Nurse Chapel is a beloved [Trek] character,” says Orci. “Even before the first movie came out, a lot of online chatter was, ‘Is Nurse Chapel gonna be there?!’”

Alas, although we hear Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) say “Nurse Chapel” in 2009’s Star Trek, we never officially saw Christine Chapel — and she’s still MIA in Into Darkness. Instead, Carol Marcus tells Kirk that she learned of his reputation as a ladies man from her friend Christine Chapel, who has become a nurse since her romantic encounter with him — which he does not recall.

“We just figured that would be a great reference, and we loved that Kirk didn’t remember her,” says Orci. “It’s an in-joke that also speaks volumes about his character when it comes to women. That’s why we used it.”

So will Nurse Chapel ever actually make a flesh-and-blood appearance on the Enterprise? Orci just laughs. “That’s certainly possible!