User blog:ARTaylor/35 Years of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Today is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The film, following immediately after the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, follows the crew of the USS-Enterprise as they must recover their fallen comrade Spock while on the run from their own allies and confronting murderous Klingons.

The film was put into production immediately following the success of the previous film, in fact the ending of Wrath of Khan was altered slightly to allow for this film. Leonard Nimoy, who plays the titular Spock, became the first actor to direct a Star Trek film. Critical reception for the film was generally positive, though no where near as much as Wrath of Khan. It opened in a then-record number of theaters and had a significantly successful opening weekend, though ended as a modest success. The reaction to the film propagated the idea that odd numbered Star Trek films were inferior to the even numbered ones. It was successful enough to warrant the sequel Voyage Home.

The film features George Takei and Nichelle Nichols returning to their roles as Hikaru Sulu and Uhura, Miguel Ferrer as the First Officer of the Excelsior, Phil Morris as trainee Foster, and Frank Welker as the voice of the young Spock.