The development of the character of Sybok

As originally conceived, Sybok was to be a darker figure, a deranged Mohammed willing to crush anyone who got in his way, but this was too reminiscent of Khan. The decision was fortunately made to take the character in a much more likable direction.

As portrayed in the film, Sybok is a good-natured, truth-seeking Vulcan heretic who heals hurting people and is bent on a misguided quest to come face-to-face with the Almighty and inhabit the Eden planet, synonymous with paradise. Laurence Luckinbill hits the right balance between a whack-job and a self-help guru. In the end, amazingly, his utter passion to discover ultimate reality even pique’s Kirk’s interest and spirit of exploration. Kirk’s attitude is, “Well, we’re here [beyond the energy barrier], we might as well check it out.” But don’t let him fool you with his subtlety, Kirk was as psyched as anyone else to find and explore the mysterious Eden planet at the center of the galaxy, not to mention meet God.

Incidentally, the energy barrier in this film, located at the center of the galaxy, is different from the barrier encountered in the pilot “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and “By Any Other Name," which is at the edge of the galaxy.