The Star Trek Character Gene Roddenberry Couldn't Stand Is Winning in 2025
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry tried to jettison Saavik from The Wrath of Khan, bristling at the half-Vulcan, half-Romulan lineage of Spock’s young protege, producer Harve Bennett recalls.
Here is one of those behind-the-scenes Trek stories that makes you raise an eyebrow: Gene Roddenberry, the guy who created Star Trek, really did not want Saavik in the movies. Not because of performance or plot. Because she was written as half-Vulcan, half-Romulan. And he fought that from day one.
Why Roddenberry pushed back on Saavik
Producer Harve Bennett has said (via Slashfilm) that Roddenberry was adamant the character should not exist as conceived. The logic, per Gene: Vulcans and Romulans could not intermarry, and it had never been done. Also, Vulcans and Romulans are sworn enemies, so the politics of a half-and-half officer in Starfleet did not sit right with him, even though Spock being half-human was already part of canon.
"He fought the character of Saavik savagely, saying you couldn't intermarry Vulcans and Romulans — that it was not possible. It had never been done."
The real issue: Roddenberry was sidelined, and Saavik was not his
If you want the context, it helps. After the overstuffed 1979 production of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Paramount took creative control back. By the time Star Trek II rolled around, director Nicholas Meyer and producer Harve Bennett were steering the ship, and Roddenberry was largely on the outside looking in. They introduced Saavik for The Wrath of Khan (1982), and Gene reportedly opposed her inclusion hard.
Years later, Meyer put it bluntly in Cinefantastique (via Slashfilm):
"I wrote the character of Saavik for 'Star Trek II' [...] That wasn't a Gene Roddenberry character. If he doesn't like what I'm doing, then maybe he should give the money he's making from my movies back. Then maybe I'll care what he has to say."
The tension did not go away. It flared again during Star Trek VI. There was talk of making Saavik the traitor in that film; to Roddenberry's credit, he objected to turning a fan favorite into a villain. The team ultimately created a new character, Valeris, to serve that plot function instead. Still, Roddenberry never warmed to Saavik herself.
Why that take does not land in 2025
In a moment where inclusivity and representation are (thankfully) the norm, the idea that a mixed-heritage character somehow breaks Trek feels dated. Irony alert: Spock is literally mixed heritage. And Star Trek did not exactly shy away from hybrids after Saavik arrived: think B'Elanna Torres, or Commodore Oh in Picard. Fans still engage with Saavik in 2025 too, from posts honoring Roddenberry's 100th birthday (Aug. 19, 2021) to people floating non-binary readings of Saavik this spring.
Saavik, at a glance
- Full name: Saavik
- Species: Half-Vulcan, half-Romulan
- Place of birth: Hellguard; homeworld: Vulcan
- Gender: Female
- Affiliation: Starfleet / United Federation of Planets
- Rank: Lieutenant junior grade
- First film appearance: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
- Portrayed by: Kirstie Alley (Wrath of Khan), Robin Curtis (The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home)
- Instructor/mentor: Spock
- Major assignments: USS Enterprise and USS Grissom
- Personality: Ambitious, disciplined, curious, logical with a quiet emotional current
- Early life: Survivor of brutal Romulan experiments on half-Vulcan prisoners; rescued by Spock as a child
- Education: Starfleet Academy
- Defining arc: From cadet to capable officer
- Symbolism: A living argument for reconciliation, unity, and the IDIC philosophy (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations)
- Legacy in 2025: A character who embodies Starfleet's inclusive ethos and still resonates with audiences
Note: Some of Saavik's backstory details come from scripts and tie-in material rather than being spelled out onscreen, but they have framed how the character is commonly understood.
The bottom line
Saavik was controversial behind the camera, but on screen she broadened what Trek could be: a woman of mixed heritage, a trauma survivor, and a Starfleet officer who succeeds in spite of attempts to erase her. If Roddenberry had gotten his way, that version of the franchise's future might not exist. His stance might have made sense to him in 1982; it does not in 2025.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is streaming now on Paramount+. What do you think of Saavik?