SIMON PEGG - PEGG TO BOLDLY GO

Simon Pegg is to play Scotty in the upcoming Star Trek re-invention, reports claim.

The Hot Fuzz actor will begin filming the JJ Abrams movie next month, with a Christmas 2008 release date pencilled in by Paramount Pictures.

Abrams' 're-imagining' has the air of Star Trek: The College Years, in its depiction of Captain James T Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise during their stay at Starfleet Academy - hence the relative youth of the cast.

Pegg is to join Heroes' Zachary Quinto (Spock) and John Cho (Sulu) of Harold and Kumar fame as the Enterprise's chief engineer, according to Variety.

Zoe Saldana is to play Uhuru while 18-year-old Anton Yelchin is attached as Chekhov.

The movie won't be full of entirely new faces, however, with Leonard Nimoy set to reprise his role as Spock in a flash-forward sequence.

While William Shatner is also likely to feature, the role of young Kirk has not yet been cast, though Just My Luck star Chris Pine has reportedly been approached.

Abrams' picture will be the 11th bigscreen incarnation of Gene Roddenberry's classic TV series.