Leonard Nimoy appeared in both prior ‘Star Trek’ movies, reprising his role of Spock from the traditional ‘Trek’ universe (He is now referred to as Spock Prime). He even delivered the famous “Space… the final frontier” monologue at the end of the first movie– a narration usually voiced by William Shatner‘s Captain Kirk. The was a bit jarring but still fitting since Nimoy appeared in a role that seemingly symbolized the passing of the torch from his generation to this new one.
But fans have wondered if Shatner’s Kirk would ever pop up in a cameo in one of the new films. Unfortunately, according to franchise producer J.J. Abrams, it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen.
“Obviously it’s Star Trek, nearly anything is possible. There’s the fairly simple notion that on the day Kirk was born another timeline began. But in the other timeline, Kirk died onscreen (in Generations). I don’t know how he would come back unless we went into this other reality and we did a timeline and reality jump.
“In all the years we’ve been working on this, I’ve yet to hear a pitch that didn’t sound too contorted and contrived for an audience to swallow. And I’ve talked to him (Shatner) about it. If Kirk had lived there’d be an answer. But there’s something about his having died that makes it impossible.”
For those unfamiliar (or that have forgotten) Shatner made his farewell turn as Kirk in the PREVIOUS passing of the torch, 1994’s ‘Star Trek Generations’ which saw the cast of the TV show ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ taking over the film franchise from the aging stars of the 1960s series. In the film, Kirk was killed off with Jean Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) stepping up as the only Captain of the cinematic Enterprise.
And perhaps it’s for the best that the stars of the original version step aside and let the new cast have their moment.
Are you disappointed that Shatner will never likely appear as Kirk in a ‘Star Trek’ film?
Source: The Toronto Sun
