Summary
40 years afterStar Trek III: The Search for Spockand the movie’s cast have made an indelible impact not just on theStar Trekfranchise, but on wider culture. The third of six movies to continue the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of theoriginal starship Enterprisepicks up whereStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanleft off. With Spock (Leonard Nimoy) physically dead, Kirk and the crew risk their lives and careers to resurrect their old friend.
Across stage and screen, through political activism and progressive work with NASA, thecast ofStar Trek: The Original Series' third moviehave left a lasting impression on the world. Sadly,many of the cast ofStar Trek III: The Search for Spockhave passed away in the decades that followed the movie’s release. However, each of them has left an enduring legacy, not just with this criminally underratedStar Trekmovie, but also with their wider work in film, television, music and beyond.
8 Good Things In Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock
The Search For Spock has the unfortunate luck of following the amazing Wrath Of Khan, but the story of Spock’s return has plenty of great moments.
11William Shatner as Admiral James T. Kirk
Shatner’s still working in his 90s.
William Shatner gets one of his most iconic Kirk moments inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, as he damns the “Klingon bastards” that killed his son David Marcus (Merritt Butrick). Shatner went on to appear in four moreStar Trekmovies, before Captain Kirk was killed off in 1994’sStar Trek Generations. As well as starring in theStar Trekmovies,Shatner directed his own franchise entry,Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which he co-wrote with Harve Bennett.
Beyond theStar Trekuniverse, William Shatner got a late period renaissance via the iconic Denny Crane role in David E. Kelley’s legal comedyBoston Legal. Shatner’s music career also got a late period reappraisal thanks to his collaboration with Ben Folds onHas Been,an album of covers and new material. Incredibly, in 2021,William Shatner was part of the crew of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space shuttle, becoming the oldest living person to travel into space. Shatner recently reflected on his career and experiences in the 2023 documentary movie,You Can Call Me Bill.
One of William Shatner’sBoston Legalco-stars wasStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Rene Auberjonois, who played Paul Lewiston.
10Leonard Nimoy as Spock
Search for Spock began Nimoy’s directorial career.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spockwas Leonard Nimoy’s directorial debut, and he went on to directseveral other movies, includingStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home.The best loved of Leonard Nimoy’s directorial efforts isThree Men and a Baby, starring Ted Danson, Tom Selleck, and Steve Guttenberg, which continues to be screened on TV to this day. As well as appearing in the three subsequentStar Trek: The Original Seriesmovies, Nimoy reprised the role of Spock for bothStar Trek: The Next Generationand the J.J. Abrams movies in the late 2000s.
Leonard Nimoy and J.J. Abrams first worked together on the sci-fi mystery seriesFringe, which Abrams co-created with Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci. Leonard Nimoy sadly passed away in 2015, and was the subject of a moving retrospective documentary,For the Love of Spockin 2016. As well as his iconic Spock performance, Leonard Nimoy leaves behind one of the all-time great guest performances onThe Simpsons, as himself in the episode, “Marge vs. The Monorail”.
Leonard Nimoy’s William Bell inFringewas the former research partner of Dr. Walter Bishop, played byJohn Noble, who would go on to play the Diviner inStar Trek: Prodigy.
Leonard Nimoy’s Son “Loves” What Star Trek’s New Spock Actors Are Doing
Adam Nimoy reveals his feelings on how Ethan Peck on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Zachary Quinto in J.J. Abrams' movies portray Spock.
9DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
DeForest Kelley passed the torch from TOS to TNG.
Besides the three subsequentStar Trekmovies, DeForest Kelley only has a handful of credits to his name in the years afterThe Search for Spock’s release. In the years betweenStar TrekIVandV, Kelley recordedBones McCoy’s cameoin theStar Trek: TNGpilot to pass the torch. DeForest Kelley then made two more appearances as Dr. McCoy in the finalTOSmovies, and recorded voice work forThe Brave Little Toaster Goes to Marsand twoStar Trekvideogames before he sadly passed away from stomach cancer in 1997.
8James Doohan as Scotty
James Doohan played Scotty in four moreStar Trekmovies afterStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, and also appeared in theTNGepisode “Relics”. Outside of theStar Trekuniverse, James Doohan clearly had a sense of humor about his place in the iconic sci-fi franchise. InThe Ben Stiller Show, Doohan played himself, sending up his vaulted status by fans like Ben Stiller, while he made a brief cameo as a drunken actor in the TV movieKnight Rider 2000. Strangely, Doohan’s sense of humor appeared to abandon him in later life, ashe declined to appear inFuturama’sStar Trekpastiche, believing it was disrespectful.
Weirdest of all, however, Doohan played the role ofChief O’Brien, the namesake of one of hisStar Treksuccessors, in the Paul Brothers' movie,Double Trouble. James Doohan passed away in 2005, survived by his wife and seven children, including his son Christopher Doohan. Chris made two cameos inStar Trek(2009) andStar Trek Into Darkness, for which he received a credit as a transporter room officer. Chris Doohan also followed in his father’s footsteps by playing Scotty in the fan-made web seriesStar Trek Continues.
