In a resurfaced video from 1982, Leonard Nimoy chats with Star Trek fans who have just watched Spock die in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Summary
- Fans in 1982 overwhelmingly believed that Spock would not remain dead after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
- Leonard Nimoy’s positive experience filming Wrath of Khan led him to reconsider his decision to leave the Star Trek franchise.
- Spock’s death in Wrath of Khan was intended to be permanent, but fans’ reactions prompted changes to set the stage for his return.
Soon after the release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Leonard Nimoy took to the streets to quiz fans about Spock’s death. Widely regarded as one of Star Trek’s best films, TheWrath of Khan premiered in 1982 and set a world record for its first-day box office gross. Star Trek II saw the return of former Earth dictator Khan Noonien-Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), who had made his first appearance in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 22, “Space Seed.” After Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) marooned Khan and his followers on a desolate planet, he mistakenly believed he’d seen the last of them.
As Kirk and Khan face off in the climax of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Khan is fatally wounded in a space battle with the Starship Enterprise, but he activates the powerful Genesis Device before he dies. Spock then exposes himself to lethal amounts of radiation to repair the warp drive and allow the Enterprise to escape the blast from the Genesis Device. After Spock’s sacrifice, the crew mourns his death and sends his casket into space where it lands on the Genesis Planet. The Wrath of Khan left just enough hints about Spock’s potential return that many moviegoers at the time never believed the Vulcan would remain dead.
Leonard Nimoy Hilariously Quizzes Star Trek Fans About Spock’s Wrath of Khan Death
Even in 1982, few Star Trek fans believed Spock would stay dead.
In a resurfaced video from 1982, Leonard Nimoy asks Star Trek fans who have just watched The Wrath of Khan whether they believe his character Spock is truly dead. Despite having no knowledge of what would come next, nearly every fan believes that Spock will return. Two different fans speculate that Spock could be “reborn like the [Genesis] planet” since his casket landed on the planet’s surface. Another says that Spock will likely return for the fourth film, but not the third. Watch the video, shared by Jon W. @rarefilmm on X (formerly Twitter), below:
Several of the moviegoers featured in the video were later proven right when Star Trek III: The Search for Spock premiered in 1984. Spock was largely absent from Star Trek: III, as Admiral Kirk and his crew worked to reunite Spock’s katra (or soul) with his body. As those fans speculated, Spock’s body was reborn on the Genesis Planet, although that was only part of his regeneration. Before his death, Spock had stored his katra within the mind of Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and the two parts had to be reunited. While some of the fans were not quite as accurate with their predictions, it’s fun to see how fans reacted to Spock’s death in Wrath of Khan at the time.
Why Spock Died In Star Trek II & Why Nimoy Brought Him Back
Wrath of Khan reinvigorated Nimoy’s love of Star Trek & Spock.
After the end of Star Trek: The Original Series, Leonard Nimoy felt like he was finished with the character of Spock. When plans began for another Trek series, Nimoy was largely uninterested, although he later signed on to make Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Despite Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s box office success, it was wildly over budget and failed to meet the expectations of Paramount Studios. Nimoy did not enjoy his experience in the first Star Trek movie, and Spock’s death was meant to be permanent for Leonard to exit the franchise. Nimoy, however, reportedly had such a good time making Wrath of Khan with director Nicholas Meyer that he began to consider doing more Star Trek.
Having become excited to play Spock again, Nimoy suggested that he could also direct Star Trek: III.
Star Trek II’s scene of Spock transferring his katra to Dr. McCoy and the final shot of his casket on the Genesis Planet were added to leave the possibility open for Spock to return. Nicholas Meyer was not pleased with these changes and declined to return to direct the sequel. Having become excited to play Spock again, Nimoy suggested that he could also direct Star Trek: III, and the rest, as they say, is history. Looking back, it’s difficult to imagine what Star Trek would have become if Spock had stayed dead after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and we’re glad Nimoy had a change of heart about returning. Leonard Nimoy certainly had a good time polling moviegoers about Spock’s death.
