Mayhew Reignites Feud With Shatner With Crack At Star Trek
This weekend the big Star Wars Celebration convention is going down in Orlando. Of course, many Trek fans are also Star Wars fans and are enjoying all the new trailers and announcements, so a little bit of Star Trek has sneaked in here and there. Yesterday, while being interviewed on the official Star Wars Live show, actor Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) was asked about how fans have changed since the seventies. While praising the fans and cameraderie of his own franchise, he used the opportunity to take a crack at Star Trek fans. To the delight of the assembled audience, the actor said four generations of Star Wars fans can be united in fandom, adding “even Star Trek doesn’t do it.” You can watch the moment below.
This “shots fired” moment briefly lit up Twitter, which got the notice of William Shatner, who shot back:
🗣Peter!!!! @TheWookieeRoars 👇🏻 https://t.co/q4kRHCAqRb
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) April 15, 2017
This isn’t the first time Shatner has gotten into a dust-up with Mayhew. Last November, he kicked off a twitter feud with him, starting with a shot at the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. And Shatner’s still at it: today actor (and Trek fan) Daniel Logan (Boba Fett) sent Bill a friendly tweet asking if he could put a bounty out for a “certain Wookie.” Shatner came right back with a shot at Harrison Ford (Han Solo), hitting him for his problematic real-world piloting:
Well tell Harrison to get his butt onto Twitter so the Captains of Trek can make fun of his piloting skills. 😉😘 https://t.co/x5YyHpJekt
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) April 16, 2017
Star Trek ‘Protest’ at Star Wars Celebration
A group of Trekkies poked some fun at Celebration by dressing in Star Trek uniforms and carrying ‘protest’ signs. I guess you could call this a form of civil disobedience.
Trekkies hold a ‘protest’ at Star Wars Celebration Orlando (Twitter/@thrillgeek)
This landing party even found their way onto the Star Wars Show live stream, which had the desired effect of riling up some Star Wars fans:
When you’re a Star Wars fan and you spot a Star Trek fan at #SWCO pic.twitter.com/bxxQTPSvUt
— Support not @ SWCO😔 (@SupportGuyXm249) April 15, 2017
More Trek cosplay at SWCO
They weren’t the only fans that braved Star Wars Celebration Orlando in Star Trek cosplay.
(Photo: Twitter/@Matchity)
(Photo: Instagram/Gentle Giant)
(Photo: Twitter/@InsideTheMagic)
(Photo: Twitter/@instalyssa)
(Photo: Twitter/@TheLovelyBrad)
That’s it for Star Wars Celebration’s brush with the Trek franchise. Keep up with all the conventions and events news and reports at TrekMovie.
Shut up Wesley.
I dig the white uniform. Should be added to the series.
I dig what’s under it….
Agreed
I have a few squirts for what’s between it. 🤤
Medical uniforms, in both the TOS movies and 2009.
Yes. We can do better…
Well, he’s not wrong. Fans are divided. The franchise is divided between two entities. And there’s no Kathleen Kennedy, Pablo Hidalgo, or Dave Filoni to steer a course for Trek. It’s definitely frustrating, but I still have hope.
There is however also a huge divide within SW fans: those who loved TFA and those who hate it. It is a huge gulf.
Not to mention all the haters of the prequel trilogy and their endless “George Lucas raped my childhood” drivel.
Honestly, Trek fans are worse now. Constantly complaining about EVERYTHING.
Trek67, I hate your post………… ;)
Here fricken here
Torchwood is right. There is a divide amongst SW fans, and not just between pre-Disney and post Disney, but also the now 20 year conflict between original trilogy die hards who hate the prequels and those who don’t.
Mayhew is a nice guy, but you only have to listen to an interview with him to know he’s not that smart or well informed. I mean, the guy literally waling in off the street (well, hospital) to get the Chewbacca job. He’s hardly a pop culture expert.
Peter Mayhew got a job because he was tall and could roar. Not dissing the guy but lets be real he’s not known as an actor of his generation. And I still don’t get how they used him for TFA when the man now needs a cane to walk. Whats the point?
There is a small minority compared to those that loved it. I won’t call it a huge gulf. The only reason it seems bigger is because that small minority is extremely whiny, er, I mean vocal, like Trek fans!
I love both franchises equally so this amuses me.
May the Force live long and prosper.
Hello. Ditto.
“May the Force live long and prosper.”
This is possibly my favorite Dumbledore quote from the entire Lord of the Rings series.
Double ditto!
JJ Abrams brought me back to both Star Trek and Star Wars.
