J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) has a secret callback to Captain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) first adventure in Star Trek: The Original Series. Although a few episodes of Star Trek aired before it in 1966, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was produced as the second pilot for Star Trek after NBC rejected Gene Roddenberry’s original pilot, “The Cage.” “Where No Man Has Gone Before” shows visual signs of Star Trek still being in progress, such as different Starfleet uniforms from the color-coded tunics that became iconic in Star Trek.
Although Star Trek (2009) was a reboot that set the new adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the Starship Enterprise in an alternate reality that became known as the Kelvin Timeline, J.J. Abrams’ blockbuster contains numerous ties back to Star Trek: The Original Series. Along with familiar Star Trek characters and planets like Vulcan, there are hidden Easter eggs for longtime Trekkies to spot. One of those is the name of the world Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) stranded Kirk on when the Vulcan banished him from the Enterprise.
Star Trek 2009 Has A Secret Callback To Captain Kirk And An Original Series Planet
There’s A Delta Vega Planet In The Vulcan System
James T. Kirk was stranded on a planet named Delta Vega by Spock in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009), and the name of the frozen world is a callback to Star Trek: The Original Series‘ second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Delta Vega in Star Trek (2009) is an ice planet not unlike H๏τh in The Empire Strikes Back (J.J. Abrams is a lifelong Star Wars fan), complete with a monster that chased Kirk not unlike the creature in the J.J. Abrams-produced Cloverfield.
On Delta Vega, Kirk encountered Ambᴀssador Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who was stranded there by the time-traveling Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana). Due to its proximity to Vulcan, Spock was forced to watch Nero destroy his homeworld. Spock then took Kirk to a research facility where they found Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg) and Keenser (Deep Roy). After Spock gave Scotty his own equation for transwarp beaming, Kirk, Scotty, and Keenser were able to beam back to the Starship Enterprise.
Delta Vega In Star Trek: The Original Series Is Very Different From J.J. Abrams’ Movie
Kirk Fought Gary Mitchell On Another Delta Vega
In Star Trek: The Original Series, Delta Vega is a different planet entirely. Located a few light days warp travel from the Galactic Barrier at the edge of the galaxy, Delta Vega was chosen by the Starship Enterprise to strand Lt. Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner (Sally Kellerman). Exposure to strange energies in the Galactic Barrier gave Mitchell and Dehner psychic powers and made them a danger to the USS Enterprise.
Delta Vega is the final resting place of Lt. Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner.
Captain Kirk fought Lt. Gary Mitchell to the death on Delta Vega in Star Trek: The Original Series’ “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” The Delta Vega seen in Star Trek: The Original Series is a planet with mountains and exotic vegetation instead of the frozen landscape in Star Trek (2009). Another key difference is TOS‘ Delta Vega is the final resting place of Lt. Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner.
Kirk’s Enemy Gary Mitchell & TOS’ Delta Vega Aren’t In J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek
Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk Lived A Different Life Than William Shatner’s
Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk lives a different life from William Shatner’s Captain Kirk in Star Trek’s Kelvin Timeline. While it’s likely Gary Mitchell lives in the Kelvin Timeline, he doesn’t become Kirk’s friend (and enemy) in J.J. Abrams’ universe. There’s also no indication that during Kirk’s five-year mission aboard the USS Enterprise between Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond that they visited the Great Barrier or the planet Delta Vega nearby.
Presumably, both planets named Delta Vega exist in Star Trek’s Prime Timeline and J.J. Abrams’ alternate Kelvin Timeline, since they are in separate regions of the galaxy. In the Kelvin Timeline, Delta Vega in the Vulcan star system remains even though the planet Vulcan itself has been destroyed. Delta Vega wasn’t named outright in Star Trek (2009), but it’s a subtle callback appropriately connecting J.J. Abrams’ reboot to the beginnings of Star Trek: The Original Series.
