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5 Actors Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Should Cast As Carol Marcus

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• Carol Marcus is a key figure in James T. Kirk's life, with a complex relationship and a shared son, David.
• Strange New Worlds could explore the backstory between Kirk and Carol, setting up Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
• Despite Kirk currently being in a relationship with Carol, a potential romance with La'an is still on the table.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' musical episode, Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) tells Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) he has a girlfriend named Carol who is pregnant. La'an finally works up the courage to tell Kirk about her experience with his alternate universe counterpart in Strange New Worlds' season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," but when La'an admits her complicated feelings for the Prime Universe version of Kirk, James reveals that he is currently in a relationship with a woman named Carol . While he acknowledges that he also feels a connection with La'an, Kirk gently tells her they cannot be involved in a relationship.

Star Trek fans should recognize the name Carol from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan or Star Trek Into Darkness , both of which include different versions of the character of Dr. Carol Marcus . Dr. Marcus (Bibi Besch) was introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as a prominent scientist for the United Federation of Planets and an old flame of Admiral James Kirk (William Shatner). Carol had a son with Kirk named David (Merritt Butrick), but she ultimately decided to cut Kirk out of their lives. While James spent his time traveling the galaxy, Carol devoted her life to working on her scientific research and raising their son.

These five actresses would be perfect to play Lt. James T. Kirk's girlfriend, Carol Marcus, on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Kirk’s Pregnant Girlfriend Carol Marcus Explained

Carol marcus is one of the most important figures in kirk's life.

As a brilliant Federation scientist, Dr. Carol Marcus had higher aspirations than following Jim Kirk around the galaxy. Carol created Project Genesis , an ambitious project designed to terraform uninhabitable planets to address overpopulation and hunger in the galaxy. David followed in his mother's footsteps and developed the Genesis Device with her. By the time of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , David was in his early twenties, meaning that Kirk and Carol had been together twenty-some years prior. Though the exact year of David's birth is unknown, Strange New Worlds established that Carol is pregnant with David while Kirk is First Officer on the USS Farragut .

Carol Marcus Appears In Star Trek Into Darkness

Carol's life in the kelvin timeline is different.

The alternate Kelvin Timeline's Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) appeared in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, and while Carol and Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) flirted throughout the film, they never became romantically involved . This version of Carol served in Starfleet's science division and used a false name to sneak aboard the USS Enterprise in search of answers about some mysterious weapons onboard the ship. Carol's contentious relationship with her father, Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller), was her main conflict before the corrupt Admiral was killed by Khan Noonien-Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). Despite joining the crew of the USS Enterprise at the end of Star Trek Into Darkness , Carol did not appear in its sequel, Star Trek Beyond.

What Carol Marcus Appearing In Strange New Worlds Means

Strange new worlds can set up star trek ii: the wrath of khan.

Carol Marcus potentially appearing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 could set up the fundamental backstory of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In Star Trek II, the reappearance of Carol in Admiral Kirk's life was initially problematic, and vice versa. Strange New Worlds can finally establish what went wrong between the younger Carol and James and show why she asked Kirk to stay away from her and David. Strange New Worlds can also flesh out Carol's character to explain why she is so concerned with the problems of overpopulation and galactic hunger that Marcus dedicates her career to developing Project Genesis . Strange New Worlds is a prime opportunity to fully develop who Carol Marcus is if she appears in season 3.

Spock (Leonard Nimoy) knew why Kirk was so wounded by seeing Carol again in Star Trek II , and Strange New Worlds can show why via Lt. Spock's (Ethan Peck) burgeoning friendship with Lt. Kirk.

Can Kirk & La’an Romance Still Happen In Strange New Worlds?

Kirk and la'an definitely have chemistry.

In Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3 , Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh develops feelings for an alternate universe Captain James T. Kirk. While that version of Kirk is killed by an undercover Romulan operative, La'an still has complicated feelings for the Prime Universe version of James Kirk . In Strange New World s' musical episode, James describes his relationship with Carol as "complicated" and "a sometimes relationship," leaving the possibility open for the end of that romance and the beginning of another. By the time of Star Trek: The Original Series , Kirk and Carol are no longer romantically involved and James has a reputation as a ladies' man.

At this point in Star Trek's timeline, Kirk is still years away from meeting Khan.

