Avatar co-star and Barack Obama supporter Zoe Saldana has joined the cast of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, according to Variety. She'll play Uhura, a member of the bridge crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise who eventually rose to the rank of commander; Nichelle Nichols originated the role on the famous small screen sci-fi series.

Abrams is producing Star Trek, which revolves around the crew's early days at Starfleet Academy, through his Paramount-based Bad Robot shingle. So far, Saldana joins Zachary Quinto, cast as the young Spock, and Anton Yelchin, cast as Pavel Checkov. Filming commences in November.