Leonard Nimoy held a lot of thoroughly acclaimed acting credits to his name, but unarguably none shaped his star-studded career as perfectly as the Star Trek saga did. Throughout the time he continued to leave viewers baffled with his incredible acting skills, he delivered some of the most iconic performances as Spock in the fan-favorite sci-fi universe over nearly half a century.
And yet, his tremendous collaboration with the saga just may not have even gone that far in the first place as Nimoy’s original response for Star Trek II was originally nothing short of a hard no. In fact, had it not been for the one who developed the story promising the actor a “great death scene” through the $97 million film, perhaps he wouldn’t even have gone that far!
“A Great Death Scene” Convinced Leonard Nimoy for Star Trek II
Back in 1979, when the first live-action movie from the saga, Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit the screens, it didn’t exactly receive the response it was expected to. If anything, the film’s 53% rotten rating on the Tomatometer and an even worse 42% score on the Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes is enough to justify how much it failed to appease fans and critics alike.
That said, obviously, Leonard Nimoy, who played the iconic fan-favorite Spock in the saga, didn’t want to be a part of any sequels in the making at all. It was for this very reason that the actor even let slip the initial opportunity offered by producer cum writer Harve Bennett to meet over lunch, with both of them knowing it was to discuss Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
But then came the unexpected day, months after his proposal, when Bennet found himself seated at a social gathering at Nimoy’s home. Of course, the writer saw this as the perfect opportunity to lay down the honeytrap to get the actor on board since the movie pretty much couldn’t be made without his character. And the moment when he could discuss the same came as well.
When Nimoy finally asked how the sequel was coming along, Bennett played the sneakiest trick as he asked the one question that he knew would have the actor sold for the sequel: “How’d you like to have a great death scene?” As per Vanity Fair, Nimoy first shook his head to this question with an amused laugh before responding:
You son of a b-tch, let’s talk.
Inevitably enough, Nimoy even giving it a chance after the deflating experience that was the first movie was only to allow it to give him the dramatic closure he so badly needed. And, being the incredibly dedicated and serious actor that he was, this would have also presented him with the ultimate challenging experience of shooting a heartwrenching death scene.
Thus, Bennett’s clever shot in the not-so-dark dark actually hit the mark at the perfect place, and Nimoy was sold. With things a lot easier now and his creative brain flirting with some of the most incredible ideas, Bennett got to work and gave Nimoy just the thing he craved: A perfect ending for his Vulcan in one of the most iconic moments of the entire saga.
That was that, and the rest was history.
Taking on Star Trek II Proved to be One of Leonard Nimoy’s Best Decisions
Of course, Bennett didn’t hesitate to deliver up to the expectations when he was done with the final draft for 1982’s The Wrath of Khan. If anything, this film undid all the damage that the first movie had done to the franchise, especially story-wise, as it went on to become one of the most critically and generally commended films from the sci-fi saga of all time.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, this sequel was met with a stark contrast of reviews as it earned an appreciative 87% from critics and a whopping 90% from audiences. As for its commercial performance, the Los Angeles Times reports it made $97 million at global box offices, with a production cost of a meager $12 million (via AFI Catalog).
All in all, this film may as well be deemed one of the better decisions taken by Leonard Nimoy throughout his brilliantly respectable career for one too many reasons. Not only did it end up bringing his iconic character back to the saga, but also allowed him to stay connected with the multi-billionaire franchise and deliver epic performances for around 50 years.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is available to be streamed on Prime Video.
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