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Will we see Robert April in Trex XI?

A

Akira Class

Fleet Captain
Fleet Captain
Trek XI is shaping up to have some great continuity pr0n for TOS lovers like myself. However, I am also a fan of TAS and would love to have April involved somehow, either via a mention or a cameo. If we get an April cameo, who should play him? My short list is as follows:

- Denzel Washington
- Levar Burton
- Tony Todd
- Morgan Freeman
- Danny Glover
- William Shatner
 
^ All too old with the exception of Burton.

Give it to Michael Dorn. Let him play a character without a prosthesis.
 
april would be a good addition to cement his place regarding the percieved canon. interesting choices for casting. what was your criteria?
 
I imagine they're going to avoid calling Pike the first Captain of the Enterprise... just establish him as a Starfleet veteran, keen to move on from his assignment. Who came before him, probably won't come up if it's Spock's lifestory being put on celluloid. So probably no April...
 
Outpost4 said:
^ All too old with the exception of Burton.

Give it to Michael Dorn. Let him play a character without a prosthesis.
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Well, since it is allegedly a multiple time jump movie, "too old" may or may not be true. I was hoping we'd see him as a wise fatherly or grand-fatherly former captain near the end of his career. But, I do see your point. Non-canon sources say that Kirk's dad served as April's XO. Might be nice to see that.

Your suggestion of Dorn is an interesting one, though I don't see him being as approachable as the others. Perhaps if we could get someone like Bakula with a little less "aw shucks".
 
CRA doesn't exist in this movie, most likely.

How many former Captains of the Enterprise do we need to visit?
 
They may just mention him, or there may be a portrait of him on a wall. In fact, I could see that. Instead of "ships named Enterprise" they could show, "Captains of the Enterprise," and show a picture of Archer, April, and Pike at the end of a row of portraits. That way they could give a nod to Enterprise too without actually having an actor proper speak lines.
 
Any of those actors other than Shatner would be okay. I say if you can get Freeman for any part, sign him. He'd be good as April.
 
^^Robert April's picture could beat up Archer's picture. And April's not even canon.

Seriously, though, if they were to show a picture of April, they should go the same route as the Encyclopedia/Chronology and photoshop Gene Roddenberry.
 
If we are going to see April, shouldn´t his visage stay true to April as we know him, i.e. the one from TAS? Otherwise there is not much of a point in putting him in at all, I think.

But on the other hand, having Dorn in would be terrific... mmm. :-)
 
Outpost4 said:
^ All too old with the exception of Burton.

Give it to Michael Dorn. Let him play a character without a prosthesis.
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I'm curious why you think this list of actors, with the exception of Shatner, are too old to play April?

Since TAS isn't fully considered canon and none of the books or comics are, I think they've got a lot of room to play with in depicting April.

I like all of the choices, particularly Dorn, Todd, and Burton. Another I would throw out there is Laurence Fishburne. I always wondered what DS9 would've been like with him at the helm, so I think it would be cool to see him as a captain.

Two more good choices, Carl Lumbly and Phil Morris. Since JJ Abrams seems to favor actors he's worked with in the past, if they were looking to cast a black actor in the April role, I think Lumbly could pull it off easily. I believe Morris started his acting career on TOS, and he's done several roles on DS9, VOY, and is a genre guy. Casting Morris could be a neat tip of the hat to Abrams stint on MI 3, since Morris's dad was in the original Mission Impossible, and he was in the 80's remake/sequel series.

Hopefully April will get a cameo or at least a mention in the film so he can finally be canonized.
 
Overall, my secret desire here is to officially canonize April, so I'll take whatever I can get with regards to that. A mention would be great. A cameo would be even better.

A side note: How does everyone feel about the idea of Kirk's dad serving under April? I know that has been advanced by a few non-canon sources. Seems a bit too "small universe" for me. I always imagined Kirk's dad as an Iowa farmer.
 
i dont see kirks father as a co under april.
were there not stories where kirks father was in security or diplomatic corp/

and it would be nice to at least get a mention of april.
and these guys are fans enough they may just do it.
 
Akira Class said:
Overall, my secret desire here is to officially canonize April, so I'll take whatever I can get with regards to that. A mention would be great. A cameo would be even better.

A side note: How does everyone feel about the idea of Kirk's dad serving under April? I know that has been advanced by a few non-canon sources. Seems a bit too "small universe" for me. I always imagined Kirk's dad as an Iowa farmer.
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I agree. Keep Kirk's father out of Star Fleet. As for April, the geek in me wants Leslie Nielsen for the part.
 
Nerys Myk said:
As for April, the geek in me wants Leslie Nielsen for the part.
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It would be a wonderful idea! In my very warped mind, I alway saw Forbidden Planet as a sort of prequel (or better, forefather) to Star Trek.
 
Nerys Myk said: As for April, the geek in me wants Leslie Nielsen for the part.
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Ah, but then Robbie would be all over the net moaning how the real Sci Fi legend is being shunned! :D

robbiebabemagnetxl4.jpg


Clearly more pulling power than Shatner at the height of his powers...

(plus Robbie could be plugged in anywhere)! :lol:
 
exalted one said:
If we are going to see April, shouldn´t his visage stay true to April as we know him, i.e. the one from TAS? Otherwise there is not much of a point in putting him in at all, I think.

But on the other hand, having Dorn in would be terrific... mmm. :-)
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Thanks. Otherwise it's called color blind casting. Akira Class recommended black actors; I followed his lead.


ChristopherPike said:
I imagine they're going to avoid calling Pike the first Captain of the Enterprise...
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I'm afraid it will be otherwise. Hollywood loves having somebody be "first" in a story. It adds drama. I think they'll make Pike the first captain of the Enterprise.
 
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