Whether or not Carol Marcus appears in Strange New Worlds season 3, a romance between La'an and Kirk is still something the prequel series looks like it will pull the trigger on , even though the Prime Universe James T. Kirk is not the same man La'an fell for. Although a relationship between James and La'an would complicate Star Trek canon concerning Kirk's future enemy in Star Trek: The Original Series , Khan Noonien-Singh (Ricardo Montalban), at this point in Star Trek 's timeline, Kirk is still years away from meeting Khan. While La'an Noonien-Singh and James T. Kirk might make a surprising pairing, stranger things have happened on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is available to stream on Paramount+.

• the wrath of khan

Alice Eve defends her controversial Star Trek scene: “I’m proud of that”

Alice Eve, who stars in the new sci-fi film Warning , reflects on her much-criticized Star Trek moment.

Star Trek once promised to boldly go where no man has gone before. But Alice Eve knows science fiction can go much further by foregrounding women within its strange new worlds.

“A lot of women in sci-fi are self-sufficient,” says the actress, who played one such character — Dr. Carol Marcus — in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , though not without controversy. (More on that later.)

Still, more than 50 years after Star Trek first aired, “science fiction is not necessarily the domain of women in terms of creation” off-screen, Eve says. For all the Ellen Ripleys and Sarah Connors on screen, this lack of female perspective behind the camera can hold the genre back.

An English actress who’s also known for her roles in Men In Black 3 and on Marvel’s Iron Fist series, Eve is experienced at navigating this tension. Her latest film — Warning , from Polish director Agata Alexander — marks the first time Eve has made a sci-fi thriller with a female filmmaker.

“I wanted to support a woman tackling traditionally male subject matter,” Eve tells Inverse , speaking in support of the film (out now on digital platforms). “I loved her audacity. She had this grand vision she was determined to execute on a small budget. And she did.”

Broadly, Eve is a sci-fi fan. And playing characters like Star Trek ’s Carol Marcus is part of the appeal. “Sci-fi is cool because it shows powerful women,” Eve tells Inverse. “They're not usually married with kids. They’re working for their passion.”

In 2013, Eve found herself discussing the optics of female representation in sci-fi in a more negative sense. When Star Trek Into Darkness hit theaters, some audiences objected to a scene in which Marcus strips to her underwear and is glimpsed by a chastened Captain Kirk (Chris Pine).

After the release of Star Trek Into Darkness , Alice Eve found herself at the center of online debate about the portrayal of women in mainstream sci-fi.

A throwaway shot, it served little narrative purpose in the film’s theatrical cut. Online, the backlash was swift to what some saw as a gratuitous instance of a female character being unfairly sexualized. (Though, of course, there was also a backlash to this backlash. ) Eventually, producer Damon Lindelof apologized, and director J.J. Abrams conceded that he understood the criticism. Eve has spoken only sparingly about the incident but, looking back on the scene, remembers being taken aback by the controversy.

“It was something I voluntarily worked with a trainer to be fit for, was very much prepared for, and very much enjoyed [doing] — filming, executing, promoting,” recalls Eve, who says she was actively involved in discussing all her character’s scenes. “The feeling I shouldn’t have done it, or that it was exploitation, was confusing to me.”

Eventually, Eve shrugged it off: “There are many things in the world that are confusing. I put it down to one of those anomalies. I’m proud of that scene, and all the work I did.”

The experience was still eye-opening for the actress, leading her to seek out projects, like Warning, that would avoid the male gaze dominant in most Hollywood sci-fi. Told over a series of disconnected vignettes set during a freak storm, Warning stars Eve as Claire, a lonely woman whose daily life is dependent on a pyramid-shaped smart home device called “God 2.0.” (In real life, Eve avoids such smart devices.)

Living in a near-future where technology is seen as a substitute for human contact, Claire’s isolation is heightened by everyday interactions that are hostile, cold, and unfriendly. “People have their main relationship with their device and they lose the ability to connect, to feel each other and empathize,” Eve says. “To me, the ‘warning’ is to remain empathetic, to remain in tune” with humanity, she adds.

Eve found shooting Warning to be isolating, as her main scene partner is an inanimate object (voiced by actor James D’Arcy). “The pleasure of the movie was the experiment of not having another actor,” she says. “It’s different, but it was much more lonely.”

