Another big name has joined the cast of Star Trek. This time it’s where-has-she-been-lately star Winona Ryder. Variety says she’s been hired to play Spock’s mother Amanda Grayson.

In both the original series and in the Trek movies Spock’s mother was played by the recently deceased Jane Wyatt. She had her largest role in Trek IV, as Spock studies on Vulcan to recover his memory after his Star Trek III resurrection.

Here’s where it gets confusing though. Spock’s mother is a human, his father is a Vulcan. Except Variety says “Paramount Pictures and director JJ Abrams have set Ryder to play the Vulcan mother of a young Spock.” Huh? That has to be a misprint. Variety must have their wires crossed. There’s no way Abrams would screw with such a basic, easy-to-handle piece of continuity. Spock’s half-human, half-vulcan nature is an integral part of his character. His mother is human. If Ryder is playing his mother, she must be playing the human wife of Spock’s Vulcan father Sarek.

So add Ryder to the list of famous names in Abrams’ Trek prequel. If Amanda is in the film, it’s safe to assume they’ll also be casting someone to play her husband Sarek. It’s also pretty likely that we’re not looking at much more than a cameo here. You’re not likely to see Ryder firing phasers on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Star Trek is already filming. The first images from the production have popped up at JFX Online. Don’t get excited, it’s just a bunch of obscured faces in hoodies. As is his habit, Abrams is going out of his way to keep the film tightly under wraps. We should probably consider ourselves lucky that we know it’s being called Star Trek. Unless that’s a code name. Maybe he’ll rename it Cloverfield In Space or something.

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