Variety’s report that Winona Ryder is joining the cast of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek: Muppet Babies as Spock’s mom raises a number of questions:
1. The article says she is going "to play the Vulcan mother of a young Spock (Zachary Quinto)." But as even Trek newbies know, Spock is only half-Vulcan; his mom was a human, played in a guest spot on the original show by (in a witty bit of casting) Father Knows Best’s Jane Wyatt. The conflict between logic and emotion is built into Spock’s genes. Is Abrams really planning to mess with this key bit of Trek lore, or did the reporter get it wrong?
2. Ryder is 36. Quinto is 30. This could be the weirdest piece of Oedipal casting since Angelina Jolie played Colin Farrell’s mom in Alexander. Is that really what Abrams is going for, or will she play the mom of an even younger Spock in flashbacks?
3. Ryder’s been pretty much MIA since her shoplifting debacle in 2002. Has she been on her own five-year mission? Is she back on Earth to stay? Will this role in a likely blockbuster help her get her career back on track? Or did you not even miss her? Weigh in on her casting below deck, in the comments section.
Comments (1-30) of 51 Add your comment
I could buy her age/younger appearance if she was playing a Vulcan, since they are supposed to live much longer and age slower, but she can’t be Spock’s mom AND be a Vulcan. I hope that the reporter just got it wrong.
The media’s treatment of Ryder was a disgrace. Far worse crimes have been comitted by far less talented people, with no fallout whatsoever. And here we have an Oscar nominee, a Scorsese actor, freakin’ Veronica Sawyer for crying out loud, and she can’t get jobs. Here’s hoping she’s here to stay this time.
I’m betting she’ll be in flashbacks, or they’ll age her up a little bit. I think it’s great news, Winona Ryder is one of my favorite actresses, there have been actors that did much worse than shoplift that still get to work, hello, look at all the DUIs, they could have killed someone.
I hope she makes a comeback, Hollywood needs talented actresses like her.
“star trek: muppet babies” – thanks for the laugh, gary
1. I woulnd’t exactly call Variety a bastion of journalism to begin with. That being said, I’m assuming it was a reporter’s mistake, as he/she probably assumed since Spock is a Vulcan, his mom must be. (Personally, I didn’t know his mom wasn’t a Vulcan).
2. Since I’m not exactly sure at what age Vulcans age when compared to humans, I’m assuming she’s probably his mom in flashbacks when he’s younger.
3. Why not a Winona come back? It’s not like we’re overstocked with talented actresses (Lohan, Alba, etc.) taking her place
Winona’s character will be in flash-backs! I’m glad Winona Ryder is back! she is a naturally gifted actor. ha! i can’t wait for this movie!
Has anyone else noticed that Whitney Pastorek is missing? Where are her snarky posts I miss them.
Remember Meatballs? The chant Bill Murray makes everyone say is “It just doesn’t matter, it just doesn’t matter”.
Well, it just doesn’t matter who is cast. This is an odd numbered Trek movie, which is a nearly guaranteed turkey rating.
Since this is almost guaranteed to be the case then Abrams should feel free to mess with the mythos, cast well known actors to roles that originally went to relative unknowns and do whatever he wants that most die hards believe will “ruin” the series. Expecting an odd numbered Trek movie to be good is like expecting gourmet food at Denny’s.
So let Abrams mess with the mythology all he wants to, it still won’t be worse than Star Treks 1, 5 (worst of them all), 7 and 9.
Gene Roddenberry’s been dead for more than a decade, and many of the original series actors have also passed (Scotty, Bones, Mccoy).
Rather than continue to rehash this series, why not just move on?
The curse of the odd numbered Star Trek was broken when the even numbered Star Trek: Nemesis came out, and sucked.
And really, The Search For Spock wasn’t that bad, and Star Trek 5 is one of those ’so bad it’s good’ movies, granted it wasn’t meant to be funny, but it’s some of the funniest unintentional humor ever. Not quite on the level of Karate Kid 3, but still, pretty damn funny.
WINONA! I thought she had FINALLY disappeared from movie screens. This makes me NOT want to see the movie.
The fanboys have been wringing their hands and wailing. Drama Queens.
Um…hasn’t anyone in Hollywood noticed that Wino is a horrible actress? How she managed to get a couple of Oscar noms, I’ll never know.
Hey, Beth and Kent…GO SCREW!!!
It’s funny (and sadly predictable) how the majority of comments so far are related to everything BUT the merits of the casting in order to be what sadly passes for “snark” these days.
I think Ms. Ryder is an excellent choice to play Amanda. Despite her personal woes, Ms. Ryder can be an excellent actress and has the right reserves to play the compassionate but politically wily wife of Sarek, motgher of Spock.
As for the age difference, it doesn’t matter: In Trek lore, Vulcans (including Spock, who is half Vulcan) physically age slower than humans (although it seems they mature faster). Since we are dealing with an “alien” culture and physiology, getting needlessly anal about whether she plays amanda in the “present” or the “past” of Spock’s childhood is pointless.
Love Winona! Glad to see she’s in movies again.
I don’t know Bernard, there’s only been a couple of negative comments, the majority have actually been pretty positive.
If they happen to cast Ms Ryder as a Vulcan mother to Spock the movie will bomb and like the television series Enterprise did.
I just went on Startrek.com and found out that Variety fixed the error about Winona being the “vulcan” mother of Spock. She is definitely his human half and this is stated in the printed version of Variety this morning. Whether she will be aged or be seen in flashbacks is still not known.
I LOVE WINONA! Welcome back babe!
Actually Winona’s making a comeback… She’s even [allegedly] doing her first nude scene in the forthcoming, “Sex and Death 101″. At least I won’t have to rely on my imagination anymore…
Glad to see you back, Winona!
Winona is #1 on my TOP FIVE list. Seriously…I posted it on EW a few days ago. For over ten years I’ve felt Winona is the most attractive woman on the planet.
i love her sooo much
Nothing against Winona Ryder, but I don’t think her slightly whiny voice seems right for the part. Can we get away from stunt casting?
M.I.A.? Not quite.
Love her.
And read your own magazine’s website: in the news section they reported that she has like four movies in various stages.
Star Trek: Muppet Babies…snerk. Love that. I hope Variety got it wrong. Spock being half-human is non-negotiable. Can’t really see her as Amanda. I could see Winona playing T’Pring though. I wonder if they’ll bring her into the mix. Have they cast Sarek yet? I’m assuming that character will be in it if Amanda is.
Variety.com corrected the article and wrote that she’s the “human mother of a young Spock (Zachary Quinto).” Which doesn’t answer the question about the 6 year discrepancy between mother & son. If it’s an even younger version of Spock, why use Quinto’s name? It’ll be interesting either way.
I didn’t know Spock’s mom shoplifted.
Very bad casting, but it could have been worse. They could have cast Rosie O’Donnell.
i love her i think it’s great