Star Trek’s Walter Koenig Dies at 90 — plus The Black Tapes and More

Evening News · Monday 26 October 2026

Star Trek has lost one of its original bridge crew. Walter Koenig, who steered the Enterprise as Ensign Pavel Chekov, has died at 90. Tonight’s edition also has MGM+ making The Black Tapes official, James McAvoy in an AI comedy shooting in Glasgow, Robert Pattinson on finishing The Batman Part II, and two hobbits’ worth of reunion in The Gentlemen.

The News That Matters

Walter Koenig, Star Trek’s Ensign Chekov, dies at 90

• What happened: Koenig died at his home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, his agent Zachery McGinnis confirmed on Monday. He “passed of old age at home… surrounded by his daughter and niece”, the statement said. He turned 90 on 14 September
• The role: He joined Star Trek in its second season in 1967 as Pavel Chekov, the young Russian navigator on the Enterprise bridge at the height of the Cold War, and played him again in six films with the original crew, from The Motion Picture to The Undiscovered Country
• Beyond Chekov: Science fiction fans also know him as the menacing telepath Alfred Bester in Babylon 5, a role he later called more fulfilling than Chekov. He wrote for Star Trek: The Animated Series and Land of the Lost, wrote the 1980 book Chekov’s Enterprise, and taught acting
• The tributes: George Takei, his friend for nearly six decades and the best man at Takei’s 2008 wedding, wrote: “Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend… Rest well, my dear friend. Keep navigating a steady course”
• UK availability: The original Star Trek series streams on Paramount+ in the UK. Koenig is among the contributors to the 60th-anniversary documentary The Sixty-Year Mission, in UK cinemas since 21 October

His death leaves William Shatner and George Takei as the last surviving principal cast members of the original series. It comes in Star Trek’s 60th-anniversary year, weeks after Koenig took part in The Sixty-Year Mission. In our October Insider, we wrote that Chekov was a small but potent reminder that Trek’s future could make former enemies crewmates. That idea still feels radical, and Koenig carried it with real warmth.

If you want to remember him tonight, start with “Amok Time” or The Wrath of Khan. Our Star Trek watch guide will take you through the rest.

Now official: MGM+ orders The Black Tapes with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

• New development: MGM+ has given a series order to The Black Tapes, the eight-part supernatural drama based on the 2015 horror podcast, with Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau leading the cast, Deadline reported on Monday. Earlier reports of his casting were unconfirmed
• The story: Coster-Waldau plays Dr Richard Strand, a brilliant psychiatrist with a mysterious past, who teams up with the obsessive scientist Alex Regan to debunk paranormal cases, the infamous black tapes, only to uncover a hidden occult world and a centuries-old apocalyptic conspiracy
• Behind the camera: John Rogers (Leverage) is showrunner, writing alongside the podcast’s creators, Terry Miles and Paul Bae. The podcast has passed 60 million downloads, and an earlier NBC version never reached the pilot stage
• UK availability: Filming starts in Vancouver in January 2027. MGM+ will release it in the UK, the US and Ireland among other territories. UK date not yet confirmed

The Black Tapes was one of the podcasts that convinced listeners a scripted show might be real, which is exactly the slow-burn dread a TV version needs. Coster-Waldau as the sceptic who can’t explain his own files is smart casting. It joins From and The Institute in MGM+’s growing horror line-up, and with Shudder’s slate running to Christmas, as we reported in this morning’s edition, horror on the small screen is having a very good autumn.

James McAvoy, Juno Temple and Joey King make AI comedy Almost You in Glasgow

• New development: The three stars are shooting the sci-fi comedy Almost You in Glasgow, Variety reported on Monday. Matt Lipsey, who directed episodes of Ted Lasso, Inside No. 9 and Little Britain, is directing
• The story: A robotics engineer, Phoebe, can’t accept the death of her younger sister, Edie. Breaking the rules of the tech company she works for, she uses years of messages, videos and social media posts to build a lifelike AI replica of her, and soon has to ask whether you should bring someone back just because you can
• Who’s making it: Produced by Danny Page for Homefront Productions and Blazing Griffin, with McAvoy’s Parker Films. Bankside Films is selling it worldwide
• UK availability: No UK distributor or release date has been announced yet. UK date not yet confirmed

“We thought we were making a film about the future. It turns out it’s about right now,” Lipsey said. A grief comedy about AI ghosts could easily be glib, but a British director who has handled Inside No. 9’s sharp turns between laughs and heartbreak is a good sign, and it is good to see another genre film being made in Scotland.

Update: Robert Pattinson says The Batman Part II is nearly done, with Soderbergh helping Reeves

• New development: Pattinson told GamesRadar+ that the shoot is “almost done” and that he is going back to work within days. “I think they’re in production already. And I’m starting in a couple of days,” he said, as reported by Variety on Monday
• On Soderbergh: “I am so happy he’s come on to help Matt. It’s incredibly generous of him… It’s completely selfless,” Pattinson said of Steven Soderbergh, who is helping finish principal photography while Matt Reeves deals with a family matter
• Still Reeves’s film: Reeves remains the director, and Soderbergh has said the aim is to shoot footage that fits seamlessly with what is already filmed so Reeves can finish his film
• UK availability: Due in cinemas in February 2028 (18 February in the US). No change to the date has been announced. UK date not yet confirmed

When Warner Bros. paused filming at the start of October, as we reported in our 7 October round-up, fans feared a long delay. Then came Reeves’s promise that he is not leaving. Pattinson’s words are the clearest sign yet that the sequel is back on track, and his praise for Soderbergh shows this is a rescue, not a takeover.

Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood reunite in The Gentlemen season 3

• New development: Netflix announced on Friday that the third season of Guy Ritchie’s crime series is now filming in the UK and Morocco, with new cast members including Lord of the Rings co-stars Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood, plus Robert Carlyle, Dexter Fletcher, Bruna Marquezine, Ed Speleers, Saffron Burrows, Philip Arditti and Bugzy Malone
• The story: Theo James’s Eddie and Kaya Scodelario’s Susie take on their boldest job yet: building a casino in the Middle East. Ray Winstone, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones and Maya Jama are among those returning
• Who’s missing: Daniel Ings, who played Eddie’s troubled brother Freddy, and Giancarlo Esposito are not returning, Deadline and Variety reported
• UK availability: Seasons 1 and 2 stream on Netflix in the UK. Season 3 has eight hour-long episodes. UK date not yet confirmed

Ritchie loves a cameo-sized casting surprise, and Legolas and Frodo turning up in his world is a very good one. After a second season that, as our Super Review put it, lost the plot but found its crown, a move to a new country could give the show the fresh start it needs.

Watch the season 3 announcement

What is your favourite Chekov moment, from the Enterprise bridge or as Bester in Babylon 5?

Back tomorrow with What to Watch Tonight at 7:30am and the Morning News at 8am.