Star Trek Beyond writer Simon Pegg revealed in a press conference that the new character Jaylah, was inspired by Lawrence in the indie film, Winter’s Bone.
“We were trying to create this very independent character. But we didn’t have a name for it,” Pegg said. “So we just called it ‘Jennifer-Lawrence-In-Winter’s-Bone.’”
“That’s a long name,” the writer joked. “So it started getting tiring always saying, well Jennifer-Lawrence-In-Winter’s-Bone is fighting here. So then we started calling her J-Law. And then she became Jaylah.”
In the film, Jaylah is played by Sofia Boutella. Pegg said that she is a welcome addition to the “Star Trek” crew.
“We love Sofia, she’s a nutcase and a golden edition to this group,” he said. “There are not a lot of girls in Star Trek. Zoe Saldana as Uhura has a lot on her shoulders.”
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Saldana return for Star Trek Beyond, directed by Justin Lin.
John Cho’s character, Sulu, is the film franchise’s first openly gay character. Pegg and Lin made the decision as a nod to George Takei, who played Sulu in “Star Trek: The Original Series.”
Star Trek Beyond hits theaters on July 22.
