Breaking News: Anton Yelchin dead at age 27 – UPDATED 

Some terrible surprising news this morning, the Associated Press is reporting Anton Yelchin (the new Chekov to

fans)  has died in a car accident this morning. Our condolences to his family and friends. Press release is after the break. Updated with more details from Variety.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anton Yelchin, a charismatic and rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, has died at the age of 27. He was killed in a fatal traffic collision early Sunday morning, his publicist, Jennifer Allen confirmed.

Yelchin started small with roles in indie films and various television shows, before breaking out in films like the crime thriller “Alpha Dog” and the teenage comedy “Charlie Bartlett.” His biggest role to date has been in the rebooted “Star Trek” films — the third of which, “Star Trek Beyond” comes out in July.

Yelchin, an only child, was born in Russia. His parents were professional figure skaters who moved the family to the United States when Yelchin was a baby. Yelchin’s family requests privacy at this time.

The LAPD said he was pinned by his own car at his Studio City home. Friends apparently became concerned when Yelchin did not show up for a band performance. They found him at his home pinned between his car and a brick mailbox pillar.

“It appears he had exited his car and was behind it when the vehicle rolled down a steep driveway,” the LAPD said in a statement.

Police reportedly told TMZ that the engine was still running when he was found, and that his car was in neutral. It’s not clear why he got out of his car with the engine running.

Shocked, fans and colleagues are extending their love and condolences.

our dear friend. our comrade. our anton. one of the most open and intellectually curious people… https://t.co/zgTxXmyrbD

I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist – curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I’m in ruins.

Shocked and saddened at the death of Anton Yelchin. I’m SO done with 2016. https://t.co/grXcuntFSD

In case you missed Anton Yelchin’s previous AMA, read it here:https://t.co/Zim9BkAhPv. The world is a lesser place without him.

While it is very sad to so abruptly lose someone who had so much life left, we can be grateful for the talent he shared with us.

184 Comments on "Breaking News: Anton Yelchin dead at age 27 – UPDATED"

Oh man. . . My condolences to his family and of course his co-workers. Rest in peace Anton.

Such tragic news. I’m very saddened to hear this about young Anton.

There’s something incredibly sad about the new crew dying before the old crew…

With the exception of Red Shirts, the old crew were more cautious.

I don’t think LLAP is something that pertains to this 😕

Lol yeah wtf… thanks for the laugh at least, Nelson.

Seems the red shirts are cursed after all… Chekov’s reaction to the prospect of wearing one was one of the few finer moments in STID. RIP :(

I am so sad. He was great in Star Trek. He will be missed.

Absolutely tragic. This is horrible news for all the Star Trek community. My condolences to his family and friends at this terrible time.

How tragic. He was my favorite from the new cast. I suspect (and hope) they’ll dedicate the new film to him.

It’s likely Beyond will be dedicated to Leonard Nimoy, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next film was dedicated to Anton.

Yes there is justice in the universe. We all are going to die eventually. That’s one thing we all human beings share. We all got a date with death. Some sooner, some later. Doesn’t matter if you rich, poor, a celebrity or not…we all have it coming, so live your life to the fullest people. Take every day like it’s your last.

What sad and shocking news! All the best to his family and friends.

I am speechless. Condolensces and all but nothing I could said can compensate for such a loss at such a young age. Losing a valuable member of this great young cast feels even worse than losing an 80+ original actor. He had his entire life and career in front of him. I’m devastated. He was such a great follow-up to Koenig and nailed the character 110%. Rest in peace, Anton!

Damn. He was also very good in “Odd Thomas”, a movie that was treated outrageously poorly by the studio.

Awful news. Shocked :/ My sincere condolences to his family & friends. What can one say? Very upsetting. His talent will live on forever in his work.

Poor bloke, such sad news. I’d like to send my love to all of his family, and the people who knew him. When you watch him in interviews, he seemed such a nice chap

Sad. He was found pinned between his car and a mailbox. No details how that could of happened. I wish he could still be alive. It is a sad day. I wonder who they will hire to replace him as Chekov.

Well it’s what I was thinking. Little harm in saying what everyone’s already thinking anyway.

If they’re smart, they should just not recast him. There’s no reason the film franchise (just how many more can they make before Zoe Saldana gets too expensive? One, maybe two?) needs to follow an episodic format. You can bring in new characters. Or even just leave it at six people. I hear there were a couple additional characters in the not-enirely-canon animated version that I suppose they could probably cast.

The wisest course of action is to not recast him, and instead bring in reboot universe Ilia early. But seriously, Anton’s death is… Wow. And what’s more is a running theory is his car was part of a nationwide recall, for the very issue that killed him.

Upon further reflection, I have a hunch if they brought in any of the alternates it would be Saavik. Ilia might be a stretch. And I can’t picture them going with Valeris or Decker. I was thinking of the TAS alternates just because that show has the same iconography as classic TOS (designs, title fonts, etc that the current movies seem to emulate).

Chekov will probably just be reassigned in between movies.

“I wonder who they will hire to replace him as Chekov.”

No one. This BR movie is supposed to be the last one.

Not true, Pine and Quinto have already been signed for a fourth, this may change things of course, but that is also too early to say.

