Rumor had it that JJ Abrams wanted a Russell Crowe type to play the villain in his upcoming Star Trek prequel, and it looks like he got him. StarTrek.com reports that Eric Bana has signed on to play Nero in Paramount’s new Star Trek film. Though a great actor in his own right, Eric Bana is the guy you call when you can’t put up with Russell Crowe’s temper or you just can’t afford his quote. Either way, casting Bana in anything is always a great decision.
No confirmed details yet on who or what this Nero character will be, other than that he’s the film’s bad guy. The name however, would suggest he’s an Emperor or someone with Emperor delusions. It would also be in keeping with the rumor that the film’s villain may be a Romulan, since Trek has always visualized the Romulan empire as a space-faring stand-in for ancient Rome. If he’s a Romulan, that’s unfortunate since the rumors of Abrams using time travel as a way to excuse taking a dump all over Trek continuity are almost certain to be true. In Trek-lore, no one actually sees a Romulan until well after the time period in which the new Abrams movie takes place.
Tossing all other concerns aside though, casting Bana in a Trek movie is absolutely beyond awesome. He’s a fantastic actor, and instantly becomes the biggest name ever to star in a Trek movie. It also lifts the profile of this film way beyond the geek realm and into the more mainstream, Hollywood, summer-tentpole stratosphere.
If you’ve somehow missed Bana’s past work, check him out in the award winning Steven Spielberg movie Munich as a troubled Israeli assassin. Or if genre movies are more your speed, he played Bruce Banner in Ang Lee’s Hulk and Hector in Troy. Alright, neither Hulk nor Troy has the best reputation, but it’s not the fault of Bana who even in those films, gives a awards-worthy performance every time he shows up in anything. Casting him as a villain in Trek should make for pretty juicy bad guy stuff.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Eric-Bana-Cast-In-Star-Trek-6594.html
