'Star Trek 4' Rumored to Feature Female Villain, New Female Hero

The fourth Kelvin timeline Star Trek movie is set to make history as the first Star Trek movie ever directed by a woman, with SJ Clarkson at the helm. A new rumor suggests it will also feature a female villain and a new female ally for Kirk and crew.

According to That Hashtag Show, Clarkson's Star Trek film is now in the casting phase. Clarkson is reportedly looking for two actresses between the ages of 45 and 60, one to play the film's chief antagonist and the other to play a hero.

Though she's a bit younger than what Clarkson is aiming for, the film is reportedly looking at 40-year-old Black Panther and The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira to fill one of those roles, although which role is unclear.

That Hashtag Show had no further details to offer about these new characters. While the villain is likely intended to be an episodic antagonist like Nero, Khan, and Krall before her, fans may wonder if this new female hero could replace Ensign Pavel Chekov, who was played by the late actor Anton Yelchin, aboard the Kelvin timeline Enterprise-A. It has been made clear that Paramount has no intention to recast the role of Chekov out of respect for Yelchin's memory, leaving the role of Enterprise navigator open.

Then again, 45-60 may skew a little old for a member of the Enterprise crew. Most of the cast is right at the low end of that spread, with Simon Pegg being the oldest cast member at 48 and Zoe Saldana being the youngest at 40 [EDIT: Chris Pine is actually the youngest at 37. We shouldn't do math in our heads]. Perhaps then Clarkson is looking for a woman to play a Starfleet admiral or a scientist involved in the film's plot.

Star Trek 4 will reunite a cast that includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg. The film is also expected to see Chris Hemsworth reprise his role as George Kirk, Captain James Kirk's father, who died in the opening scene of 2009's Star Trek when he rammed the USS Kelvin into the time-displaced Romulan vessel the Narada.

The fourth Star Trek film was announced shortly before Star Trek Beyond opened in theaters. However, Paramount went silent on the film for over a year after Star Trek Beyond underperformed at the box office. Paramount saw some leadership changes at the executive level and reconsidered its box office strategy and now Star Trek 4 is back on track.

What do you think of the idea of Danai Gurira joining Star Trek 4? Should she be a hero or a villain? Let us know what you think in the comments!

The first three Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies - Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond - are all available now on home media. Star Trek 4 still does not have a production start or release date.