Spock’s father has been cast in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. TrekMovie was the first to uncover it, but now various sources are confirming that Ben Cross will play Spock’s Vulcan dad Sarek in the Trek prequel.

Sarek was originally played both in the original Trek series and in movies by the amazing, late Mark Lenard. Along with Nimoy, Lenard was a huge part of developing and defining our perceptions of the ficitional Vulcan race. His Sarek is legendary, and Cross has a lot to live up to if he wants to play the part. He may also get to make out with Winona Ryder, who’s playing Spock’s human mother Amanda. Do Vulcans use tongue?

In Trek lore, Sarek and Spock have a long falling out over his decision to join Starfleet instead of the Vulcan Science Academy. So if this is a prequel and if they’re going through the trouble to cast someone to play Sarek, maybe we’ll see a Sarek/Spock smackdown.

Cross is a 60-year-old character actor who’s been working pretty steadily since 1973. Most recently he showed up in Exorcist: The Beginning.