Star Trek is one of the longest-running sci-fi franchises around, and William Shatner was there right at the beginning, playing Captain Kirk in the first-ever episode of Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966. Shatner is a fan of the way the franchise has come back in the age of streaming, with lots of new shows airing over the past several years. And people are watching; according to TheWrap, Star Trek has made over $2.6 billion for streaming services to date.
How to capitalize on this newfound interest? At least one Star Trek writer is trying to lure Shatner back into his Starfleet uniform, and while that's something producers have tried to do ever since his last appearance as Kirk in 1994's Star Trek Generations, but it sounds like Shatner is interested in whatever this new idea is.
“I have been asked to come back as Kirk so many times, Shatner said on a panel at Fan Expo Vancouver last week, per The Direct. "If Kirk is going to come back, it has to mean something. It has to be the show. But I was so impressed by this writer, so I said let’s talk after I’m done in Vancouver. So I’m awaiting a pitch to make it the show, it should come on Monday or Tuesday.”
There's no guarantee what show he's talking about. If this pitch involves Kirk coming onto a current show, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has a new season coming out this year, and there's a new show called Starfleet Academy on the horizon. Strange New Worlds is set right before the events of The Original Series and actually already has a new guy playing Captain Kirk: Paul Wesley. But who's to say that Shatner couldn't make an appearance as part of some time travel plot or something? Meanwhile, Starfleet Academy is set far into the future; perhaps Kirk could turn up as a hologram or something to instruct new cadets.
Meanwhile, there's a new live-action Star Trek comedy series in the works; perhaps Shatner could turn up on that. Finally, who's to say that they couldn't construct an entirely new show around Kirk's golden years. Sure, Shatner is 93 years old, but Patrick Stewart is in his 80s and he was front and center for three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. The third season of Picard even set up a way for this to happen; we learned that Kirk's remains are kept at Daystrom Station, where they're labeled "Project Phoenix." Perhaps they're trying to resurrect the guy?
#StarTrekPicardSpoilers!
— Jörg Hillebrand (@gaghyogi49) March 24, 2023
I'm sure we all gasped when we saw this "item" stored in the vault of Daystrom Station in #StarTrekPicard's "The Bounty". I managed to transcribe most of the text at the bottom, taken from the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Reading this, I'm feeling...young! 😊 pic.twitter.com/HUHv1jZNo7
Shatner has presumbly heard the latest pitch to bring back Kirk by now, so perhaps we'll hear something soon. In the meantime, if this has your Star Trek-loving heart racing, there's plenty to watch over on Paramount+:
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