“Trek’ in the News: Trailers for New Movies Starring Urban, Yeoh, Hemsworth, Cho, & Woodard

Karl Urban in 'The Sea Beast'

Netflix Karl Urban as Jacob Holland and Zaris-Angel Hator as Maisie in 'The Sea Beast.'

Star Trek” and the people associated with the franchise are always in the news. Some of the news warrants full stories and some of it is better included in a round-up. This is that round-up, which is now a regular Heavy on Star Trek feature, and this week’s round-up involves Karl Urban, Chris Hemsworth, John Cho, Michelle Yeoh, and Alfre Woodard. All four actors star in upcoming films, and the studios behind those films have just released trailers and synopses.


Urban Hunts a Sea Beast, Befriends a Young Girl

 Karl Urban has played Dr. McCoy in “Star Trek (2009),” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” and “Star Trek Beyond,” but he assumes a very different role in his latest project, the upcoming animated feature, “The Sea Beast.” The actor, who celebrated his 50th birthday on June 7, 2022, according to the Internet Movie Database, provides the voice of a character named Jacob Holland.

A synopsis of the movie released by Netflix reads, “In an era when terrifying beasts roamed the seas, monster hunters were celebrated heroes – and none were more beloved than the great Jacob Holland. But when young Maisie Brumble stows away on his fabled ship, he’s saddled with an unexpected ally. Together they embark on an epic journey into uncharted waters and make history. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Chris Williams (“Moana,” “Big Hero Six,” “Bolt”), The Sea Beast takes us to where the map ends, and the true adventure begins.”

The Sea Beast will premiere on July 8 on Netflix.

 


Yeoh Co-stars in “The School for Good & Evil”


Michelle Yeoh, who starred as Captain Georgiou and her Mirror Universe counterpart, Emperor Georgiou, on “Star Trek: Discovery,” is going to the good side again in her newest film. The actress, who’s currently represented on screen by the surprise hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” plays a supporting role in the upcoming fantasy film, “The School for Good & Evil,” which, according to Variety, is adapted from the 2013 novel by Soman Chainani.

Meanwhile, Netflix provided the following synopsis: “Welcome to The School for Good & Evil, where every great fairytale begins… Directed by Paul Feig, ‘The School for Good & Evil’ follows best friends Sophie and Agatha, who find themselves on opposing sides of a modern fairy tale when they’re swept away into an enchanted school where young heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance of good and evil. Based on the International Best Selling Book Series and starring Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Sophia Anne Caruso, and Sofia Wylie, ‘The School for Good & Evil’ comes to Netflix this September.”

In a separate mailing to the media, Netflix referenced the full cast: Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Sophia Anne Caruso, Sofia Wylie, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Flatters, Kit Young, Peter Serafinowicz, Rob Delaney, Mark Heap, Patti LuPone, Rachel Bloom. Additionally, director Feig confirmed in a tweet that Yeoh is playing Professor Anemone.

 


Cho is Dying, Boldly


John Cho is known to “Star Trek” fans for his role as Sulu in the J.J. Abrams-produced Kelvin timeline features “Star Trek (2009),” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” and “Star Trek Beyond.” For his latest effort, the actor pivots to a modest family drama, “Don’t Make Me Go,” which will premiere July 15 on Amazon Prime Video.

A synopsis provided by the publicity team handling the film reads, “When single father Max (John Cho) discovers he has a terminal disease, he decides to try and cram all the years of love and support he will miss with his teenage daughter Wally (Mia Isaac) into the time he has left with her. With the promise of long-awaited driving lessons, he convinces Wally to accompany him on a road trip from California to New Orleans for his 20th college reunion, where he secretly hopes to reunite her with her mother who left them long ago. A wholly original and emotional journey, ‘Don’t Make Me Go’ explores the unbreakable, eternal bond between a father and daughter from both sides of the generational divide with heart and humor along for the ride.”

 


Woodard Lends Support in ‘The Gray Man’


“Star Trek” fans will remember that actress Alfre Woodard co-starred in one of the franchise’s most successful features, “Star Trek: First Contact,” which was released in 1996. Woodard played Lily Sloane and, according to Memory Alpha, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her performance. She will be seen next in “The Gray Man,” a Netflix action film that brings together talent from “Blade Runner 2049,” “The Avengers” franchise, “Goliath,” “Bridgerton,” and the most recent James Bond adventure, “No Time to Die.”

Netflix released a synopsis that reveals, “The Gray Man is CIA operative Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling), aka, Sierra Six. Plucked from a federal penitentiary and recruited by his handler, Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton), Gentry was once a highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death. But now the tables have turned and Six is the target, hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a former cohort at the CIA, who will stop at nothing to take him out. Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) has his back. He’ll need it. Ryan Gosling is The Gray Man and Chris Evans is his psychopathic adversary in the Netflix/AGBO-produced thriller directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, starring Ana de Armas, with Regé-Jean Page, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Wagner Moura, and Alfre Woodard.”

According to Netflix, “The Gray Man” will be released in select theaters on July 15, 2022, and will stream on Netflix starting July 22, 2022.

 


Hemsworth Headlines ‘Spiderhead’

Lastly, Chris Hemsworth heads the cast of “Spiderhead,” a Netflix psychological thriller that will debut on June 17 on the streaming platform. Hemsworth played the small but pivotal role of George Kirk in “Star Trek (2009).” According to Memory Alpha, George commanded the U.S.S. Kelvin for 12 minutes before it was destroyed by Captain Nero and the Narada, but he lived just long enough to communicate with his wife Winona and hear the cries of his newborn son, James.

Hemsworth, who is Australian, has since emerged as a major star in Hollywood. He played Thor in several Marvel adventures, including the upcoming “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and, according to Internet Movie Database, has appeared in “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Ghostbusters,” “Men in Black: International,” and “Extraction.”

The synopsis for “Spiderhead” reads, “In a state-of-the-art penitentiary run by brilliant visionary Steve Abnesti (Hemsworth), inmates wear a surgically attached device that administers dosages of mind-altering drugs in exchange for commuted sentences. There are no bars, no cells, or orange jumpsuits. In Spiderhead, incarcerated volunteers are free to be themselves. Until they’re not. At times, they’re a better version. Need to lighten up? There’s a drug for that. At a loss for words? There’s a drug for that, too. But when two subjects, Jeff (Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), form a connection, their path to redemption take a twistier turn, as Abnesti’s experiments start to push the limits of free will altogether. Based on The New Yorker short story by George Saunders, ‘Spiderhead’ is a genre-bending and darkly funny psychological thriller directed by Joseph Kosinski (“TRON: Legacy,” “Top Gun: Maverick”) and written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (“Deadpool,” “Zombieland”).”