Double Feature Time; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan/O

For my 1st post of 2026, I'm looking at 2 films I always thought had a bit in common.

William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous playwright in history. So, it's not surprising that his works have been adapted countless times for the cinema over the decades. Many films have also clearly been influenced by his work. One such film is the 2nd Star Trek movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). The movie's director, Nicholas Meyer, clearly was influenced by Shakespeare when making this film. Indeed, echos of Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear are clear thoughout the movie in regards to Kirk beginning to think his best days are behind him and Khan being consumed by his obsession of revenge against Kirk, who had exiled Khan in the original series episode "Space Seed"-an exile which would lead to the deaths of many of Khan's followers, including his wife.. A more literal adaptation O (2001), which is a contemporary take on Shakespeare's Othello. In this film, Othello is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer) who is the basketball champ at a private school and who is romantically involved with this story's Desdemona Desi (Julia Stiles), who is the daughter of the school'd dean (John Heard). Odin's popularity becomes a target of jealousy for his teammate Hugo (Josh Hartnett), this film's Iago and the son of the basketball coach (Martin Sheen). As with his counterpart in the play, Hugo sets into motion a calculated plan to destroy Odin and his relationship with Desi which leads to tragedy for all involved.