We all know William Shatner has been dying to get back into the ‘Star Trek’ franchise ever since it was rebooted, regretting the choice to allow Kirk to be killed 20 years ago in ‘Star Trek: Generations’ as it is the primary reason cited by JJ Abrams (the original director of the ‘Star Trek’ reboot and still executive producer) and company for why they cannot bring Shatner’s Kirk into their timeline. He’s already dead, and bringing him back would only confuse the timeline and the history of the franchise even more. In Abrams’ words:
“I said to him your character died in the movie and we are honoring that history and he just kept trying ways [‘to get in].”
Still, Shatner persists, and even at 86 years old, he is still coming up with plans to get back in, the latest of which involves a digital version of himself he is working on with a virtual reality company, especially now that Abrams himself has softened on the idea of an appearance by the original Kirk.
While speaking to Daily Mail TV, Shatner stated:
“I recently connected with a virtual reality company Ziva and they have virtual-realized me in 240 cameras all around shooting me. So they can now produce my body and my face in any way, shape, or form – including what I was like 50 years ago…I don’t know how you would do that 50 years later and how would you rationalize my present appearance, as compared to what I was like 50 years ago.”
Luckily for Shatner, in recent years Abrams stance has changed somewhat on the matter, stating a good pitch might allow a way for Shatner to come aboard. Which of course would allow Shatner to be on-screen with Chris Pine, both playing different versions of Kirk. When asked what Shatner thought of the idea and if he would be pleased with it, especially if Quentin Tarantino actually did end up directing the 4th film (as rumored), he replied:
“Lord yes. What an interesting role that was and what it could be 50 years later: Captain Kirk is caught somewhere in the byways of the universe…Tarantino is a great director and I would love to work with him. [To appear] would be a wonderful thing. The fans have been so supportive.”
Personally, while I love Shatner, I cannot imagine a scenario where seeing the original Kirk would make any sense, young or not. If they do it, they better have an airtight explanation, otherwise, it is just gonna feel forced, and after the disaster of ‘Star Trek Beyond.’ They need to focus on a good movie and not a random cameo from an original cast member. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments below!
