Trivia

In the opening credits, there is a six-second-long pause between William Shatner and DeForest Kelley's names, where Leonard Nimoy's name would normally be. It's only one second between each of the other names.

The U.S.S. Grissom was named after astronaut Virgil I. Gus Grissom, who was killed when the Apollo 1 spacecraft caught fire on January 27, 1967, during a launch simulation test. The fire also killed astronauts Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee.

When the Enterprise enters Spacedock at the film's beginning, just before Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) comments on the Excelsior's appearance ("Would you look at that!"), another docked ship can be seen, in shadow, at the upper left corner of the screen. This ship is one of the alternative models that was considered for use as the Excelsior. This alternate model also made several appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), usually as a wrecked ship or piece of space junk.

When negotiating Kirstie Alley's contract for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Paramount Studios did not offer or include any options or clauses regarding any possible sequels. According to director Leonard Nimoy, this left Alley open to negotiate a new contract for this film, resulting in Alley's excessive salary demands, which led to her being dropped and replaced by Robin Curtis.

Edward James Olmos was Leonard Nimoy's original choice for the role of Kruge. However, producer Harve Bennett preferred Christopher Lloyd. Nimoy finally cast Lloyd because he came off more operatic and physically intimidating. Olmos was later offered the role of Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), but turned it down to focus on stage and movie work.

Grace Lee Whitney: As Janice Rand, Captain Kirk's yeoman in season one of Star Trek (1966), and who returned as transporter chief in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Appears during the Enterprise's docking sequence. She is the red haired officer in the spacedock lounge who shakes her head in disbelief, worried for her former crew, as she sees the ship's extensive damage.