Source: Facebook

It was recently rumored that 'Star Trek' actor Chris Pine announced on his "official" Facebook page that not only does he have the first script for the highly-anticipated sequel, but that Captain Kirk is getting a love interest (hot green aliens notwithstanding):

Unfortunately, the whole thing was quickly discovered to be a hoax - Pine does not have an official Facebook account, nor is the script even finished. However, since we're already here, we might as well discuss options for the sequel. While Kirk has quite the reputation for being a ladies man, the love interest in a second film could be a wholly new character (the writers and producer have said they'd like to start taking the franchise in a new direction), or an existing character that we've seen before, but this time in a new way (thanks to the timeline altering events in the first film). Since there's no way to guess who the new character would be, let's take a look at possible existing characters. It could be:

Miramanee - a tribal priestess on the planet Amerind, they met in the original TV series when her people mistook an amnesiac Kirk for a otherworldly god. Smitten, they were married and she even became pregnant with his child. Unfortunately, due to Kirk's inability to stop an asteroid from hitting the planet, the Amerind people rebelled and stoned both Kirk and Miramanee, killing both her and the unborn child. The people of Amerind were reminiscent of Native Americans, and the clashing of less-advanced cultures is a popular sci-fi theme thanks to 'Avatar', so it's slightly possible.

Janice Rand - a consistent woman in Kirk's life and aboard the Enterprise, Janice started as the captain's yeoman (kind of like a personal sexretary) but went on to hold a variety of positions aboard the ship (but never in Kirk's quarters). While there was an obvious attraction between the two (she was hot and blonde and he was Kirk), there was never an actual episode that brought them together. Re-introducing a previously-smaller character into the actual crew and expanding her role might be a better move over the long-term than bringing in a one-film love story.

Lastly - and most likely - Doctor Carol Marcus. Carol was mentioned way back in the very first episode of the series as the young blond lab technician that the captain was involved with and was one of the leading molecular biologists in the federation. Heavily involved in the creation of the Genesis project in "Wrath of Khan", it was also revealed that Kirk was the father of her son, David. As one of Kirk's main love interests in both film and television, and with her timeline being very crucial to Kirk's life (both David's death and Spock's death and Genesis-involved resurrection impacted him greatly), she is definitely a viable option for future installments in the franchise.

Who do you think will be Captain Kirk's love interest? Which actress would you like to see join the franchise? 'Star Trek 2' is still in pre-production, but you can see Chris Pine in 'Welcome to People', co-starring Olivia Wilde and Elizabeth Banks.