Captain Kirk died in quite ignominious trend in 1994’s Star Trek Generations, hurtling towards his doom on a collapsing catwalk. “It was enjoyable,” William Shatner mentioned the final time he was sworn in because the legendary Starfleet officer.
Nevertheless, within the 32 or so years since then, there have been two new variations by James T. Kirk. The primary is Chris Pine’s massive display screen adaptation of the J. J. Abrams trilogy. The second is Paul Wesley’s Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds model of “He is not even working right here but, so why is he at all times hanging across the Enterprise?” (Shatner himself returned, presumably not less than with the approval of his attorneys, within the 1996 Deep House 9 episode “Trial and Tribulation,” reusing footage from the unique sequence.)
However even that wasn’t sufficient for some folks behind Unusual New Worlds. They just lately revealed to Polygon that that they had been making an attempt to get Shatner himself again to visitor star on the present because the present’s inception. How, precisely, did they carry again a 95-year-old actor to play a personality who died when he was round 60?
Effectively, it seems that Unusual New World co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman and his writing companion had a really fascinating thought in that regard. However they weren’t the primary to attempt to lure Shatner again into the captain’s chair. The actor has acknowledged that he has been requested many instances to return as Kirk, however that has by no means occurred (except for comics, books, and so on. – and no, we’re not counting Kirk’s apparently preserved physique in Star Trek: Picard). Let’s check out probably the most concrete instance of the upcoming return of Starfleet icons…
Return to town on the finish of eternity
“I have been requested many instances to return again as Kirk. If Kirk comes again, it should imply one thing.”
Shatner mentioned this on the 2025 Vancouver Video games, as reported by The Direct. Curiously, throughout the identical look, he mentioned that he had been approached by the present Trek scriptwriter about presumably returning. The actor didn’t point out which author, however mentioned he was “very impressed” with the scriptwriter and deliberate to obtain a proposal for the present the next week.
Might this be the Goldsman The Shut was speaking about? The timing is smart, since Unusual New Worlds and Starfleet Academy are the one sequence being produced in 2025. What’s extra, Goldsman has professed to be a basic Trek fan and has (some would possibly say) made varied connections to the unique sequence in his Trek movies, so his want to provide Shatner one closing function is… logical.
Assuming that is the author the actor was speaking about in 2025, apparently that by no means labored out. In response to Polygon, Goldsman’s “greatest remorse is taking part in Kirk, who decides to remain in Despair-era New York with Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), the soup kitchen proprietor he falls in love with within the episode “The Metropolis on the Fringe of Eternity.” “We had been unable to convey again William Shatner to make the present a actuality,” the report added, including that Goldsman and fellow showrunner Henry Alonso Meyers “tried to make it occur season after season.” I created a scripted model of the story, nevertheless it did not work. And now, the ultimate season of Unusual New Worlds has completed and is ready to air, however it’s going to by no means air.
At first look, it looks like a reasonably cool technique to say a closing goodbye to Shatner’s Kirk, or maybe some alternate model of him. However is that this truly the case? The gist of The Metropolis on the Fringe of Eternally is that Kirk should sacrifice his nice love to avoid wasting humanity’s future. (Lengthy story.) Would not his efforts in his personal technique to keep away from that call undermine all the idea behind what, for a lot of followers, is the perfect episode of Star Trek ever? I suppose we’ll by no means know at this level.
Mirror Universe Kirkβ¦or Chef Kirk?
When Star Trek: Enterprise entered its fourth season in 2004, the late showrunner Manny Coto (a Trekkie himself) planted quite a few connections to different Star Trek exhibits all through the season. However the thought of ββbringing Shatner again because the Mirror Universe model of James T. Kirk in a two-part episode was not.
The Mirror Universe is, in fact, the realm in Star Trek the place the unhealthy guys are operating issues…and the nice guys are the unhealthy guys! (What an idea.) “Shatner taking part in evil Kirk is extra enjoyable than Shatner taking part in good Kirk,” Cotto mentioned within the season’s Blu-ray featurette. Given Captain Kirk’s center identify, “Tiberius,” this might have been the in-continuity model of Kirk since we final noticed the Mirror Universe within the Nineteen Sixties sequence when Kirk was nonetheless alive and nicely. And actually, the deliberate storyline revealed that it was truly Tiberius who created the Mirror Universe within the first place.
