BeforeStar Trek Beyondstarted shooting, there was a rumor that original KirkWilliam Shatnerwould be making a cameo as the aged former Captain of theU.S.S. Enterprise. But ever since the movie wrapped production, we’ve heard little to nothing about any of the original cast showing up in this third installment of the rebooted franchise. Now,William Shatnerhas the definite answer as to whether or not we might see him back in thecaptain’s chair. And the news doesn’t sound too promising. In a new interview withSFX Magazine(courtesy ofGamesRadar), the iconic actor had this rather blunt statement to make.
“There was never a conversation.”
This comes after much speculation that producerJ.J. Abramshad, in fact, approachedWilliam Shatnerabout being in the movie. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.J.J. Abramsdirected the 2009Star Trekreboot and its sequelStar Trek Into Darknessbefore moving ontoStar Wars: The Force Awakens. And in those movies, he made sure to retain some connective tissue with the original 1966 series. He did this by bringingLeonard Nimoyback to play Old Spock, or Spock Prime if you prefer. And ever since that happened, people have been wondering whyWilliam Shatnernever returned. Including the actor himself.
Fans haven’t been shy about demanding to seeKirkPrime appear in a futureStar Trekmovie, and for a while, it looked like this was happening with Star Trek Beyond. But the sequel’s original directorRoberto Orciwas fired, and his screenwriters were replaced, and the entire story was reworked. This presumably vanquished Kirk Prime from the plot line.
Star Trekcelebrates its50th Anniversarythis year, and part of that celebration will include the new movie Star Trek Beyond. Many believedWilliam Shatnerwould be brought in to commemorate this landmark occasion. And we’re not entirely ruling that out. Sure,William Shatnerdenies he’s ever taken a meeting to appear in the sequel. But as we’ve seen with previous chapters in this saga, the actors are not above lying to retain a movie’s secrets.
Some have speculated thatChris Pinewill interact with his older self via a holodeck version of Kirk Prime.William Shatnerhasn’t appeared asCaptain Kirkon the big screen sinceStar Trek: Generationsin 1994, where he was killed off by Dr. Soran.William Shatnerfurther had this to say about the possibility of returning in the rebooted franchise.
“It would have been interesting to see what their fertile imaginations could have done with somebody who is 20 years older than when Captain Kirk died [in Star Trek Generations] and how they would have explained the difference in appearance. But that never came up. I’m sure they must have thought of it one time or another but I never had a substantial conversation about replaying the role.”
William Shatnerdid almost make it into the 2009 reboot. One of the script drafts contained a scene where Spock Prime gives the new Spock a pendant that contained a holographic Kirk Prime. That scene was never filmed. So, what you think? Is Star Trek Beyond better off withoutWilliam Shatner’s Old Kirk?
