Captain Pike Boards the Enterprise

Bruce Greenwood, who played a great John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days, has joined the J.J. Abrams Star Trek production as Captain Christopher Pike, the first captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise and likely to be replaced by all the young bucks in the cast already, the Hollywood Reporter says.

The character of Capt. Pike appeared in the original unaired pilot that Gene Roddenberry created. The pilot was rejected by CBS and then shown to NBC, which turned it down, though it liked the concept enough to commission a second pilot. (Only the character of Spock survived the redevelopment.)

Pike was later weaved back into Star Trek lore as the ship’s first captain and appeared in a two-part episode.

Abrams’ “Trek” is expected to start shooting this month. It is understood that the movie chronicles the early days of the Enterprise crew.