The concept reportedly got here from Shatner and his writing companions Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. The 2 joined Enterprise’s writing employees that season. The 2 beforehand collaborated with Shatner on a variety of books associated to Shatner’s Trek universe.
Nevertheless, as Kotto identified, the studio was apparently chilly to the thought of ββspending some huge cash on the episode, particularly since they most likely knew the present was about to be cancelled. Was he referring to the general manufacturing value of such an episode, or particularly Shatner’s asking worth? Most likely somewhat little bit of each.
Nonetheless, Enterprise Season 4 managed to revisit the TOS period in a manner with “In a Mirror, Darkly,” a two-part sequence set within the Mirror Universe. The movie noticed the evil Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew uncover an Authentic Collection-era ship that appeared precisely just like the basic Enterprise. Set the phaser to Nerd Out.
One other story concept that by no means got here to fruition reportedly concerned the Enterprise’s “Chef” character. The chef ran the galley on Captain Archer’s Enterprise NX-01. Though he was talked about incessantly, the chef was by no means seen (though he was briefly seen in a single episode, his face was hidden). It is somewhat arduous to search out definitive sources on this, however apparently Shatner was alleged to play the chef, not Kirk. However he appeared like kirk I might have give you an journey the place the chef needed to cosplay as Kirk. (If anybody has a definitive quote from the writers or Shatner about this proposal, please let me know!) A model of this concept was ultimately used within the much-maligned Enterprise sequence finale, “These Are the Voyages…,” which featured Riker, performed by Jonathan Frakes, because the holodeck’s chef. Or one thing. (Please do not ask questions.)
Pleased Birthday from Star Trek 2009
When J. J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek for the massive display screen in 2009, Leonard Nimoy performed a key function in tying the brand new tackle the sequence to the outdated one. It’s set in one more alternate world, the Kelvinverse, though the unique world nonetheless existed, that includes variations of characters corresponding to Nimoy and Shatner. So when Nimoy appeared within the 2009 movie, he performed a a lot older model of the basic Spock, albeit one who meets his youthful, otherworldly self in Zachary Quinto’s Spock.
So it might have made sense for Shatner to additionally not less than make a cameo look as Captain Kirk…perhaps somewhat? The issue is that by the purpose within the timeline the place Spock Prime enters the Kelvinverse (observe nerds once more), Kirk Prime is already lifeless and buried (below a pile of rocks, thanks Jean-Luc) in Veridian III. Apart from the truth that the decision sheet for actors needing display screen time was already fairly crowded, there was additionally the truth that logically it did not make sense for Shatner’s Kirk to seem.
Earlier than the movie’s launch, Shatner expressed his disappointment at not being forged in Additional TV, saying, “How might they not have one of many founders in a revival film? I do not perceive that!”
The issue is that on the time of the movie’s launch, director Abrams mentioned {that a} scene was written that might convey Kirk Prime again, though it finally did not work and was eliminated. This could have been Kirk’s cameo look in a holographic birthday message to Spock.
“It was very difficult,” he informed Sci-fi Scanner (the positioning now seems to be defunct), as relayed by the Guardian. “We had been truly writing a flashback scene with him in it, nevertheless it did not actually really feel proper. … The larger factor was that he was adamant that he did not need to do a cameo. We tried actually arduous to get him within the film, however he made it very clear that he wished the film to focus closely on him. Frankly, he deserves it.”
Abrams additionally identified that character deaths in Generations critically complicate issues.
“Possibly a wiser group of filmmakers might have discovered a technique to resolve it,” he says.
They had been neither the primary nor the final.
Speak to Scott Korula @scottcollura.bsky.socialor hearken to him Star Trek Podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or do each!
High picture credit score: Disney/Randy Holmes / Disney by way of Getty Photographs