Trekkers in a Panic: Is Zachary Quinto Returning for Round 2?

Relax. The Heroes star promises he'll be reprising his role as Spock

Wait a minute! Is Zachary Quinto not returning for the Star Trek sequel?!

In an interview with Wired, the erstwhile Spock told a shocked reporter talking to him about a forthcoming online game, "I'm stepping away from Star Trek for at least two years—no movies, no conventions, no anything for awhile. I did this game to make an investment in the fan base."

Needless to say, this put the Trekkers in quite a tizzy. With the next movie coming out June 29, 2012, does this really mean he won't be donning those fancy ears again?

Alas, Zachary didn't mean it quite like that.

"To clarify: I've been inundated w/questions/confusion about a comment I made during an interview w/ @wired re: Atari Star Trek Online game in which I said I'm stepping away from Trek for next 2 years," he wrote on Twitter. "Obviously, I'll be a part of any upcoming films, reprising my role as Spock."

Whew! Now that that's clear, what did he mean? From the looks of it, he just intended to say he won't be doing any more intergalactic publicity until the sequel rolls around.

"What I meant was that in the meantime I won't be making appearances related to the franchise or doing auxiliary projects in Trek universe," he said. "I'll be focusing my efforts on other projects & preparing to shoot the next film, which will be released in June of 2012...2 yrs from now."

And just in case that wasn't enough to get fans to cool their jets, he added, "Worry not Trekkers. It was a misunderstanding of context. I am not Spock. But I am Spock. All at the same time. LL & P. ZQ."