Eddie Murphy came very close to starring in ‘Star Trek IV’

It was recently revealed that a part in 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' almost went to comedian, Eddie Murphy.

Many might remember 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' affectionately enough as "the one with the whales". It may surprise you to find out that in the early stages of production, it could have been knwon as "the one with Eddie Murphy".

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the film's co-writer, Steve Meerson, spoke about his time working on the project, along with his memories of working with the now passed on crew including DeForest Kelley (Bones), James Doohan (Scotty), and most recently, Leonard Nimoy (Spock). In discussing the cast, he details several of the problems that transpired during the production, namely some issues that forced a few rewrites.

In one of the original drafts, the part we now know as the marine biologist, Dr. Gillian Taylor, played by Catherine Hicks, was originally supposed to be an astrophysicist played by none other than Eddie Murphy. In regards to Murphy's involvement never panning out, Meerson had this to say:

"At the beginning of the process, it was actually a lot of fun. As the process progressed, it became less fun, because it became more political. And I don't say that with any bitterness. It's just the way things work in all businesses. We began to feel like at a certain point that this was going to be taken away from us, which in fact, it was."

'Star Trek IV' was released in 1986, which was essentially Murphy's most memorable decade. Having him feature in the latest film seemed only logical and Murphy himself has stated that he is in fact a big 'Star Trek' fan. The process to create the fourth 'Trek' film, however, is notorious for being one of the most taxing in the franchise's history. Despite the truly memorable final product we were given, one can't help but wonder what it would've been like with Axel Foley teaming up with the crew of the Enterprise.

[THR]