The character of Saavik was first introduced in Nicholas Meyer’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” as a pupil of the soon-to-be-retiring Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Saavik, being a young cadet, was still confused and upset by working with humans, an issue she was able to discuss with Spock on a few occasions. In “Khan,” Saavik was played by Kirstie Alley, but she was replaced by Robin Curtis for “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” and “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.” Both actors were perfectly capable in the role and provided the appropriate level of cold, Vulcan logic.
Saavik, despite being a Vulcan, endures several dramatic events in all three films. Most notably, in “Star Trek III,” Saavik had to be present when a deformed Klingon warrior killed David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), the son of Admiral Kirk (William Shatner). She was the one who informed Kirk via a communicator that his son was dead in the middle of the hostage situation.
In May 2024, Curtis spoke to StarTrek.com about taking on the role of Saavik and the challenges that come with it. Not only did she have to take over the role from another actor, but suddenly, she was faced with one of the most intense, death-defying moments ever seen in a “Star Trek” movie. She got some helpful advice from Leonard Nimoy — he told her that all Vulcans have millennia of experience behind their eyes — but she was still unsure how a Vulcan would react to having a phaser held to her head, or how she would cope with the death of a colleague.
Death of David
For those unfamiliar with the story of “The Search for Spock”, it is directly related to the consequences of the Genesis Device – a widget introduced in “The Wrath of Khan”. Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) invented a special type of radiation that, when fired at a planet’s surface, can terraform it almost instantly. At the end of “Khan”, the device was detonated, and a planet was created from the dust in a nebula.
In “Star Trek III,” Saavik and David Marcus investigate this new planet and find that it is unstable. Its weather patterns are not stable and evolution is proceeding very quickly; new life forms appear in a matter of minutes. Spock’s corpse was left on the planet and Saavik watched it come back to life as a baby, and then grow from an infant to an adult in a matter of hours.
Knowing the potential weapons power of the Genesis Device, a rogue Klingon named Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) invades the Genesis world and takes Saavik and David hostage in the hopes of obtaining information. He stops short of killing any of them to get what he wants, and eventually shoots and kills David. Kirk was in orbit on the Enterprise at the time, so he had to be told all the terrible news by Saavik.
Curtis admitted that the moment she told Kirk about her son’s death was a stressful moment of acting. Could she remain emotionless during such an emotional scene? “She [moment] “It filled me with anxiety and fear,” she admitted. “How could I say that with the Vulcan’s behavior?”
However, Curtis did a great job and kept her Vulcan demeanor intact. In fact, her performance in the film overall was excellent.
