Leonard Nimoy's Final Star Trek Appearance Has Major Ramifications For The Kelvin Timeline's USS Discovery

By Daniel Bibby

Published Mar 27, 2025

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I'm still in awe of the way JJ Abrams managed to include Leonard Nimoy's Prime Universe version of Spock in 2009's there aren't any plans beyond Star Trek 4 to venture further into the Kelvin Timeline, the movies so far have taken place during a time when Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and company could still be around. However, Nimoy's final Star Trek appearance creates issues with the possibility of ever including them.

Abrams' trilogy stands apart from the other Star Trek: The Original Series' cast reprise their roles, but that didn't stop Nimoy from returning in a very creative way. It was great storytelling that didn't create much of an issue at the time, but the franchise's return to screens in 2017 highlighted one fascinating problem.

Leonard Nimoy As Prime Spock In 2009's Star Trek Movie Means J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Timeline Can't Use Star Trek: Discovery's Original Cast

All the Discovery actors would need to be replaced to fit with Abrams' Star Trek formula

As cool as Nimoy's inclusion was in the 2009 Star Trek movie, it canonically confirmed that the new versions of the main characters would eventually age into looking like their Prime Universe counterparts. It was a bizarre casting quirk, but one that was necessary for Abrams to tell the story that he wanted to tell. At the time, Star Trek: Discovery was still years away from its 2017 debut, so there was nothing to consider in that regard. However, now that the show exists, Abrams' casting rules in the Kelvin Timeline movies essentially rule out appearances by the Discovery cast.

Kelvin Spock is portrayed by Zachary Quinto - but he will eventually grow to look like Leonard Nimoy, even in Abrams' alternate reality.

The reason for this is that the younger versions of the Kelvin Timeline characters are played by new actors. For instance, Kelvin Spock is portrayed by Zachary Quinto - but he will eventually grow to look like Leonard Nimoy, even in Abrams' alternate reality. Sonequa Martin-Green is still age-appropriate to reprise her role as Burnham in the current era of the Kelvin Timeline. So, if she were to make an appearance in Star Trek 4 or beyond, that would break Abrams' established casting pattern of replacing all the younger versions of the characters.

Does Star Trek: Discovery Exist In J.J. Abrams' Movie Timeline?

This solution would still be a huge wage

Spock's life in the Kelvin Timeline turned out to be very different from that of his Prime Universe counterpart thanks to events set in motion by the destruction of the USS Kelvin and Vulcan. For instance, there's no indication that Michael is Spock's adopted sister in the Kelvin timeline. Then again, there weren't any signs of her existence in Star Trek: The Original Series either, so her absence from the Kelvin Timeline movie doesn't necessarily mean that she isn't around.

A composite image of Spock through the years in Star Trek

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Spock is one of the most popular characters in Star Trek, and the Vulcan's lengthy timeline touches every era of the iconic franchise's history.

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Going with the assumption that Burnham does exist in the Kelvin Timeline, but isn't connected to Spock, Star Trek: Discovery's Red Angel storyline just doesn't work. As such, there would be no reason for the USS Discovery to travel into the 32nd century, and the ship and its crew would still be present in the 23rd century with Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and his USS Enterprise. So, unless another Kelvin Star Trek movie establishes otherwise, it's reasonable to assume that the Star Trek: Discovery characters do exist, but their backstories would be pretty much unrecognizable.