While there are a good number of great women in the “Star Trek” universe on the whole, there weren’t many prominent female characters in “The Original Series,” and as a result, there aren’t many original female characters to include in the modern-day reboots. Zoe Saldana’s Nyota Uhura has carried the womanly torch through 2009’s “Star Trek” and “Star Trek Into Darkness,” with an appearance by Alice Eve’s Carol Marcus in the latter.
But thankfully, the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond” has added a new female character who is both vulnerable and powerful. This new featurette introduces Jaylah, “Star Trek Beyond’s” newest character, played by Sofia Boutella (“Kingsman: The Secret Service.”)
“She is a spirited, sweet, funny, tough as hell character that becomes a very important ally to the crew,” producer J.J. Abrams says in the video.
And as it turns out, Jaylah was inspired but another fantastic cinematic female role: Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone.” As USA reports, “Star Trek Beyond” screenwriter Simon Pegg, who also plays Scotty, based the character on J-Law’s character in the 2010 drama. “We were trying to create this very independent character. But we didn’t have a name for it. So we just called it ‘Jennifer-Lawrence-In-Winter’s-Bone.’ That’s a long name. So it started getting tiring always saying, well Jennifer-Lawrence-In-Winter’s-Bone is fighting here. So then we started calling her J-Law. And then she became Jaylah.”
“Star Trek Beyond” hits theaters on July 22. Check out the introduction to Jaylah below.