One more piece of Star Trek casting news: Two-time Oscar nominee Winona Ryder has been cast as Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother, in the new film, according to the Star Trek official site and other sources.

Amanda, a human who married Spock's Vulcan father Sarek, was played in the original series episode "Journey to Babel" by Jane Wyatt and figured in Spock's post-resurrection reeducation in Star Trek IV. (Amanda also recurred in the acclaimed animated series episode "Yesteryear," where, like almost all female visitors to the low-budget cartoon, she was voiced by regular cast member Majel Barrett.) Ryder's sci-fi credentials include Beetle Juice, Alien: Resurrection, and S1m0ne.

A brief scare was created by Variety's initial online news flash, which said that Ryder had been cast to play Spock's "Vulcan mother." This caused worldwide consternation among fans who feared that writer-director J.J. Abrams had suddenly taken leave of his senses and decided to rewrite Spock's entire backstory. After a number of postings and online news articles (including this one from the Times of London), Variety corrected its own report.

As the Trek site points out, Ryder is only six years older than Zachary Quinto (Spock), which suggests either aging make-up for Ryder or a flashback sequence. No casting has been announced for Spock's father, Sarek.