Alice Eve ( Star Trek Into Darkness ) stars as “Claire,” a lonely woman dependent on a smart home device called “God 2.0.”

Claire’s backstory isn’t deeply explored in Warning , but Eve and Alexander collaborated on the idea that her character’s vulnerability stemmed from heartbreak. “When we suffer heartbreak, we retreat,” she says. “And when we retreat, we don’t like to connect with people. And then she becomes reliant in that period of recovery on this device.”

Far from helping Claire, “the device hooks into her,” making Warning a cautionary tale, says Eve. Claire turns to God 2.0 in an almost fanatical way, with Warning taking an unsubtle stance against organized religion and its power to prey on people.

“She’s lured into this belief she'll be a better person,” says Eve. “Organized religion seduces people by telling them life will be better. It's old capitalism: You won’t be lonely and sad if you don’t commit sin . Obviously, it’s important to be a good person, but it’s not going to make your life better to live.”

A scene from Warning.

Eve is still learning all it can mean to be a woman in science fiction. She will soon star in The Power , an Amazon series based on Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel in which women possess electric superpowers. Alderman is writing the adaptation of her own book, with Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano at the helm of at least one episode and an all-female writer’s room involved in the project.

Eve says the 10-episode series’ main concept is teased by its title: who gets to wield power, and what will they decide to do with it?

“ The Power is an idea of a future where women have power and are more physically capable than men,” she explains. In the series, Eve stars opposite Leslie Mann, Auliʻi Cravalho, Daniela Vega, Tim Robbins, Rob Delaney, and John Leguizamo.

“My character is something of a choir [for] understanding the story,” she says. “I think it’s a really important story to tell, to show us throw[ing] the world on its axis and show how much of our [society’s] power dynamic relies on physical strength.”

In the years since Alice Eve starred in Star Trek , she’s paid closer attention to how women have been represented in the final frontier and beyond.

“There’s a different generation coming up, and I hope they’re feeling empowered,” says Eve, praising the long-overdue reckoning that the #MeToo movement has played one part in triggering. “I believe we're all having a human experience, and that’s a painful thing to have.”

Warning is available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 22.

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Who Is Carol Marcus in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

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The following contains spoilers from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody," now streaming on Paramount+ .

The Strange New Worlds musical episode was full of emotion, often expressed against a character's will. This is why it's important that La'an got to tell James T. Kirk about her feelings in spoken dialogue. Kirk didn't even have to say the thing about La'an liking Carol for Star Trek fans to know who he was talking about. But, for those who've only discovered the franchise through Strange New Worlds , Carol Marcus is a big deal to Jim Kirk and Star Trek .

In keeping with franchise history, Strange New Worlds is a series that frustrates shippers. The only relationship currently underway is Spock and Chapel's, which The Original Series fans know doesn't last. Yet, even though she doesn't know it, there's still hope for La'an and Kirk to explore their feelings for each other. This moment is less about Kirk than it is about the Enterprise's security officer. From the series debut until "Subspace Rhapsody," she's been on her own journey. When she introduces herself to people, all they hear is "Noonien Singh" and think of Khan. The Jim Kirk she fell for had never heard that name. While she's aware the real Kirk isn't that man, La'an wants the chance to be seen that way again. So, while she's perhaps written off Kirk for now, she shouldn't. As important as Carol Marcus is to Star Trek , her time with James T. Kirk is likely near its end.

RELATED: The New Star Trek Series Could Erase the Kelvin Timeline, but Shouldn't

How Strange New Worlds Perfectly Lines Up With The Wrath of Khan

In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , audiences meet Dr. Carol Marcus, the leader of the civilian-run Genesis Project. It is meant to be a mechanism of life, but La'an's ancestor Khan wants to use it as an engine of death. In a way, Carol Marcus is the J. Robert Oppenheimer of Star Trek , but only if he wasn't aware he was about to become "death, the destroyer of worlds." Yet, more important to Star Trek fans is Carol Marcus, the mother of David Marcus, Kirk's son. While this may have seemed like the inevitable result of Jim Kirk's eagerness to fall in love , the relationship with Carol Marcus predated The Original Series .

