Karl Urban Signed as Star Trek's Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy!

This month sure has become one delightful period to remember by the Trekkies, none other because it marks the casting made on principal characters for the highly-anticipated "Star Trek." Now the project delightfully gets a new one in the lineup: Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard McCoy aka Bones.

StarTrek.com, the official site of the sci-fi franchise, has confirmed that the New Zealander has been signed on to play the young version of the USS Enterprise chief surgeon/chief medical officer, known for his catch phrase of "He's dead, Jim." The role, featured in the original Star Trek series, and the first six Star Trek films, was originated by actor DeForest Kelley, a native of Atlanta, Georgia who passed away in June 1999 due to stomach cancer.

Urban, widely known for his performance as Eomer of Rohan in the last two installments of "Lords of the Rings" trilogy, most recently appeared in Viking movie "Pathfinder" which sadly did not fare well in the box office. The Wellington-born actor previously was considered for the part of Kainan in "Outlander" that finally went to "The Passion of the Christ" star James Caviezel.

Apart from its report on Urban, StarTrek.com has also brought confirmation that Chris Pine indeed is cast as Captain James T. Kirk for the flick. TrekMovie even claims that deal on the actor to play the role has been closed.