"Star Trek" fans are in a tizzy after actor Zachary Quinto's comments in an interview led them to believe he could be leaving the franchise and the role of Spock after the second film in the series.

Quinto picked up the iconic role of Spock in the 2009 film "Star Trek," directed by "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams. Quinto will continue his work as the half-human, half-Vulcan character in the upcoming sequel, "Star Trek Into Darkness," set for release in May 2013.

But in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Quinto raised eyebrows of Trekkies everywhere when he discussed wanting to "go in a different direction" after the release of "Star Trek Into Darkness" and once his stint on Ryan Murphy's miniseries "American Horror Story" is over.

"It's like an era of association with certain roles — a specific part like Spock, or a kind of part, like Sylar [his character in 'Heroes'] — is coming to an end," Quinto told the magazine.

Fans took that to mean that Quinto is hesitant to play Spock in a third film, despite the fact that Abrams' first two "Star Trek" films are said to be part of a planned trilogy.

But Quinto took to his Twitter account to set the record straight.

"simmer down kids. rumors are rumors for a reason. quotes out of context. let's let the second movie come out before we talk about a third..." Quinto tweeted.

Earlier this year, Quinto opened up about his life as a gay man and his relationship with "Glee" actor Jonathan Groff in an interview with Out magazine. His words about his boyfriend were short and sweet, but important for an actor who is becoming an increasingly visible member of the LGBT community.

"I'm incredibly happy, I'm incredibly lucky," Quinto said about his relationship with Groff.

He told Out that his decision to be more open about himself came from the realization that there were no benefits to staying silent.

"One of the defining conversations that I had with myself was that absolutely no good can come from me staying quiet about [my sexuality]," he said. "Literally, no good can come from it. But if I take the step to make the acknowledgment and be honest, so much good could potentially come from it."

Tags
Zachary Quinto, Star trek, Jonathan groff