I'm sorry, but this whole Star Trek XI casting buzz is getting a tad out of hand. Following news that Matt Damon (Kirk), Adrian Brody (Spock) and Gary Sinise (McCoy) are reportedly in talks to play major roles in Star Trek XI, comes word from the very reliable Star Magazine (kidding, of course) via TrekMovie that Jennifer Garner might sign on to play Spock's love interest in the pic. Heck, why don't we bring on George Clooney and Brad Pitt too -- call this one Star Trek XI: The Search for the Perfect Cast to Ruin the Series.

Now, by the way Star phrases this so-called "exclusive scoop," it sounds as if all they have is word that the Vulcan will have a love interest, but they go on to speculate that Garner would be a perfect fit because director J.J. Abrams has worked with her before on Alias, and is known to cast actors he's very familiar with. So, they don't actually know for sure that she's being scoped out -- they're just pretending to have heard from someone (a Star staff writer?) that Jen would make a good Vulcan lover. Affleck lover, yes. But Vulcan -- not so much. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left wondering why in the world Spock would be getting action, and not Kirk? I imagine it's impossible to have the great-looking Adrien Brody in a film, and not have him shack up with at least one lucky female, alien or not. The big question: Would this love interest be new to the Trek universe or, perhaps, Abrams and his clan will tap into some Trek history and bring T'Pring back into the picture. Thoughts?

In related news, IGN recently learned that Star Trek XI will begin shooting this October, occupying five stages on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. However, most of those stages will be used for alien locations and not for, say, Starfleet Academy classrooms. So, unlike early rumors, the plot will most likely revolve around Kirk and Spock's first mission together, instead of two hours worth of Academy shenanigans. Star Trek XI is due to hit theaters on Christmas Day, 2008.

Though we're still not sure which direction writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are going to take Star Trek XI, we're pretty sure the boys will go retro and focus on a young Kirk and Spock as they begin their training at the Starfleet Academy. While you Trek fans argued continuously over whether Kirk and Spock meeting at the Academy was even plausible in the first place, the names Matt Damon and Ben Affleck immediately began circling the rumor mill.

After the Damon buzz lingered for a few months, the man, his publicist and agency finally debunked the entire thing, saying something along the lines of, "we've never even heard of Star Trek -- is that some sort of eating utensil?" (Okay, that's not an exact quote, but it's close.) Forget about asking whether William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy will have any involvement -- those two flip-flop more than your local congressman. So, if Damon and Affleck will not be playing a young Kirk and Spock, who is? Ya know, if that's the route they're actually going.

So, I ask you: You're in charge of putting two actors in the roles of a young Kirk and Spock -- who do you cast?