The project currently known as Untitled Star Trek Sequel on IMDb will probably be seeing a new face added to the cast in a bit. Alice Eve is rumored to have joined the cast in an as-yet undisclosed role.

Alice Eve

The actress, most recently seen as Sophia on the final season of Entourage and as Erin in Sex and the City 2, stands to join a very male cast, which currently has Zoe Saldana as the sole female cast member. This casting news comes shortly after the disclosure that J.J. Abrams is wooing Benicio Del Toro to play the villain of the piece.

Before we sign off on this as a done deal, it’s important to remember how Alice Eve was in talks to play Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class, before backing out of the role and letting it go to January Jones. Apparently, she had also turned down the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger, letting that role instead go to Hayley Atwell (a role that she performed brilliantly, by the way!). Why Alice would turn down these hugely successful tentpole movies and instead accept roles in movies like Sex in the City 2 is beyond me, but I assume it may have something to do with the size of the pay check. Having skipped the two largest nerd culture movies of the year, I wonder if she won’t do the same here.

According to the news, the unnamed Star Trek 2 role – which is created for the movie and does not exist in any previous Trek incarnation – is only being offered to Alice Eve after she beat out several other young actresses, including Teresa Palmer and the previously mentioned Hayley Atwell.

Now, we could naturally discuss what character she’ll be playing, but knowing the franchise, there’s really only one option; a love interest for Kirk (Chris Pine).

The movie is scheduled for release on 17 May 2013 and stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho and Zoe Saldana.