 Nimoy wanted The Search for Spock to be " operatic " in scope ; " I wanted the emotions to be very large , very broad , life and death themes [ ... ] and the [ look of the film ] and everything about it derives everything from sizable characters playing out a large story on a large canvas , " he said . In addition , he wanted the characters to have significant scenes , however small , that made them grounded and real . Bennett started writing the script with the ending , where Spock says , " Your name is ... Jim " , and worked backwards from that point . Elements such as Kruge killing his lover were added to establish context and add drama and intrigue . Originally , the Romulans were the villains , but Nimoy preferred the more " theatrical " Klingons , feeling that their pursuit of Genesis was analogous to the Soviet race for nuclear weaponry . Bennett took the opportunity to flesh out the alien race , who he felt were ill @-@ defined in the television series . The name of the class of the antagonists ' ship , Bird of Prey , remained unchanged . 
