Star Trek: William Shatner Won’t Be in JJ Abrams Sequel Either

Back in 2009, before production began on JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movie, there was a lot of speculation over whether or not William Shatner would appear in the picture as Captain Kirk. A cameo scene was apparently written but it was felt that it didn’t really work with the rest of the picture and it was never presented to the actor. Shatner was none too quiet about his disappointment over the fact that his friend Leonard Nimoy would be in the movie but he would not.

Now, it appears that Shatner won’t be in the sequel either. At the Calgary Expo in Canada, Shatner recently said that, “I’ve been an acquaintance of JJ of late… but I’m afraid no. No, I will not be in Star Trek 2.” Nimoy has indicated that he felt very doubtful that he would reprise his role as the elder “Spock Prime” in the next picture either.

On the positive side, both showbiz veterans are keeping very busy. Despite having announced that he retired from performing, Nimoy recently reprised his role as William Bell on Fringe (in voice only) and provides the voice of Sentinel Prime in the upcoming Transformers: Dark of the Moon feature. He was also the star of a new music video. He’s also very active in photography.

Shatner shows no sign of slowing down either. In addition to hosting Shatner’s Raw Nerve talk show, his new book (Shatner Rules: Your Key to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large) will be released in October. His Trek documentary called The Captains will air next month and he’ll also be a guest star on an episode of USA Network’s Psych.

It’s hard to believe that either man is now 80-years-old. You have to wonder if members of the new Star Trek cast will have as much energy at that age!

What do you think? Should producers find a way to fit Shatner in? As Captain Kirk or in another role?