In Alexander Payne's recent dramedy "The Holdovers," the Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti played a grumpy (but charismatic) teacher, largely hated by the student body. It seems that the students of Starfleet Academy are about to hate him even more, as — according to a new report from Variety — the actor has been cast as the central villain of the upcoming "Starfleet Academy" TV series. The Variety report says that Giamatti will serve as an as-yet unnamed recurring antagonist throughout the "Star Trek" show's first season, and that his character will have "a sinister connection to the past of one of the (yet to be cast) cadets." Variety didn't specify if he'd be playing a human or another alien species.

Speculation may now commence. Will he be playing a bitter former professor? An escaped convict and serial killer who just happens to be the father of one of the main characters? A charismatic cult leader,...