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Leonard Nimoy has been in the new Star Trek movies, but why no William Shatner? Recently JJ Abrams explained why the original Captain Kirk can’t be in the film franchise, CinemaBlend reports.
Shatner played Kirk in the original 1960s Star Trek series. He went on to play the character in several Star Trek films, ending with Star Trek Generations in 1994.
When asked about a possible Shatner cameo, Abrams said it isn’t possible because Captain Kirk died in Generations:
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.”
Abrams has already announced there will be a fourth Star Trek movie, so maybe Kirk will be resurrected in the future.
Star Trek Beyond hits theaters tomorrow, July 22nd.
What do you think? Are you a Star Trek fan? Would you like to see Shatner in the new film franchise?
Bring back Shatner.
Absolutely!! I’ve always loved Star Trek and Kirk. I never understood why he was killed off. Didn’t you learn anything from public reaction when Spock was killed?! If Piccard was able to go back to get Kirk to help him, why is there not a provision to return Kirk back to his ride in the country? Or when he died it sent him back to his younger self to help with whatever this new movie is about, like Spock helped his younger self.
In one of his books the Romulons got a hold of some of his DNA and made a clone of him so why can’t that be incorporated into the film.
NO!! I do not want to see Shanter in the new Star Trek. Nimoy and Quinto’s characters complemented each other perfectly. I can’t see where Shanter would do the same. Just the opposite.
I’d like to see Shatner make an appearance. Technically, he does with all the TOS crew in a photo in Star Trek Beyond.
But if Shatner’s novels are not counted as Star Trek cannon where Kirk is brought back to life.I can accept him playing a different character as was proposed for him if he had guest starred in Star Trek Enterprise.
Yes! Definitely! They traveled back in time to bring back humpback whales. Why not travel back in time to have Kirk help them alter a key event in the past in order to save the universe from total destruction. In epilogue, he has to go back to the past in order for him to complete his life-plan and not alter the past in any other way. There’s a story people would embrace. After all, it worked for Bobby Ewing!!
You could add kirk if a video on spocks ship that was made before kirk died was trigered by the death of spock. You could deage kirk the same way they did Michael Douglas in Antman so he looked like he did at the time of Generations.