While she's a brilliant scientist, Carol Marcus is also "the one that got away" for Captain Kirk. When he reunites with her in the film, he tells her he "stayed away like you asked." David's existence surprised fans, but Kirk knew he had a son. He didn't know what he looked like, though. The two fought when they first met, but he knew David's name. While the Star Trek timeline is convoluted , it does make sense that David was born before Kirk took command of the Enterprise. The Wrath of Khan is a study of aging, so David and Carol represent the life Kirk almost had.

On a rare occasion of studio penny-pinching helping a movie, the original opening of The Undiscovered Country had to be cut. Of all the original characters, Kirk's retirement was the least disappointing. Even though David died in The Search for Spock , he and Carol were living together on Earth. Of all his many romantic entanglements, Carol Marcus is the love of James T. Kirk's life. Well, after the USS Enterprise, of course.

RELATED: Strange New Worlds Reminds Fans People Are Still Flawed in the Future

Carol Marcus Is the Most Important Person in James T. Kirk's Life Outside the Enterprise

Carol only appeared on-screen in The Wrath of Khan , yet her absence in The Original Series and the successive films looms large. Knowing Kirk had a one-true love that didn't work out informs much about his character. The Kelvin Timeline films took place in a different continuity, but Carol Marcus played a significant role in Star Trek Into Darkness, another Khan story . Interestingly, her relationship with Kirk amounts to mere flirting. The filmmakers were likely saving that for a future film that never came. Marcus ends up on the Enterprise, but three years later, during Star Trek: Beyond , she's no longer onboard. Also, as a crew member, it makes her relationship with Kirk problematic at best.

What the Kelvin Timeline Kirk has in common with the Kirk in Strange New Worlds is that both feel adrift. Kirk didn't truly become the best version of himself until he captained the Enterprise. To borrow a term from Across the Spider-Verse , Kirk choosing Starfleet over Carol is a "canon event." In The Wrath of Khan , David doesn't remember Kirk when he meets him. It's also unclear if David knows Kirk is his father or merely figures it out by the end. This all adds up to Kirk being out of Carol's life, at her request, before David develops object permanence.

Captain Kirk's reputation as a philanderer is overblown, mostly from 57 years of parody. Kirk is looking for love. Fans already know he doesn't find it with Carol Marcus. Perhaps he does find it, if only briefly, with La'an Noonien Singh? Strange New Worlds already showed the beginnings of some of Kirk's foundational relationships. Perhaps the series is also going to show how that foundation is built on the ruins of the ones that couldn't last? Carol Marcus may only appear twice in the entire Star Trek franchise , but it's her absence that makes her so important.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently streaming on Paramount+ .

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)

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Carol Marcus

Dr. Carol Marcus was a female Human who was one of the Federation 's leading molecular biologists of the 23rd century .

• 1 Starfleet career
• 2.1 The Genesis disaster
• 3 Later life
• 4 Alternate timeline
• 5.1 Connections
• 5.2 Appearances
• 5.3 External link

Starfleet career [ ]

In the early 2250s , Marcus attended Starfleet Academy alongside James T. Kirk and Gary Mitchell . During their time at the Academy, Marcus became romantically involved with Kirk, but their relationship came to an end in 2254 , when he cheated in the Kobayashi Maru scenario and abused her trust.

By 2260 , Marcus had graduated from the Academy and achieved the rank of lieutenant . Despite commendations for her superb work as a scientist , Marcus also earned several reprimands for minor insubordination and an unwillingness to follow orders.

In 2260, Lt. Marcus was assigned to the USS Eagle , under the command of Captain Botwin . Also serving aboard at this time was Commander Kirk, who was serving as Botwin's first officer . For the first few months they managed to avoid contact with each other, but Botwin ordered Kirk to try and set Marcus straight and make sure she became an excellent Starfleet officer. Over the next few months, the pair got reacquainted and once again became romantically involved.