It struck me as how sad that Trekkers have to gatecrash the Star Wars Anniversary , where George Lucas & Harrison Ford & Billie Dee Williams & Ian McDiamid were giving their last farewell to the fans , as well as Billie Lourd farewelling her Mother too !
There is nothing sad about some fans having fun and being silly. Stop trying to make it into a big issue. Save the melodrama. This was all fun and games, and the Star Wars event wasn’t harmed at all. Get real.
No , I’m sure they’ve gone to wrong place at the wrong time . Don’t make excuses for insensitivity and jealousy . Get real , PB !
@Darfyn – Either you are joking poorly, or you are deranged. You need to develop a sense of humor, like all the people at the Star Wars event had. There was no insensitivity. If you think Star Wars fans were weeping because Trekkies (who are also Star Wars fans, or they wouldn’t have gone!) were being silly.
If you’re joking, haha, well played. If not…put down the crack pipe and step away from the keyboard.
True, Trek will never harm Star Wars. It’s like an ant trying to harm an elephant.
I don’t really see it as sad but more of a tongue-in-cheek cosplay. If they were Trek fans and not at all Star Wars fans, trust me, they wouldn’t have spent the money to be there. What Mayhew said wasn’t a crack a Trek, it’s kind of the truth. All you have to do is come to this website a few times to see it or listen to podcasts or watch certain Trek youtubers. Trek was my first love, I live and breathe it but Star Wars was my second love and I can’t get enough of it. There’s nothing wrong with playful banter back and forth which is what was going on here. I long for the day that some miracle happens and all of Trek can come under one roof. Right now, this tug of war between the tv and the big screen is doing something nasty to the fans and the franchise. Oh and Celebration was awesome!
Totally non-regulation beard on that bald guy.
Unless it is some sort of sentient space lichen using him as a host.
Quote the SFR that states otherwise!
They dont have CBRNe equipment to don… so they likely do not have the same kind of regs.
These Guys are true Nerds Here is why They are Pissing off Fan Boys because Fan boys are the Scum of the Universe There The Reason why Star Trek almost ended there the Reason why Thundercats are Dead and He-Man and they almost Killed Star Wars as well I hate Fan boys
Um…you want to try that again? This time in sentences with normal capitalization and some semblance of sanity? Please?
This is not the sentence structure you’re looking for.
I don’t think those Starfleet officers intended to look like Jabba’s bitch, but they do.
I would just point out that there’s a palpable division amongst Star Wars fans—-those who like any and every Star Wars movie, those who don’t care much for any but the original trilogy, and those (like myself) who fall somewhere in between. So, the esteemed Mr. Mayhew wasn’t quite right.
It’s nothing like the hatefulness between Trekkies these days, as this site’s regulars amply demonstrate. No need to get defensive when Mayhew is right.
PaulB
Well, the main difference is that the Star Wars fans who have no use for the Disney movies have given up on the franchise. Star Wars was always an exclusively cinematic franchise, whereas Trek has been split between TV and film since 1987 (even the IP rights have been split between two corporations for about two decades. So, fans who have no use for movie-Trek might still enjoy TV-Trek. And that’s how things presently stand. If DSC likewise turns out to be a dumbed-down version of Trek that breaks faith with the spirit and values set forth in TOS, then we’ll probably see more fans giving up on the franchise permanently as Star Wars fans have done.
P.S. I love when people passive-aggressively accuse others of being unnecessarily defensive, for no particular reason.
Cygnus-X1,
Re: …the IP rights have been split between two corporations for about two decades.
One. The split didn’t legally occur until 2006.
http://axamonitor.com/doku.php?id=paramount_pictures
“Reflecting in part the troubles of the broadcasting business, in 2005 Viacom announced that it would split itself in two, which was completed in January 2006.” -Carlos Pedraza
Disinvited
Ok. The main point is that Trek has been split into TV-Trek and Movie-Trek effectively since 1987.
Cygnus-X1,
Re: split
“Effectively?”, I didn’t and don’t see it. Back then the two were no more split effectively than the DS9 series was “split” from the TNG series.
Both DS9 and “Movie-Trek” had characters cross over with the TNG series.
The movie versions of McCoy, Sarek, and Spock crossed over to TV-TNG with their movie narratives intact. The only fail was when both the movies and TV Trek were helmed by the same man, Rick Berman, and he muffed Scotty’s cross-over narrative when he rewrote his movie Spock to be filled by Mr. Scott.
Hear the cheers for Hayden Christianson? Those were cheers from the entire fanbase, not just prequel lovers.
