Simon Pegg wants to bring back this underrated Star Trek character for a new movie, and we’re all for it!
Star Trek is doing pretty well right now with the various TV shows on Paramount+. Yet there's something about Trek on the big screen that feels more special and epic. Sadly, we haven’t gotten that since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond despite numerous efforts.
There are various factors delaying another Trek film. A major one was the shocking death of Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov, just before Beyond’s release. Trying to move on without him has been difficult. There were also various issues within Paramount Pictures' management and the busy schedules of the actors.
Thankfully, that may be changing as the recent merger of Paramount and Skydance is giving the franchise a chance to return to the big screen. It even sounds like there are already plans for a new Trek film, and Simon Pegg has one character for it!
Speaking at the STLV: Trek To Vegas convention in early August, Pegg, who wrote the screenplay for Beyond as well as played Scott, said he wanted a full spin-off movie for the breakout character of Jaylah, played by Sofia Boutella.
“[Beyond co-writer] Doug [Jung] and I, we were going to write a spin-off about the character of Jaylah called ‘Jaylah and the Wolf.’ Sofia [Boutella], she did such a great job with her, and she was such a great character. We had this idea that Jaylah was going to go Starfleet Academy and she was going to be put into a group of cadets who were like problem cadets, who were called ‘The Wolf Pack’ and they were sent off to a real planet called Wolf 359 and would get into an adventure on this planet. Yeah, for a while we were working on that, but in the end, it just didn’t happen.”
This would have been a great turn for a character that deserves a bigger focus in Star Trek!
Why Jaylah should return to Star Trek
One of the best parts of Beyond was Jaylah, an alien on the distant world of Altamid. When the Enterprise crew crashed there, Jaylah rescued Scotty and helped him aid the rest of the crew. An expert warrior and engineer, Jaylah was instrumental in helping the crew get the USS Franklin working again to defeat the Krill.
The movie ended with Jaylah seemingly set to join Starfleet Academy and it’s likely a fourth Kelvin Timeline movie would have featured her. Boutella was a standout in the role with her performance, aided by a fantastic makeup job and there is still much unknown about her (such as just what her species is). That leaves plenty of potential for her growth and more adventures.
The idea of her and a pack of troublesome students sent on a top mission would have made for a fine spin-off movie. At the least, the character deserves more attention as Boutella was sensational and provided a much-needed spark to Beyond.
It’s unclear if Jaylah can pop into a new movie yet, but Pegg seems hopeful that she can get back on the big screen with the rest of Trek soon!
Star Trek Beyond streaming on Paramount+.