The relationship came to an end following the Eagle 's mission to Caperna IV , where Marcus' ignorance of an order from Commander Kirk led to a landing party becoming endangered. Thankfully, all members of the party returned safely to the Eagle and Marcus was placed on report by Kirk. Shortly after, Marcus resigned from Starfleet after discovering that she was pregnant with Kirk's child. ( TOS comic : " Star-Crossed ")

In 2261 , Marcus was working for Kraden Interplanetary Research . ( TOS novel : Inception )

That year, Marcus gave birth to a son, David . ( ST reference : Chronology )

Scientist [ ]

Considered an expert in molecular biology , bio- protein development, cell mutation and radiation , she was offered many posts in the Federation , but kept being refusing to get involved in projects with potential military applications. ( TOS video game : 25th Anniversary )

In 2266 , she was assigned by the Federation Council to the meta-genome project at Starbase 47 as a civilian overseer. It was here, realizing the potential of the meta-genome , that Marcus first envisioned developing a technology that could create entire star-systems from scratch. ( VAN novel : Reap the Whirlwind )

David and Carol in 2267.

In 2267 , Carol and her son David then attended Sam Kirk 's funeral, though she did not want her son to meet his father. ( TOS - Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment comic : " Part 3 ")

In the year 2268 , approximately halfway through the USS Enterprise 's five-year mission (on stardate 3998.6), Carol Marcus and her seven-year-old son David were involved in a Klingon attack upon the Federation colony world of Beta Canzandia , where a terraforming research project was underway, supervised by Dr. Marcus. Carol and her son barely managed to escape alive, thanks to the intervention of the USS Enterprise and its first officer , Commander Spock . ( TOS novel : Faces of Fire )

By another account, in 2268 she had transferred to the ARK-7 space station to continue work with Dr. Anthony Cheever , eventually developing a device called the Cradle , which contained scores of microscopic life forms. Her team also accidentally created a virus during the course of their research which was deadly to Vulcanoid life forms. Thinking that the station was creating a weapon to be used by the Federation to commit genocide against the Romulan people, a Romulan force led by Centurion Preax boarded the station and took Doctor Marcus and Cheever prisoners. The crew of the USS Enterprise arrived to investigate the situation. Upon boarding the station Spock was infected with the virus, which made him seriously ill. Dr. Leonard McCoy worked rapidly to find a cure for the virus, curing Spock and the Romulans on board the station, and freeing the captives. Satisfied that the creation of the virus was an accident, the Romulans left Federation space peacefully. ( TOS video game : 25th Anniversary )

Apparently using the knowledge gained from the meta-genome project, Dr. Marcus invented the Genesis device and in 2284 , received Federation support for the project. Project Genesis was classified as top-secret and housed at the Regula I space station located near the Mutara Nebula . ( TOS movie , novelization & comic adaptation : Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

The Genesis disaster [ ]

In 2285 , the Reliant discovered the planet Ceti Alpha V whereupon the ship was commandeered by the infamous Augment Khan Noonien Singh who learned of the vessels mission. He attempted to get more information on Project Genesis from his nemesis, Admiral James T. Kirk but was thwarted in his plan. He later traveled to the Regula facility where he was looking for the Genesis device and killed many of the station's personnel. Using a mind controlled Pavel Chekov , he learned of the prototype being located in a bunker on Regula and used the transporter to beam the device onto the Reliant . However, Admiral Kirk attempted to stop him and during the skirmish between the two, the Genesis device was detonated which killed Khan in the Mutara Nebula . The resulting explosion resulted in the formation of the Genesis Planet due to the energy matrix within the Genesis device. ( TOS movie , novelization & comic adaptation : The Wrath of Khan )

Later life [ ]

Following the Project Genesis disaster in 2285 , Marcus was forced to live the rest of her life under tight security, lest her top-secret knowledge of Genesis fall into unfriendly hands.

She lived a secluded life on the world of Pacifica , under the constant watch of Starfleet security officers. She was allowed to leave her exile whenever she wanted, but seldom did as she was required to bring along an entourage of bodyguards to protect her from any enemy who might desire the Genesis information. ( TNG novel : The Genesis Wave, Book One )

In 2293 , early in the year, Marcus was critically wounded during a Klingon attack upon the Federation colony world of Themis ; a weapons-test for General Chang 's prototype Bird-of-Prey capable of firing while cloaked . Near the end of the year, she attended Kirk's memorial service that was held on the grounds of Starfleet Academy . Also in attendance were former crewmembers of the USS Enterprise , and some of his other old "acquaintances." ( TOS novelization : Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; TOS novel : The Fire and the Rose )