Gah! This is exhausting and pointless. IDIC, folks.
I’m surprised how few comments are here.I thought a full-scale war would start.Sad but true Trek is on a downslide at the moment.Star Wars is riding a wave.As someone said Trek doesn’t have a Kathleen Kennedy or really a studio that’s 100% behind Trek.Having said that Star Wars will have its first real challenge In 2018 with the Hans Solo stand alone movie.Filling Harrisons Fords shoes is going to be real tricky.The reaction could go both ways much like Chris Pine playing Kirk. Don’t get me wrong I liked Trek 2009 a lot and the other two, but every time I watch those films it’s still hard without the Shat and company.That’s me and I know that.Plus it’s just strange for me to think like that because how many James Bonds have we had.It never seems to hurt that franchise.I forget kids today watching these new cast members playing Kirk and Spock doesn’t bother them at all.To them, those actors are Kirk and Spock.I think every studio should take a hard look at Disney and Lucasfilms and how they do things over there.Star Trek could benefit greatly from how Disney runs the show and why they made more money than any other studio in 2016. Paramount would also benefit.I even entertain the idea of Disney buying Star trek for the movie end anyways.I just don’t get the vibe they care about Star Trek like Disney cares about what they own.For Paramount to voice in the past Star Trek is there cash cow they sure have a funny way of showing it.One thing Paramount needs to do is start listening to its fan base. That’s the thing Lucasfilms does do.I know for a fact they are using a few things from the Star Wars novels in the upcoming Last Jedi. As many great Star Trek novels out there, they could do stories from those novels.At this point, I would consider anything.Paramount to me has no vision or commitment to make Star Trek become a winner.Until that changes I doubt will see another film for a long time
I don’t see the Han Solo movie being a problem with Star Wars. They’ve already overcome two hurdles, in my opinion, with aplomb with the launch of the new trilogy and the first stand-alone movie which, for me, ranks as among the best Star Wars has yet offered. One of the reasons I don’t see the re-casting of Han Solo as a problem is, while I tend to be critical of the new ‘Trek movies, the cast are not the reason for it. I think they’ve done a good job, each and every one of them, of playing those well-loved characters, and I’m very sad that we won’t see more of Anton Yelchin, especially since I recently just watched Charlie Bartlett, which is the first time I’ve seen him in a non-‘Trek role, and it was very clear how talented he was. I digress. If Star Trek can find a whole band of actors to take up the mantle from the originals, then Star Wars can do it for one person.
Peter was surrounded by SW fans and he played to the crowd.
It really isn’t that big a deal.
God, I hate Star Wars vs Star Trek crap, even when it’s in jest. I have been a fan of both since childhood. If George Lucas can be a convention going Trekkie and Gene could talk about how good Star Wars is, that’s all I give a crap about.
Thumbs Up , El Chup ! Good to hear your Comment !
I agree, though I did enjoy the crossover costumes in the images above. That’s just cool! (Again, lifelong fan of both franchises)
For the love of God, it’s “Trekkers” not “Trekkies”!
Only socially inept idiots even get involved in these kinds of feuds to begin with.
Says the guy posting his opinion about it on a star trek fan site. Oh the ironing is delicious.
You clearly don’t understand the meaning of the term “irony” (or “ironing,” for that matter). The fact that I’m posting an opinion on a Star Trek fan site does not qualify as irony since I did not weigh in on the argument being discussed. Go back to school, Alanis Morissette.
I know exactly what ironing is. I can iron a pleat that will make you weep. Now where are all the knives? All I see are ten thousand spoons.
Harry Plinkett,
Please, do tell what starch that you use on your edibles. Potato, cereal or blend?
Oh I think you have to go potato. It’s just common sense.
Dingo,
Re: these kinds of feuds
By “these” you mean as opposed to the flaming feud one would start by trolling out the bon mot “socially inept idiots”?
“(Photo: Twitter/@TheDaronScot1)”
Huh? There is no such Twitter account.
He’s right. Star Wars fans are more supportive. They’ll even see not-so-good movies – unlike Star Trek fans.
Trek fans used to be like that. Not sure when fans became so cynical.
No. ‘Trek fans will just SAY they won’t watch a film or series. But they will. I know because I’m one of them. Swore I wouldn’t go see Beyond. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I love both series, but I have been and always be more of a Star Wars fan. In 1977 Star Wars blew me away while I found TOS and the early cartoon show laughable. Even though I can tolerate certain episodes of TOS now its never been a show I could get into and Next Gen became my Trek show.
