Karl Urban's Reluctance to Do STAR TREK BEYOND Led to Bones' Larger Role in Film

One of the things that I loved about Star Trek Beyond more than the other films was the way it highlighted members of the crew beyond Kirk and Spock. Bones, in particular, got a lot more screen time than he had in the first couple films for sure! Turns out that was no coincidence.

In an interview with StarTrek.com, Karl Urban discussed his reluctance to return to the role of Bones for the third Star Trek film. In fact, he almost passed it up...

"I felt that I was in agreement with a vast number of fans and audience members and critics who, after watching Into Darkness, felt that the character had become marginalized. And I was not keen to repeat that experience...But I got on the phone with (director) Justin Lin, and I raised my concerns and issues with him. And he outlined the story and the vision that he had for the character. And I was immediately intrigued and also somewhat reassured that he was a long-term fan of Star Trek, that he understood the weight and value of the character, and how the character interacts with Spock and Kirk...I collaborated with Simon (Pegg) and Doug (Jung) and Justin to bring a well-defined version of the character to screen. And thankfully, they were very receptive to it. There's a lot of material in the film that's a direct result of e-mails and conversations and opinions that I held about what I wanted the character to do in this movie."

Those talks paid off as what happened on screen became a real character development of Bones we didn't witness in the first two films. We saw Spock and him develop a real rapport, and it introduced a strong sub-story that made you feel like these were two guys who had spent a couple years together and are airing out their grievances for the first time.

Urban has the option again to walk before Star Trek 4, and I really hope he stays! I'm just getting attached to Bones, you can't cut me off now!