In 2310 , Marcus, along with Dr. Gillian Taylor and Captain Uhura of the USS Hermes , planned to test an experimental Genesis Device on Pacifica. However, Marcus and Taylor encountered intelligent life in Pacifica's ocean, and the plan was abandoned. ( TOS short story : " The Hero of My Own Life ")

In 2375 , she was kidnapped by a race of shape-shifting Moss Creatures , who tricked her into revealing the secrets of the Genesis Device . The moss-creatures used the Genesis technology to reform entire sections of space for resettlement. Marcus was killed in the explosion of the moss-creatures headquarters. She willingly stayed behind so that no other race could gain the knowledge of Genesis from her. ( TNG novels : The Genesis Wave, Book One , The Genesis Wave, Book Two )

Alternate timeline [ ]

In an alternate timeline in which John Frederick Paxton destroyed Starfleet Command and ended the talks for the Coalition of Planets in 2155 , Carol Kirk married Commander James T. Kirk , the first officer of the UESS Enterprise , in 2255 . They had a son named David Samuel Kirk , who was born in 2261 .

In 2264 , she and David were killed when their transport vessel, the Galileo , was travelling to an interstellar symposium on molecular biology proposed by the Vulcan government. Upon the sight of a human vessel crossing the border of the Interstellar Coalition , the ship was destroyed by the Coalition vessel ICV Vanik when its Vulcan captain T'Prynn claimed that the human transport was not responding to hails. This led to her husband developing a deep resentment towards Vulcans. ( TOS - Myriad Universes novel : A Less Perfect Union )

Appendices [ ]

Connections [ ].

Template:Vault personnel

Appearances [ ]

External link [ ].

• Carol Marcus article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Wesley Crusher
• 3 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel

Project Genesis

Project Genesis , also known as the Genesis Experiment , was the code name for a classified scientific research project within the United Federation of Planets whose goal was to develop a process whereby uninhabitable planets could be made suitable for humanoid life through a subatomic transformation. While the project was intended in part to combat overpopulation, the project became controversial when its destructive power became known. Ultimately, the project was deemed unfeasible.

The head scientist for the project was Dr. Carol Marcus who managed a large team including her son Dr. David Marcus on the station Regula I . There, they developed the Genesis Device , a torpedo -like technology which was the delivery mechanism that triggered the transformation dubbed the "Genesis effect" by the team. The process involved reducing the target space body to subatomic particles , then reassembling them, according to the pre-programmed Genesis matrix.

• 1.1 Singh's attack
• 1.2 Aftermath
• 1.3 Klingon plot
• 2 Project personnel
• 3.1 Background information
• 3.2 Apocrypha
• 3.3 External link

Project history [ ]

Dr. Carol Marcus, the leading authority on, and lead scientist on, the Genesis Project, presenting an audio and visual proposal of the project

Dr. Marcus presented a proposal and demonstration of Project Genesis to the Federation on stardate 7130.4. The project was conducted in three stages. The first was conducted in the laboratory on Regula I, the second in the underground of a lifeless environment, the Regula planetoid , and the third planned on a planetary scale. The Federation approved, provided funding and ordered logistical support from Starfleet .

For the second stage of the project, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers spent ten months carving a cavern , base and tunnels deep under the surface of the Regula planetoid. In 2285 , the project team successfully conducted the underground Genesis experiment in a single day.

For the third stage of the project, Starfleet sent the USS Reliant , commanded by Clark Terrell , to search for a suitable planet. The planet had to be completely devoid of life and meet other factors, which made for a difficult search.

Singh's attack [ ]

The Reliant had conducted several unsuccessful searches before arriving at the Ceti Alpha system . Terrell and first officer Pavel Chekov transported to the surface of what they thought was Ceti Alpha VI to investigate life signs that were detected, but was actually Ceti Alpha V where they were captured by Khan Noonien Singh , who had been marooned there by Admiral James T. Kirk 15 years before. Khan implanted mind-controlling Ceti eels into them, and used them to get revenge on Kirk. Upon learning of the Genesis Project, he used Chekov and Terrell to claim that Starfleet, under orders from Kirk, wanted to take custody of the Genesis data and potentially "militarize" the project.

