William-Shatner-Captain-Kirk-Praying

With all of the talk about it being the 50th Anniversary of ‘Star Trek,’ fans had really hoped to see William Shatner included in some form in ‘Star Trek Beyond‘ when it premiered later this year. Those rumors were initially sparked back when Roberto Orci was set to direct the film, as fans had heard that the director had been in contact with Shatner. Of course, Orci was let go from his post due to the studio wanting to make a more traditional ‘Star Trek’ film (which later became a film more similar to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) and we were left with no idea on whether Justin Lin and his new team were making plans to include the original Captain Kirk in the anniversary picture. However, we might at last have some information on the subject, as Shatner recently admitted in an interview with SFX Magazine that:

“There was never a conversation.”

Of course, the whole reason fans thought Shatner could be worked into the film was the incredible way that J.J. Abrams was able to make Nimoy’s Spock exist in the new alternate reality and co-exist with his younger self, but clearly finding a similar way for this to work with Shatner was going to be a real trick. It sounded as though Orci’s script was going to involve some kind of alternate reality jumping device, or maybe even time travel to get Shatner back into the world, but the studio clearly was not interested in another romp through confusing science-fiction plots involving time-travel. The idea had also been thrown around that Chris Pine’s Kirk might come face to face with his future self through the use of the holodeck, but even that interpretation of Shatner’s Kirk would seem a bit (pardon the pun), hollow.

Yet, there’s always the chance this is all a huge misdirect by the studio and Shatner, keeping his cameo a complete surprise (and delight) for audiences when they go see ‘Star Trek Beyond’ in theaters. As another article has pointed out, this would not be the first time the ‘Star Trek’ people flat out lied to its audience before a new film (think back to the whole Khan debate before ‘Into Darkness’), so we may yet see Shatner reprise his iconic role in ‘Star Trek Beyond.’

What are your thoughts on the odds of Shatner showing up? Would it mean that much to you as a fan to see the original Captain Kirk since it is the 50th anniversary? Share your opinions in the comments below!

Source: Games Radar