Just days ago, we reported that writer/director/producer Roberto Orci had his eye on bringing William Shatner back as the original James T. Kirk (from the original continuity) for ‘Star Trek 3.’  Fans, predictably, began buzzing at the idea of the very first ‘Star Trek’ captain’s potential return, but keep in mind, Orci was sort of just talking “out of class” as they say.  Orci, who co-wrote the first two ‘Star Trek’ movies, is taking over the franchise, since the director of the first two, J.J. Abrams stepped aside to take control of Disney’s ‘Star Wars’ relaunch.  The original script for ‘Star Trek’ called for a cameo by Shatner, but Abrams decided to cut it because he didn’t think it fairly served the iconic actor.  Unfortunately, Shatner actually wanted to appear in the film and wasn’t happy at having his cameo removed, especially because of the fact that fellow original actor Leonard Nimor (Spock) played a pivotal role in that movie.

Unfortunately, Orci simply expressed a desire for Shatner to make a cameo that was “plot-driven and integral” to the third movie.  It appears he hasn’t yet spoken to Shatner about appearing in the film.

Orci posted two cryptic messages online, after the story broke.

“love no win scenarios. In theroy, damned either way.”

And then:

“Not in my interest to confirm or deny anything because it limits my options while maintaining my integrity as a truth teller.

The movie is not the movie till it is in the theater. Until then, everything is a rumor.”

Shatner then took to Twitter to apparently confirm this:

The movie is slated to begin filming soon, but as I mentioned previously, Zoe Saldana who plays Uhura is currently very pregnant, and John Cho who plays Sulu is currently filming his new sitcom ‘Selfie’ so I’m sure that will push that back a little.  And the fact that Shatner and Orci aren’t on the same page would indicate that the plot hasn’t even been finalized.

Do you want to see Shatner back in the franchise?  Personally, I as much as I love ‘Star Trek’ it kind of rubbed me the wrong way to hear Nimoy’s Spock recite the legendary ‘Space, the final frontier…’ speech in it.  It was almost blasphemy.  I think it would be fitting to bring Shatner back in some capacity if only to hear him reclaim his famous lines.

Sources: Cinema Blend, Collider