James Doohan stipulated that some of his ashes should be shot into space, a request which was eventually granted when the Falcon 9 rocket was launched as part of the second COTS Demo Flight in 2012.
7Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
Nichols made a huge impact on the future of space travel.
Uhura has a minor, but integral role inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, and continued to be an integral member of the Enterprise crew in subsequent movies. In tandem with her work on theStar Trekmovies,Nichelle Nichols worked with NASA to increase the diversity of the space program. Among the astronauts that Nichols recruited were the first African American woman in space, and futureStar Trek: The Next Generationguest star Mae Jemison. A 2019 documentary,Women in Motion, celebrated Nichols' impact on the space program. Nichelle Nichols sadly passed away in 2022.
Nichelle Nichols: Net Worth, Age, Height & Everything You Need To Know About The Late Star Trek Actress
Nichelle Nichols played the iconic Nyota Uhura in Star Trek and regularly attended conventions before passing away in 2022, and this is her net worth.
6George Takei as Sulu
Takei continues to make a positive impact as an activist.
FollowingStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, George Takei continued to play Hikaru Sulu in subsequent movies, and appeared asSulu inStar Trek: Voyagerto celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary. As well as memorable guest appearances inThe Simpsons,Party Down, andThe Big Bang Theory, George Takei also had a recurring role as Kaito Nakamura inHeroes. The father of sci-fi nerd and time-travelling superhero Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), Takei’s character appeared in all four seasons ofHeroesalongside past and futureStar Trekstars, Nichelle Nichols and Zachary Quinto.
The licence plate of Kaito Nakamura’s limousine was NCC-1701, in reference to the starship Enterprise.
OutsideStar Trekand his TV work, George Takei made a positive impact as an artist and activist. After years of charity work with LGBT organizations, Takei publicly came out in 2005, and he and his partner Brad Altman were thefirst couple in West Hollywood to apply for a same-sex marriage certificate in 2008. Takei has also sought to highlight the historic horrors of the Japanese-American internment camps via the 2012 Broadway musicalAllegianceand a graphic memoir,They Called Us Enemy. DiscussingAllegiancein 2012, Takei said he saw the musical as his legacy project.
5Walter Koenig as Chekov
Chekov swapped the starship Enterprise for Babylon 5
Walter Koenig’s Chekov had a lot to do inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, from manning Spock’s science station to keeping Uhura’s hailing frequencies open. AfterSearch for Spock, Koenig continued to appear in the movies until his final cameo inStar Trek Generations.Koenig’s best known role outsideStar Trekwas Alfred Bester inBabylon 5, a character he played in 12 episodes between 1994 and 1998. More recently,Walter Koenig joinedThe Seventh Rulepodcast to review hisStar Trek: The Original Seriesepisodes with hosts Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T Husk.
4Robin Curtis as Lt. Saavik
Curtis was almost Worf’s girlfriend on TNG
Robin Curtis briefly reprised her role as Lt. Saavik inStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but the character was never seen again. Years later,Robin Curtis was offered the role of Ambassador K’Ehleyr, the former lover of Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) inStar Trek: The Next Generation, but was unavailable.TNGfinally secured Curtis to play the villainous Vulcan Tallera in the season 7 two-parter, “Gambit”. Curtis had a number of small movie roles and guest spots on TV, including inBabylon 5, before retiring from screen acting in 1999.
Why Kirstie Alley Didn’t Return As Saavik For Star Trek III
Kirstie Alley was replaced as Lt. Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and there are conflicting accounts as to why the Vulcan was recast.
3Christopher Lloyd as Kruge
Lloyd and Shatner teamed up in 2021.
A year afterStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, Christopher Lloyd played the biggest role of his career asDoc Brown inBack to the Future. Lloyd has continued to do great work in genre movies over the years, from Uncle Fester inThe Addams Familymovies to Commissioner Helgait inThe Mandalorian. Hilariously, having played bitter enemies inStar Trek 3, Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner played best friends in the 2021 comedy movieSenior Moment, with Jean Smart, with whom Lloyd has also appeared inHacks.
2Merritt Butrick as David Marcus
TNG was one of Butrick’s final roles.
Tragically, Merritt Butrick died five years after the release ofStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, from toxoplasmosis, complicated by AIDS. The actor is memorialized with two squares on the 1,300,000 square foot NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, both of which reference his role as David Marcus inThe Wrath of KhanandThe Search for Spock. In the years before his death, Merritt Butrick made a guest appearance as T’Jon in astealthWrath of Khanreunionin theTNGepisode “Symbiosis”. Merritt Butrick’s last acting role was a critically acclaimed performance as a male sex worker in the playKingfishat the Los Angeles Theater Center.