As for the movies, I was the typical fan who loved the even numbered movies of the original cast and was either meh or was bored to tears with the odd numbered ones (although Trek V is a great movie to watch with friends while drunk). Even though I loved the Next Gen series I wrote off all but 1 of the movies (First Contact) as garbage. I found a new love of Trek with the JJ movies which I amusingly discovered pissed off a great many Trek fans. I guess they are the “prequel trilogy” of the Star Trek movies for some.
I did chuckle at the Trek fans at Celebration. All in good fun. Star Wars is run like a well oiled machine while Trek can’t seem to ever get its house in order. New movie or not? Discovery ever going to premiere? Will it be good or last? It’s all a big cluster you-know-what.
I dislike the prequels but I can tolerate them now (except Attack of the Clones, that **** is downright horrible. I’m talking William Shatners acting horrible)
And yes I get on Shatner because he is a terrible actor. I know everyone here loves him and will cite supposed great performances but to me he will always be a bloated ego-maniac scenery chewer who half the original cast seemed to despise and thinks more of himself than anyone else. Love Kirk, can’t stand the Bullshat.
Anyway, long post aside, long live both franchises although Wars is definitely the stronger franchise now and frankly I can’t see Trek ever getting its house in order to become anything even close to what Disney is doing – unless Disney buys them but then again that would probably upset the “real” Trek fans who think everything should still resemble TOS. Lord help us all with fans like that.
I’ve been triggered!!!!!!!!
Lol – cracks me up! I love both franchises, hope that this is all taken in good-natured gest.
I love science fiction in general, not just Star Trek, and I’ve enjoyed Star Wars, too. But to me, Star Wars is a fun little movie, whereas Star Trek was my teacher, my inspiration, and my muse.
Different works of art connect with different people differently … and that’s okay.
Cool. There would have not been “Star Trek” or “Star Wars” without the longest running sci-fi franchise in the universe: “Doctor Who.” I love all three franchises.
Back for the tenth anniversary in 1987, Gene Roddenberry sent a congratulatory note saying that he’s always admired Star Wars. Four years later, for Star Trek’s 25th, George Lucas sent a note to Roddenberry (delivered in the middle of his appearance by Darth Vader) saying how much he’s always liked Star Trek.
The problem Stat Trek has is that Star Wars just sucks the air out of the room, the general public don’t seem interested in Trek now that Wars is back. Irrespective of the quality of ID and Beyond, it seems the two franchises cannot co-exist in Box Office terms which means that Trek has an uncertain future, but we will, no doubt, be watching Wars spin-offs etc until the end of Time. Its such a shame that Trek always struggles. 2009 was such a great time to be a Trek Fan, a great film, interest from the general public and no competition!
JED I agree with you but I also feel it’s the lack of real direction from both Paramount and CBS. CBS should have made a deal with Netflix for Discovery and really jumped on that market the way that the Marvel series have done. I get that it’s easier for Lucasfilm with Kathleen, Dave, and Pablo running the live action films and animated series but there has to be some sort of structure at Paramount and CBS if Trek is going to be more than this tentpole thing and have a real plan behind it. There’s room at the boxoffice for Trek and Wars especially if Star Wars is doing a May/December showing and you give Trek that Labor Day release date while also having a GOOD series on the air. That means we have to get out of our comfort zone with the tv structure and tell good cohesive stories again and not these long seasons with a lot of filler or one-shot episodes (as much as I love long seasons of Trek). Trek needs to take on a modern formula while maintaining its roots and that also means – I think – honoring the aesthetic that came before. It all comes down to how you film it, Rogue One seems to have proven that. Shoot it to give audiences a view of the ships and the uniforms and the consoles like we didn’t get in the past and it becomes believable, even the brightly colored uniforms of TNG and the “hotel” interiors. This is turning into somewhat of a rant but you get the idea.
That might be true in 2017, but you’re forgetting that Star Wars and ‘Trek have co-existed in the box office in the late 70s/early 80s. Just like that era, when we also had Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, Dune, Blade Runner etc, we were riding on the crest of a wave of popularity for science fiction. We’re enjoying a similar purple patch for the genre now, but Star Trek is sadly at risk of being left behind. The appetite is there. People WANT good science fiction (hardly surprising given how miserable the real world is). It’s down to studio ineptitude that Star Trek’s name isn’t up in lights.
Speaking of Star Wars, this would have been a no-brainer for Trek. They could’ve even built the hotel in Vegas to replace the closing of the Trek attraction…meanwhile, Star Wars blazes ahead. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/disney-wants-launch-star-wars-172155939.html