So horrible – and to make it worse and even more absurd, there is an episode of Six Feet Under where the cold open is a guy getting run over by his own car in an eerily similar manner. The character is played by Chris Pine.

Of Mr. Yelchin I wish to say, He is not truly dead, as long as we remember him. May we remember him as we wish to be — young and admired, and a part of the universe we wished to share.

Words are so inadequate at times like these. But they are all we have.

And may we continue to hope that the eternal stars above are our legacy, and our destination.

Very eloquent and so properly stated. Thank you.

I am so sad to hear this. Anton Yelchin was such a likeable guy. He did great work both in Star Trek and beyond it.

I had a brief encounter with him in San Diego a few years back. He seemed like a sweet kid.

My condolences to the Yelchin family and to the “Star Trek” family, including the original Chekov himself: Walter Koenig. Should there be a “Star Trek XIV” there may be a few possibilities: replace Chekov with a new character or re-cast Chekov having someone replacing Anton Yelchin. May his soul live long and prosper. Rest in peace, Anton.

In my opinion, they wouldn’t have to look too far for “new” character, Lt. Saavik did replace Chekov’s spot on the helm in WOK.

For the 4th movie they could write off his character by saying that after the events of ST:Beyond he was promoted and is now serving on the USS Reliant, then introduce Saavik as a new helmsman.

Hello, Ceti Alpha V. Let me rephrase it: Should there be a “Star Trek XIV” there may be a few possibilities: either write off Chekov by replacing Chekov with a new character or re-cast Chekov by having someone replacing Anton Yelchin.

I would rather replace Chekhov with a new character, and then recast if there is another reboot of TOS. Regardless, Anton Yelchin’s passing shouldn’t be travalized. RIP, Mr. Yelchin.

I’m in shock. This is truly horrible. He was a great Chekov, a great talent, and a great guy judging by what his friends and colleagues have said. So sorry to hear this.

A huge loss. Only 27 and had already made a pretty long list of incredible contributions to film.

Michael Okuda got it right with ‘shocked and saddened’… I liked Anton in every movie I’d seen of his.. This really sucks. I suppose he joins the 27 club now… :/

What a terrible news, he was only 27. My condolences to his family and friends.

So very sad… far too young to be taken away. I had the pleasure of being Anton’s classmate in elementary school – he was very talented and dynamic even at that age, and even more importantly he was a sweet kid. I’ll keep him and his family in my thoughts and prayers. RIP Anton, you will be missed.

RIP to such a talented young man. He was so memorable with the part of Chekov in his limited screen time I do not think he could be replaced its better to just give him a happy ending onscreen & retire the character for future movies.

R.I.P. Anton… You will be greatly missed. May your adventures continue far beyond the dark side of the moon…

In this great void, we have only ourselves, and our hopes and kind wishes.

I can hear his Chekov, calling to attention those who need to hear, and springing into action, in aid of those who need assistance, on board the greatest enterprise of all.

@WellofSouls, that is a really appropriate and beautiful graphic.

Today is a sad day for us Trekkies lost our new Chekov – Anton Yelchin. Wow … it was devastating. It was so new, hilarious, passionate … Rest in peace and a strong hug Yelchin family.😢

I wish I could just “wake up” and discover that all this was just a hoax or nightmare.

I thought it was a hoax as well. We in June….so can’t be an April’s fool’s joke. I wonder if this will boost ticket sales for Beyond. The Dark Knight only did what it did as did Fast and the Furious….waitaminute…Justin Lin directed Paul walker , and now he’s lost another actor he directed. Weird.

This is Saldana’s birthday as well. Koenig is likely hit hard too with his son’s suicide only a few years ago.

This is a sad tragic day for Star Trek and the fans. Anton Yelchin was an incredible talent and he did great as Pavel Chekov. Star Trek Beyond will likely be dedicated to his memory as well as Leonard Nimoy’s. He will be missed by all worldwide.

Awful, Awful news. Along with Karl Urban he was my favourite part of the Star Trek reboots and I bought he played he part of Reece in Terminator Salvation brilliantly. Always tragic when a talented actor passes away but it’s especially heart breaking when it’s somebody so young.

Devastating news… Such a brilliant young actor and by all accounts a great guy.

My most sincere condolences to Anton’s family and friends.

Although this may be too soon, I hope that if there are any further movies in this timeline, that they NOT keep the character and replace Anton with another actor. Instead, add Lt. Arex to the cast. That would be more interesting, and it would silently acknowledge Anton’s contributions to this series.

With all due respect, who cares about the next Star Trek movie at this point? This is an unspeakable tragedy that is far bigger than a mere movie.

Terrible. Just terrible. May he rest in peace – there’s really nothing else to say…

My condolences to the Yelchin family. We are all surely all the poorer for his being denied the grand future that was unfolding before him.

So totally unexpected and sad. Warm thoughts to all his family and friends.

Fuck! Tragedy. I almost feel the worst for the director — two young actors, two freak accidents. Please no one start a “Lin curse.” The world is turning to shit.

You do realise Lin didn’t direct the most recent FF movie? PW died mid-shoot. AY died post-shoot.

Lin had nothing to do with the film that Paul Ryan on died during filming so he’s safe on that.