Both Kirstie Alley and Robin Curtis played Saavik in the Star Trek: The Original Series films, but what did the actors’ careers look like afterward?

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan introduced Lieutenant Saavik, the first major female Starfleet Vulcan character in Star Trek. Saavik was originally played by Kirstie Alley, but Robin Curtis took over the role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In The Wrath of Khan, Saavik was assigned as the navigator on the USS Enterprise under the command of Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). She had been mentored by Spock (Leonard Nimoy) while at Starfleet Academy and was a stickler for following Starfleet regulations. Like many Vulcans, Lt. Saavik sometimes struggled to understand the many quirks of human behavior.

Lt. Saavik returned in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, this time played by Robin Curtis, where she worked with Kirk’s son David Marcus (Merritt Butrick). While on the Genesis Planet, Saavik and David found Spock’s body and she helped him get through his rapid aging process, and with Spock’s pon farr. David later sacrificed himself to save Saavik when her life was threatened by the Klingon Kruge (Christopher Lloyd). Saavik appeared briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, where she told Kirk how his son had died, and she bid farewell to Spock. Lt. Saavok remained on Vulcan when the USS Enterprise crew returned home to Earth, and this was her last canonical appearance.

Every Star Trek Movie In Chronological Order

With 13 entries in the Star Trek movie series from 1979-2006, there are a couple of ways to watch the films chronologically.

What Happened To Kirstie Alley After Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan?

Kirstie Alley became the highest-paid actress on television, thanks to Cheers.

Kirstie Alley’s role as Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was her film debut, and she went on to have a lengthy career in film and television. Alley appeared in the North & South television mini-series and the film Summer School before she landed her breakout role as Rebecca Howe on Cheers in 1987. As the series lead of Cheers who replaced Shelley Long, Alley became the highest-paid actress on television. Alley also starred in the hit 1989 film Look Who’s Talking alongside John Travolta, as well as John Carpenter’s 1995 remake of Village of the Damned. Alley starred as Veronica Chase in the sitcom Veronica’s Closet in the late 1990s, before moving to mostly one-off roles in television shows and made-for-TV movies.

Throughout her career, Kirstie Alley was vocal about her struggles with body image issues, and she served as a spokesperson for weight loss company Jenny Craig. She became a member of the Church of Scientology in 1979, and she declined to appear as Rebecca Howe in the Cheers spin-off Frasier because the medical psychiatry element of the show conflicted with Scientologist beliefs. Alley’s final performances include a 10-episode-stint on Scream Queens and a starring role in the Lifetime movie You Can’t Take My Daughter. In 2022, Alley competed on the reality singing competition show The Masked Singer. Alley passed away from colon cancer in 2022 at the age of 71.

What Happened To Robin Curtis After Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home?

Curtis appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

When Robin Curtis took over the role of Lt. Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, this marked her first major film role. After The Search for Spock and her brief appearance in The Voyage Home, Curtis appeared in several popular television shows and films. Curtis appeared in an episode of The Equalizer in 1986 and two episodes of MacGyver in 1985 and 1987. She went on to appear in one-off roles in various other television shows, including Private Eye, Night Court, Dragnet, General Hospital, Babylon 5, Space: Above and Beyond, and Murder, She Wrote.

Saavik was not Robin Curtis’s only Star Trek role, as she portrayed Tallera in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7 two-part episode “Gambit.” Tallera first told Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) that she was a Vulcan intelligence agent, but she was later revealed to be a Romulan member of an isolationist group. Curtis retired from acting in 1999, but continued to occasionally appear at Star Trek conventions. She is set to return to the world of film in the upcoming horror film Awaken the Reaper alongside Lance Henriksen.

Star Trek: Picard’s Updates To Saavik

Saavik became a starship captain after all.

Although Saavik did not make any appearances in the Star Trek franchise after Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the character has appeared in numerous tie-in novels and comics. Star Trek: Picard gave a shout-out to the popular character in season 3, episode 2, which showed that one of the shuttles of the USS Titan-A is named Saavik. The official @startreklogs Instagram account provided more information about Saavik’s life after The Voyage Home, revealing that she served as the first captain of the Titan.

Led by Captain Saavik, the first USS Titan temporarily became the flagship of Starfleet at the suggestion of Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) of the USS Excelsior. Saavik became one of the most popular characters introduced in the Star Trek: The Original Series films, and she continues to be celebrated in Star Trek. Picard provided some nice updates to the character, acknowledging her importance to the Star Trek franchise and offering a look at her impressive Starfleet career.