Shatner told SFX Magazine in January.
It's fair and accurate to say that the cameos in Star Trek Beyond are much more low-key in nature, but that's not to say they aren't exciting. Here are five major cameos to watch for in Star Trek Beyond . Obviously, spoilers ahead.
1. Danny Pudi and Kim Cord
Pudi and Cord make discreet cameos in "Beyond ," playing Fija and Zavanko, two heavily masked aliens who attack Scotty after he crash-lands on Altamid. Director Justin Lin, who worked with Pudi on "Community" and Kold on "Fast & Furious 6 ," teased the cameos on Twitter early in production. You won't recognize the actor from "Beyond ," but it's still an interesting look to keep an eye out for.
2. Greg Grunberg
Grunberg, a regular on J.J. Abrams, had a small role in Beyond as Commander Finnegan, a Federation officer on the Yorktown space station. Fans may recognize Grunberg as the Rebel pilot in Star Trek: The Force Awakens or from his more recent roles in Heroes and Heroes Reborn . This isn't actually Grunberg's first Star Trek guest appearance. A longtime collaborator of Abrams' (you can see him on almost all of Abrams' projects), Grunberg was considered to play Kirk's stepfather in Star Trek (2009), Even though the character only needed voiceover work.
3. Doug Jung
"Beyond" co-writer Jung has a small cameo as Sulu's high-profile sidekick Ben. Rather than having a well-known celebrity play the role, the filmmakers decided to cast Jung in the role. Jung only appears briefly and has no lines, but the importance of his character will undoubtedly be dissected and talked about for years to come.
4. Jeff Bezos
Amazon founder Bezos is said to have a cameo in the film, but you might have a hard time finding him. He appears as a Starfleet alien in a group photo - he is officially recognized as a Starfleet officer. It's unclear how or why Bezos made a cameo in the movie. I guess, they really like the Amazons in space?
5. Original Cast of "Star Trek"
So, I know I was basically right when I said Shatner didn't have a cameo in "Beyond." However, he does appear on screen in the film, just in the form of a photo. In one particularly touching scene, a photo of the original Enterprise cast was shown, paying homage to Leonard Nimoy, the original actor for the role of Spock. The image is only on screen for a few seconds, but it's a nice tribute to the series that started it all.
These Star Trek Beyond cameos are exciting, but don't overtake the movie. Finally, if you're watching "Beyond" for the celebrity appearances, you're probably doing it wrong.
Image: Paramount Pictures; CBS
