Merrick again...

theINSIDER is reporting that J.J. Abrams & Co. are smitten with the notion of Matt Damon as James T. Kirk in their forthcoming theatrical relaunch of STAR TREK.

The article also says Abrams has already received Kirk progenitor William Shatner's blessing on this.

It's an interesting, and remarkably solid, casting choice to be sure -- although I'd prefer someone a little less identifiable in the role (which, admittedly, might challenge the project's commercial viability in the eyes of The Powers That Be).

I'm going insane trying to figure out who out there might make a good Spock (rumored to appear in the film as well). Harry says Affleck, which is either genius, or insanity.

You can read the report HERE.

In other TREK news, Bryce Zabel has posted an intriguing little tidbit: the 14 page series "reboot" proposal penned by Zabel (DARK SKIES) and BABYLON 5 series overlord J. Michael Straczynski a few years back.

In a similar vein to Abrams' approach, the duo proposed retaining the core TREK mythology, and its ORIGINAL crew characters, but "rebooting" the whole shebang from a clean slate. Tech would be updated to reflect what TREK's future might look like from today's perspective. "Scotty" is referred to, in a "What if...?" capacity, as a woman. Trademarks of Straczynski storytelling (ancient races-in-hiding, watching humanity's expansion into the stars...secret codes in our DNA...etc.) are postulated. It's an intriguing...dare I say it..."Fascinating"....read.

Many factors scuttled Paramount's acceptance of this proposal, not the least of which was the suspension of TREK television production for the time being. None the less...

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN!!!