Simon Pegg: Star Trek Beyond is for Anton Yelchin

4 July 2016

Simon Pegg has lost part of his "family" following the death of Anton Yelchin.

Simon Pegg

The 27-year-old actor died from "blunt traumatic asphyxia" in a freak accident at his Los Angeles home last month when his car rolled backward and trapped him against his gate and his 'Star Trek' co-star admits the whole cast of their upcoming movie 'Star Trek Beyond' are finding it "hard" to promote the film while mourning their friend.

However, they have realised the best way to deal with the situation is to make the movie "about Anton".

He told Magic Radio: "He should still be here, but we have to make this about Anton now. And we talked about how hard it was gonna be to get out there and bang the drum for this movie when we've lost one of our family.

"But for his sake and for his memory we're gonna make it. It's something that we just now have to contend with."

Fellow 'Star Trek' star Zachary Quinto recently described Anton's passing as a "devastating loss".

He said: "Beautiful, beautiful guy. I don't even know how to talk about it. We already knew this was going to be a bittersweet experience as a result of the loss of Leonard [Nimoy, who died in February 2015]. But this has been absolutely devastating for all of us. I think our goal just has to be to celebrate his incredible life and honour him. It was a terrible loss, not only to us but to audiences and the industry."

Anton was mourned at a private service by close friends and family and buried in an "undisclosed location" five days after his death at his home in Studio City, California.

On the night he died, Anton was due at rehearsals but when he failed to show up, his worried friends went to his home to check on him and found his lifeless body.

The tragic death was officially ruled an accident, however questions were raised over why the vehicle rolled back and whether it was a mechanical or human error.

An investigation is also being held into whether Anton's car was a model that should have been recalled because of a gear-shifting problem.