First came the rumours that J.J. Abrams would direct Star Trek XI, then the rumours that he would not, and finally the confirmation that he will. Now the rumour that Matt Damon will play Captain Kirk - debunked by both Star Trek insiders and Damon's reps - has returned with a vengeance.

IGN Movies cites studio sources who have told the web site that the roles of James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy may go to three very big name stars: Damon, Adrien Brody and Gary Sinise.

Damon is said to be in talks with Paramount to take over the role originated by William Shatner, who has won two Emmy Awards for his more recent role as Denny Crane on Boston Legal. Brody, an Academy Award-winning actor for The Pianist, is reportedly negotiating to play Leonard Nimoy's iconic role of Spock.

Both Shatner and Nimoy have said that they would be interested in appearing in Star Trek XI as older versions of their characters if they liked the script, and Nimoy added that he believed his contract entitled him to image approval for any actor playing young Spock.

Sinise is the current star of CSI: NY and is said to be in discussions to play physician Leonard "Bones" McCoy, a role originated by the late DeForrest Kelley. A Golden Globe winner, Sinise previously appeared in the space epics Apollo 13 and Mission to Mars.

Recent rumours have also suggested that Scottish actor James McAvoy might be in talks to play engineer Montgomery Scott, and IGN claims that Lost's Daniel Dae Kim, who previously played Corporal Chang on Enterprise, may be in line to take over the role of Sulu from George Takei, who is currently appearing on NBC's hit series Heroes as the father of a Star Trek fan.

Until Paramount makes an official announcement, all casting rumours should be considered just that. The original story is at IGN Movies.

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