On the 97th Academy Awards show which aired on Sunday, March 2, 2025, Zoe Saldana became the second Star Trek actress to win an Oscar in an acting category. Saldana won Best Supporting Actress for the groundbreaking film Emilia Perez in which most of the dialogue (barring a few moments in English) is sung in Spanish.
Saldana starred in the rebooted Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies (2009 – 2016) from J.J. Abrams, as Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura. Saldana gushed over her husband [Marco Perego Saldana] and family in her teary Oscar acceptance speech saying “To my husband with that beautiful hair, you're just…the biggest honor in my life is being your partner…”
Saldana further expressed that she is the first American of Dominican origin to win an Academy Award, and she knows she will not be the last. Speaking of certainties, it seems certain that Star Trek creators have another in-demand Oscar-winning actress on their hands which may be another hurdle for the future of Star Trek 4.
Much like Oscar-winning Michelle Yeoh's likely impact on Star Trek creators' decision to change the proposed Section 31 series into a Paramount+ streaming movie Star Trek: Section 31, it will be interesting to see what could be in the cards for Salanda's future in the Star Trek franchise as she basks in her “Oscar Glow up” to demand more money, more screen time, and a more favorable film schedule.
BTS of filming @officialavatar - transforming into Neytiri! #transformationtuesday pic.twitter.com/Qvy4VgSpRo
— Zoe Saldana (@zoesaldana) July 23, 2019
Notwithstanding, Saldana is already an A-List actress with not one, not two, but three blockbuster franchises under her belt – Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avatar. As such, producer J.J. Abrams and his fellow Star Trek creators need to step up their game if the fan-anticipated Star Trek 4 is to make it to the big screen with the cache of newly crowned Academy Award-winning actress – Zoe Saldana!