Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
All team (96)
Short description
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan continues the story of the starship Enterprise and its crew, picking up a rivalry first introduced in the 1967 television episode "Space Seed." Admiral James T. Kirk has settled into a desk role, training cadets rather than commanding a starship, when the genetically engineered Khan Noonien Singh resurfaces after years of exile. Khan seizes a secret Federation device known as Genesis, which is capable of transforming barren worlds, and uses it as bait to draw Kirk out. Commanding a ship crewed largely by inexperienced trainees, Kirk must confront an enemy whose grudge against him has had years to harden.
The film was directed by Nicholas Meyer, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jack B. Sowards, and it was produced by Robert Sallin. Released in 1982, it was Meyer's second feature, following Time After Time in 1979, and it preceded The Day After, Volunteers and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which he also directed. William Shatner leads as Kirk, with Leonard Nimoy returning as Spock, Ricardo Montalban as Khan, and DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and Walter Koenig among the supporting cast.
On a budget of 11 million dollars, the film earned around 79 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.7/10 from 135,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.5/10 from 2,219 votes. A critics' rating of 8.2/10 from 76 reviews places it ahead of the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Producers chose Ricardo Montalbán for the role of Khan, believing he would be available for filming and happy to reprise the character. No one considered any other options, even though Montalbán was filming 'Fantasy Island' at the time, forcing the filmmakers to schedule filming around his television work.
- As a child, Kirstie Alley was fascinated by the series “Star Trek” (1966-1969). Her favorite character was Spock, and she often imagined herself as his daughter. During the audition for the role of Saavik, she played as Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015) played her beloved Spock.
- The transformation of an uninhabitable planet into a habitable one (and vice versa) using 'Genesis' was the first scene in cinema created entirely through computer technology. This was made possible by programmer Loren Carpenter, formerly of Boeing.
- Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991), the creator of the entire 'Star Trek' universe, served as a consultant on this film, while Harvey Bennett fulfilled the duties of executive producer. Paramount Studios accused Roddenberry himself of constant delays and budget overruns while working on the 1979 adventure film 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' (Robert Wise, 1914-2005), constantly interfering with the process and insisting on changes to the plotlines. The studio had no objections to him becoming a producer alongside John Povill, but Roddenberry persisted, demanding complete creative freedom and the right to make decisions.
- Executive producer Harvey Bennett (1930-2015) re-watched the entire series “Star Trek” (1966-1969) and chose the “Space Seed” (1967) episode as the basis for the sequel. The script even includes a line from Spock suggesting it would be interesting to return here in 100 years to see what civilization has emerged. This was the first time a specific episode of a series served as the basis for a feature film.
- Captain Kirk and Khan never meet face-to-face throughout the entire film. They communicate only via screen connection. This is because all scenes with Ricardo Montalbán (1920-2009), who played Khan, were filmed separately due to his busy schedule.
- The filming used a huge rubber mockup of Walter Koenig's ear, who played Chekov.
- As soon as Ricardo Montalbán (1902-2009) agreed to appear in the film, he realized it would be difficult to reprise the role of Khan. He had already become “stuck” in the image of Mr. Roarke, whom he had played for many years in the series “Fantasy Island” (1977-1984). The actor requested a copy of the “Space Seed” (1967) episode from the series “Star Trek” (1966-1969) from Paramount Pictures and watched it several times. After the third or fourth viewing, he began to regain an understanding of the essence of the character he was to play.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
