Lots of news regarding J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek movie franchise this week -- the new Sulu & Scotty have been cast.

John Cho, one of the stars of "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle," (seen recently in the Tribeca Film Festival indie "West 32nd St.") will take over for George Takei as Sulu.

Meanwhile, Simon Pegg will follow in the footsteps of the late great James Doohan as the Enterprise's trusted engineer, Scotty.

Anyone who's seen him "Shaun of the Dead" or "Hot Fuzz" should be thrilled about this. Pegg is perfect for this role. I'm hoping he gets lots of chances to steal scenes with his dry wit.

The final bit of news involves the movie's bad guy, Nero. Eric Bana has inked a deal to play the part. Let's hope Bana's second turn in a fanboy-friendly franchise turns out better than his first effort, Ang Lee's sublimely lame "Hulk."

Few filmmakers know their intended audience better than Abrams, so if anyone can revive the Trek universe in theaters, it's him. And the fact that he's setting the film during the Starfleet Academy days is a good sign, at least for Trekkies (um, that would include me).

The 11th Trek movie is due out Christmas 2008.