J.J. Abrams has said he has no intention of recasting the role of Ensign Pavel Chekov after the untimely and tragic death of Anton Yelchin in 2016, but no one knows exactly how the film will address the character’s absence in Star Trek 4. Will we be told he is alive and working on another Federation ship, or will audiences learn Chekov has passed away? And with such an important job on the Enterprise needing to be filled, who could be the newest member of the crew? To learn what the future of the franchise might look like we’re going back to one of its oldest but most overlooked TV shows: Star Trek: The Animated Series.

In the newest episode of our series Animation Investigation host Hector Navarro journeys through the final frontier’s cartoon adventures for clues about what we might see from next big screen Trek. Does it tell us how the movie will deal with the loss of Chekov? Do we already know who will take over his job on the ship? It wouldn’t be the first time the Kelvin Timeline has found inspiration in the ’70s cartoon. (Give us Arex or we mutiny.)

However Star Trek 4 opts to handle the disappearance of Chekov, we know that Yelchin’s absence will indeed be felt in a big way. Perhaps Star Trek: The Animated Series has a few lessons on coping with loss, too.

What character or events from the old cartoon do you hope to see in the new movies? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Featured Image: Paramount

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