2016 has taken a lot of big name talents away from us. Yesterday, yet another big blow was handed out asStar TrekactorAnton Yelchinvery sadlypassed awayat the young age of 27.Yelchinhad been a very strong talent in Hollywood going back to when he was just a young kid, and he was very much a star on the rise when he tragically died. The entertainment community and fans alike have been reeling ever since the story broke.
The news thatYelchinhaddiedwas first reported byDeadlineon Sunday morning and was later confirmed byYelchin’s publicist. He was found by his friends early in the morning, pinned by his car against a brick mailbox and security gate, apparently crushed to death by his own vehicle, and no foul play is suspected. It was also recently revealed that the vehicle involved in the incident was a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which had a recall issued by Fiat Chrysler for the shifter that had been involved in more than 40 incidents.
Yelchingot his start as a child actor, and had been consistently delivering very high quality work ever since.Yelchinwas very great at not only taking on a decent amount of projects, but they were in all shapes in sizes and scope. From starring as Chekov inStar Trekto providing the voice of a Smurf, he was always one of the best parts of what he was doing and always gave it his all. Anyone who has followed his work in recent years will likely tell you, he appeared to only be getting better, and that is one of the saddest parts of this tragedy for fans.
Many of us are still reeling from the news and Hollywood has responded with thoughts and prayers aplenty on social media.Yelchinhad been acting for most of his life, but it felt like he was about to hit a major stride which we won’t ever get to see realized. It seemed very likely that his best work was still ahead of him. As sad as his very untimely andtragic deathis,Yelchindid leave behind an incredible body of work for a man his age but not only that, he had wrapped on several projects that have yet to be released. Here are the remainingAnton Yelchinmovies that are still going to be coming out over the next two year.
5Star Trek Beyond- June 17, 2025
Anton Yelchinturned in a ton of great performances in a relatively short time, but when he took on the role of Chekov inJ.J. Abrams' reboot ofStar Trekin 2009 he became a household face, if not a household name. Even if some Trekkies out there take certain issue with aspects of the newStar Trekfranchise, almost nobody has any problems with the killer ensemble cast.Justin Linhas taken over directing duties forStar Trek BeyondsinceAbramswas busy with a galaxy far far away andYelchinwill be reprising his role as Chekov in the movie. The first trailer forBeyondhad some fans worried, but the more recent trailer had nice character moments for everyone and inspired a lot more confidence that this should be a nice entry in the franchise, though it will sadly be the last to featureYelchin’s delightful take on Chekov. The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves several years into their five year mission inBeyondand when things go south, they become stranded on a hostile alien planet and things look like they are going to get pretty crazy from there.Star Trek Beyondis hitting theaters on July 22 and will premiere on July 20 at San Diego Comic Con.
4We Don’t Belong Here- TBA 2016
Outside ofBeyond, most of what is left onYelchin’s release schedule are indie movies that will probably be much more character driven pieces, which is something he was very accustomed to doing.We Don’t Belong Hereis the directorial debut fromPeer Pedersenand will featureYelchinas one of the leads named Maxwell Geen, alongsideThe 40-Year-Old VirginstarCatherine Keener. Not a lot is known about the movie, but the plot is described as “A matriarch of a dysfunctional family is pushed to her tipping point by the disappearance of her son.” The rest of the cast is very promising as it includesMolly Shannon,Cary ElwesandMaya Rudolph. No release date is set forWe Don’t Belong Here, but the movie is reportedly totally completed and should secure a release once it is picked up by a distributor.
3Porto- TBA 2016
Portois another indie movie that is being helmed by a first time director thatYelchincompleted and will be released at some point, we just don’t know when. Word is that the movie is completely done though, so if somebody like Netflix or Amazon wanted to step up and distribute the movie, we could be seeing it sooner rather than later.Portowas directed byGabe Klingerand only has two credited members to the cast.Yelchin, who is playing a character named Jake Kleeman andLucie Lucas, who is playing a character namedMatie Vargnier. The plot is said to involve a French woman and anAmerican manwho experience a “life-altering” night together in the city of Porto, Portugal. The movie as it stands sounds a bit likeBefore Sunrise, which could wind up being a ton of screen time forYelchin. The more the better, so this is one to look forward to.
2Rememory- TBA
Of everything that remains onAnton Yelchin’s release schedule,Rememorymay be at the very least, the most intriguing. It is the feature debut fromMark Palanskyand is described on IMDB as “The widow of a wise professor stumbles upon one of his inventions that’s able to record and play a person’s memory.” Not only does the premise sound cool, butYelchinis joined by a great cast that includedPeter DinklageandJulia Ormond. There is no release date yet, butPalanskyis currently directing several episodes ofA Series of Unfortunate Eventsfor Netflix. Not only does that lend him some credibility but it could lead to the streaming service as a possible distributor for the movie, as they have been investing heavily in exclusive movies lately.
1Thoroughbred- TBA 2017
Lastly,Yelchinwill be starring in the slightly more mainstream sounding thrillerThoroughbred, which is currently in post-production and is listed for a 2017 release date.Yelchinwill be starring in the movie alongsideOlivia Cooke, who is also starring inSteven Spielberg’sReady Player Oneand the breakout star fromThe Witch,Anya Taylor-Joy. “Two teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. In the process, they learn that neither is what she seems to be, and that a murder might solve both of their problems,” is how the movie is described on IMDB. It sounds very promising and sounds like it is very much playing toYelchin’s strengths.Thoroughbredwas written and directed byCory Finleyand serves as his only listed credit.
Yelchinwas taken from his loved ones and those of us that loved his work way too soon, but he did manage to leave behind a body of work we can go back and revisit forever. It looks like he also still has a few gifts left for us, and it leaves us something to look forward to and remember what made him so great. RIP Anton Yelchin, you will be sorely missed.
