For a while now Zachary Quinto (who plays Sylar on the hot tv show Heroes) has been going around publicly campaigning for the role of young Spock in the upcoming JJ Abrams Star Trek film. Well it seems that JJ is/was more than interested as it is now being reported that Quinto’s deal with Paramount is about to close. According to E!:

I checked with a source who confirms that the Zachary Quinto-as-Spock contract is with the business affairs team at Paramount. Business affairs is generally considered the last stop on the deal-negotiation train. The deal only awaits sign-off from outside counsel.

So it sounds like it’s really happening after all. I’m sure we’ll find out more details and more casting tidbits at Comic-Con later this week. Spock was played by Leonard Nimoy in the original 1966 series and movie offshoots. I think Quinto is perfect for the role, and he already earned the geek cred thanks to his tv gig. Star Trek hits theaters on Christmas Day 2008.