J.J. Abrams Made A Star Trek Decision That Concerned Zoe Saldana
J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot shook up the classic characters it depicts, and one of the biggest changes was turning Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) into lovers. In the first movie, this is a bit of a bait and switch; there's some early sexual tension between Uhura and Kirk (Chris Pine), and she's even the first of the future Enterprise crew he meets when they flirt at a bar. Nyota, though, only has eyes for the Vulcan (like plenty of Trekkie fangirls) and the relationship endures in the two sequels, "Into Darkness" and "Beyond."
Now, this isn't a totally unprecedented pairing. There are a few suggestive moments between Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) in early episodes of "Star Trek: The Original Series." In "The Man Trap," Uhura tries to strike up a conversation with Spock, and in "Charlie X," she sings while Spock plays his lute. However, the series never ran with this thread. The show doesn't explore much of Uhura's personal life, while Spock has a few one-off romances (including his honey-trapping a Romulan commander played by Joanne Linville in "The Enterprise Incident"). If he has any long-running love interest (besides Kirk that is), though, it's Nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett).
In a 2009 interview with StarTrek.com, on the eve of the "Star Trek" movie's premiere, Saldana testified that she thought Abrams and his writers (Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman) were "out of [their] mind" for the decision. As she noted, "Star Trek" has a passionate fan base that is hostile towards changes or inconsistencies.
Spock and Uhura?
Reading the "Star Trek" script, though, Saldana was able to find a rationalization that fit the characters. Uhura is self-assured, with "a swagger to her that was absolutely sensuous but confident [...] she was definitely very determined and a very strong woman and really wanted to be on that Enterprise and be the xenolinguistics expert since she was like five years old," Saldana opined. She's drawn to Spock, who despite his emotionless facade is more vulnerable than Kirk.
"[Spock] is half human, half Vulcan, at some point if he was only going to be a Vulcan man, then why even make him half-human? You are constantly waiting for him to break. It is that battle that makes Spock who he is."
No matter the century, women never stop thinking, "I can fix him."
The late Nichelle Nichols was split on the decision too. On one hand, she didn't find it consistent with the character she played and said as much in a 2014 Reddit Ask Me Anything:
"[Spock and Uhura] wouldn't have happened back in the original series, Uhura was a private person with a personal life separate from the rest of the crew [...] Any serious fan who saw the original series would know it would not have been possible, they'd laugh their heads off."
However, during a 2010 fan Q&A published by StarTrek.com, Nichols acknowledged that Saldana's Uhura was younger and on her first high-stakes mission. Such experiences get the emotions and adrenaline flowing. She also felt it made sense since Spock and Uhura are both serious and private people. The only ones they can open up to are each other:
"[Uhura] shined [Kirk] off, but Spock fascinated her, her serious side. Now, this is me making my story on what happened, but he saw in her his human side and she touched a side of him that they were supposedly discreet about."
The future of Star Trek
In the aforementioned 2010 Q&A, Nichols also pointed out that "There was always a connection between Uhura and Spock," specifically citing the "Charlie X" music scene. As she noted though, an interracial relationship would've been a no-no on American TV in the 1960s (Kirk and Uhura's one-off kiss in "Plato's Stepchildren" was controversial enough).
For what it's worth, the current TV series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" features both Spock (Ethan Peck) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). However, it takes its cues from "The Original Series," not the Abrams films. Spock's romantic life is focused on his growing infatuation with Chapel (Jess Bush) and his responsibility to his betrothed T'Pring (Gia Sandhu). Uhura, who's still a cadet, is mourning her parents (who died in a shuttle crash) and trying to find her place in life. She's more like the private, career-focused woman who Nichols played, and not as self-confident as Saldana's portrayal.
Spock/Uhura worked fine for the "Star Trek" films, but that doesn't mean it overrides any past or future depictions of the characters.