The project team was understandably outraged at the apparent takeover. Dr. Marcus attempted to contact Kirk to confront him, but Khan disrupted communications while Carol and Kirk attempted to speak to each other. Starfleet then ordered the USS Enterprise to investigate. Kirk briefed Captain Spock and Dr. Leonard McCoy about the project, screening a recorded classified briefing featuring Carol Marcus and computer-generated simulation imagery of the Genesis effect.

Khan reached Regula I and killed several members of the research team who were protecting the whereabouts of another three who had secretly beamed down to Regula to protect the Genesis Device. Not being able to find it, he left hurriedly to intercept the Enterprise . Following a brief battle, Reliant was driven off and the crippled Enterprise limped to Regula I, where they found Terrell and Chekov. After beaming down to Regula, they found the rest of the team and the device. Unfortunately, Terrell and Chekov were still under the influence and allowed Khan to beam out the device. Khan ordered Terrell to kill Kirk, a command which he found impossible to obey. Rather than follow that order, Terrell turned the phaser on himself and set it to vaporize, killing himself in the process. The eel inside Chekov came out and Kirk vaporized it and used Terrell's communicator to talk to Khan. Khan then gloated about his success and taunted Kirk as he left Regula. They were all left marooned.

The Enterprise , hiding on the other side of Regula, was able to beam up the whole group. They confronted the hijacked Reliant , but was severely damaged in its attempt to stop Khan from fully exploiting the device and the project. However, despite Khan's intellect, his lack of experience allowed the Enterprise crew to lure him into a trap in the Mutara Nebula . Khan attempted to detonate the stolen Genesis torpedo to destroy the Enterprise , but the ship's warp engines were repaired just in time. Incidentally, Khan himself completed the third stage of the project, as the explosion formed the Genesis Planet . ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Aftermath [ ]

After the detonation of the Genesis device, the project had become publicly known, and became a controversial subject in the Federation. The Federation Council then ordered Starfleet to suppress information regarding the project. As the Enterprise returned to Earth , Starfleet would not respond to their questions about the project. On their return, Starfleet Admiral Morrow personally ordered the Enterprise crew to secrecy and had the crew monitored by Starfleet Intelligence and Federation Security . The Mutara sector was declared off-limits, and Starfleet sent the USS Grissom to investigate the newly-formed planet with David Marcus and Lieutenant Saavik .

They found that the planet was unstable; instead of life, it caused death and destruction. During the development of the Genesis matrix, Dr David Marcus , Carol Marcus' son, had used protomatter , a dangerous and unstable compound, to complete the process. As a result, animals were mutated, weather was bizarre, and earthquakes, fires, volcanic eruptions, and windstorms, along with the unstable core, tore the planet apart, blocked out the sun, and caused the planet to age rapidly to the point that it destabilized completely. However, exposure to the Genesis energies did have the unexpected side-effect of restoring the body of the deceased Spock to life, 'regenerating' him into a youthful state and then accelerating his aging until he was the same age he had been when he died. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

Klingon plot [ ]

The Klingon Empire had come to learn about the project and Genesis' destructive potential. A Klingon spy named Valkris had secretly managed to obtain Kirk's classified briefing of the Genesis Project and transmitted it to Commander Kruge . Kruge destroyed Valkris's transport vessel, the freighter Merchantman , after she admitted to Kruge having seen the contents of the briefing.

Kruge then went to the Genesis planet to capture scientists with knowledge of the project. His gunner accidentally destroyed the Grissom in their attempt to disable the vessel, however, they found the away team consisting of Saavik and Marcus. Kruge captured them and demanded that they help him understand the technology, and didn't believe Marcus when he explained that the process didn't work. The Enterprise arrived, pirated by Kirk and his crew, to find Spock whose body had been restored to life by the Genesis effect. Kruge demanded project information from the Enterprise 's library, and had Marcus killed to show he was serious. Kirk and crew prevented Kruge from accessing the Genesis project files by destroying the Enterprise in the process, while appropriating Kruge's Bird-of-Prey for themselves. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

After the Genesis planet destabilized, the Klingon Ambassador used Kirk's briefing of Project Genesis, along with images of the destruction of Enterprise , when he spoke before a session of the Federation Council. The ambassador demanded Kirk's extradition by the Federation to the Klingon Empire, to be punished by the Klingons for the deaths caused when he ordered the self-destruct of Enterprise . He vilified Project Genesis, characterizing it as a weapon created by the Federation in order to bring about the annihilation of the Klingon people. However, Ambassador Sarek , in an immediate rebuttal, added that the Klingon ship had destroyed the Grissom and killed Kirk's son, David, in an illegal attempt to possess the secret of Genesis. ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

Project personnel [ ]

• Carol Marcus
• David Marcus
• Multiple other scientists

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

The Genesis Project music was created by Craig Huxley and was released on CD (it is not on the original Star Trek II soundtrack release, but on the Film Score Monthly re-release.).

