Movies - TV
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Cut A Major Part Of Spock’s Story
By JEREMY SMITH
Paramount hired screenwriters Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes to write the first draft of “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” and create a character for Eddie Murphy.
Murphy wouldn’t ultimately be in the film, but the writers were emboldened by Paramount’s eagerness to take big narrative swings and wrote a fascinating change for Spock’s life.
According to Krikes, the Vulcan character Saavik, who first appeared in “The Wrath of Khan,” and Kirk were originally intended to have a scene on the bridge of the Bird of Prey.
Krikes explained, “They cut out five lines where Kirk says to Saavik, ‘Have you told him yet?’ And she says, ‘No. I’m taking a maternity leave.’”
Meerson added, “That’s why she’s standing with Amanda [Grayson, Spock’s human mother] when the Bird of Prey leaves. Because Amanda knows Saavik is carrying Spock’s kid.”
Nicholas Meyer and Harve Bennett were then hired to handle the film’s rewrites. Had that moment been kept, "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" would be a completely different movie.