The casting rumors about J.J. Abrams' Star Trek XI have been whirling for months, and lately, we've seen them begin to be proven true (Zachary Quinto as Spock) and false (Matt Damon as Kirk). So what's a rumor mill to do? Generate more rumors, of course.

IGN Movies is reporting that Abrams is after an A-list actor for the high-profile cameo role of Captain Pike, the officer who preceded Kirk on the bridge of the starship Enterprise. As hardcore fans of the show could no doubt tell us all in exhaustive detail, Pike served with Spock for about ten years, and in the show's original pilot (later aired as the two-part "The Menagerie"), Spock helped shepherd a wounded Pike to the forbidden planet Talos IV, and was court-martialed for his trouble.

Since Abrams has gone on record as saying the new Trek film's storyline will have a lot to do with Spock, Pike's appearance is significant. And who does Abrams supposedly want for the role? His friend and Mission: Impossible III star, Tom Cruise. As the IGN article notes, Star Trek is a Paramount production, which would seem to make Cruise's participation unlikely, but not, um, impossible:

Cruise's name first surfaced last fall as a possibility for a role in Trek,but Cruise spokesman Arnold Robinson advised TrekMovie.com at the time,"That story is not true." There was still bad blood between Cruise and Trekstudio Paramount at that time, but in recent months Sumner Redstone,the Viacom honcho who ousted Cruise, has softened his rhetoric, leaving the door open for reconciliation. A Cruise cameo in Trek, however, would be a favor to Abrams and not to Paramount.

Got all that? Good, because IGN hints at more Trek casting rumors around the corner, saying "And if you think this Cruise stuff is crazy then you don't even want to know which A-lister we were told Paramount is trying to land to play the villain!"

Source: IGN Movies