The Genesis simulation graphics sequence was created for Star Trek II by Lucasfilm's Graphics Group . The footage was later reused in Star Trek III and Star Trek IV .

The Project Genesis simulation or demonstration graphics sequence, has been invariably referred to ever since as the "Genesis Demo" by production staff and reference authors alike. ( American Cinematographer , October 1982, pp. 1038)

Apocrypha [ ]

The novel Star Trek III: The Search for Spock further suggests that the planet and system may have been unstable due not only to the inclusion of protomatter in the matrix, but also to being formed entirely from the matter of the Mutara Nebula rather than having been detonated on a pre-existing world, as originally intended. The Genesis Wave series of novels (set in the 24th century and featuring the crew of the USS Enterprise -E ) expand upon this premise, noting that the Genesis Cave continued to exist inside the Regula One planetoid (which contradicts the movie novel, which shows that the plants inside the cave had mutated into something completely different than what they had started out as), and features some insight as to what happened after the events of The Wrath of Khan , including the revelation that Carol Marcus survived into the twenty-fourth century, although kept in secret due to the danger of her knowledge of the Genesis Project.

According to the novel The Sorrows of Empire , the first two stages of Project Genesis were carried out in a similar manner in the mirror universe . However, funding for further research was denied by Terran Emperor Spock in 2284 , effectively ending the project.

External link [ ]

• Project Genesis at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published May 5, 2013

Meet Alice Eve - Carol Marcus in Star Trek Into Darkness

StarTrek.com Staff

StarTrek.com reported last week that Star Trek Magazine #45 is out now and that it’s loaded with stories about Star Trek Into Darkness , including interviews with the entire cast, plus the filmmakers and other behind-the-scenes figures. Today, we've got an excerpt of the magazine's interview with Alice Eve, who portrays Carol Marcus in the film. Check it out below:

In your research about Carol, what did you discover about the character and how you wanted to play her? In the original, when she was in The Wrath of Khan , she was older and she had a child [Kirk’s son, David]. I guess she was tough. This Carol Marcus that I was playing, I didn’t feel she was tough. I wanted to bring a vulnerability to her, because she was at the beginning of her journey as a woman, rather than the middle, where she had a child and she’s raising it. I wanted to bring that sense of hope and softness to her, along with the list of capabilities that are on the page. And she became mine at some point, I understood that there was a tradition, but I didn’t hold too tightly to any of it because she was mine now.

Let’s talk about the look of Carol, because fans have sort of obsessed over her retro look in the trailers. How did that come about? Well, the costumes were already established, so it was understood I was a science officer in the Medbay, so I would wear blue in the sort of the shape of the dress that Zoe [Saldana] wore before. In terms of the hair, obviously this is the future, and there was this interesting debate that raged about what hair was like in the future.We used the famous Vidal Sassoon bob from the ‘60s to build a hairstyle. We think it showed a sense of youth, and it was in keeping with the original imagery of the ‘60s show, but we modernized it and it added a clean efficiency  to the line. It was that stuff we ended up falling on, and J.J. (Abrams) was involved in all aspects. He was even involved with the color I chose to wear on my nails.

In past Trek mythology, Carol and Kirk become lovers. Without spoiling your arc in this film, you are obviously a part of Kirk’s Enterprise, and right in the thick of the emotional journey. Yes, I am, but it’s not always about Kirk. There are very heavy emotional journeys that we went on, but I think the most challenging thing for me was running around the Enterprise (Laughs). I had funny shoes, and I felt like I was running always, and everything was very high-intensity.

Star Trek Magazine #45 is on sale now. Click HERE to purchase and for details about ordering a subscription.

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