This new Star Trek character was inspired by Jennifer Lawrence

Los Angeles - Jennifer Lawrence inspired a new Star Trek Beyond character.

Writer Simon Pegg has revealed that Jennifer's strong character in Winter Bone provided the inspiration for Jaylah in the new movie.

He explained: "[Jaylah] is actually named after Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone. We were trying to create this very independent character. But we didn't have a name for it. So we just called it 'Jennifer-Lawrence-In-Winter's-Bone.' That's a long name. So it started getting tiring always saying, well Jennifer-Lawrence-In-Winter's-Bone is fighting here. So then we started calling her J-Law. And then she became Jaylah."

Jaylah is played by Sofia Boutella and Simon said: "We love Sofia, she's a nutcase and a golden edition to this group. There are not a lot of girls in 'Star Trek'. Zoe Saldana (as Uhura) has a lot on her shoulders."

Meanwhile, Star Trek producers are currently working on the script for a fourth movie in the franchise but producer JJ Abrams insists Anton Yelchin - who tragically died last month in a freak car accident at his home - won't be replaced.

He told Postmedia Network: "I would say there's no replacing him. There's no recasting. I can't possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better.

"We knew going into this movie it would be a bit of a heartbreak just because of Leonard (Nimoy, the original Spock, who died when the movie was in pre-production). We had no idea just how devastating events would become."