For those who may not have picked up on this yet, William Shatner is not in the new Star Trek movie, yet rumors and conjecture persist that maybe he is. But a new pair of interviews with both Shatner and Star Trek director JJ Abrams denying Shat is in the movie should be the final word on this saga.
Shatner: I know nothing
In the brand new issue of Star Trek Magazine, the original Kirk again recalls that he had some meetings with Star Trek director JJ Abrams, but he still isn’t certain "what those meetings were about." However, he is certain about one thing:
I have no connection with the film whatsoever. It’s the strangest thing. Even my dear friend Leonard [Nimoy] won’t tell me what it’s about.
In the interview Shatner also recounted recently working with Robert Pine, father of Chris Pine (the new Kirk) and that he and Chris exchanged notes of regard. He has nothing but good things to say about the Pines:
It’s a lovely family. I just wish him well, and hope that the movie becomes successful and that he himself is successful in it.
Abrams: Nimoy only — almost has final cut
And in case you are holding out hope that something has happened between the point in time Shatner did the mag interview and today, sorry but you are out of luck. In a press event for Fringe in New York today (reported by IGN), director JJ Abrams addressed the ‘is Shatner in it?’ question by saying:
No, the only cast member from the original films is Nimoy.
Abrams also said that despite others seeing a cut of the film, they were still ‘evolving’ the film, and noting:
I’m hoping the final cut is a few weeks away. But we’re definitely circling.
So there you have it. The final cut (without music, sound and visual effects) is almost done, and it is still sans-Shat. Maybe this will stop the speculation–maybe.
I suppose we’ll start seeing stuff on YouTube now… Man, the months are getting very long now.
First?
The speculation will end on Opening night. Until then, people will still want and need the Shat!
cool i was and how much would one have to pay to get a peak at this come on JJ u must have a price =)
I think it’s for the best not to have Shatner in it. It was really sounding like putting him in the movie would have looked forced. I’m not worried about the movie, either. Kevin Smith had good things to say about it, and so did Wil Wheaton. That’s good enough for me.
Shatner’s Star Trek career isn’t over yet.
No need for despair. We haven’t seen the last of Shatner’s Kirk.
But in the meantime, I’ll take Pine’s.
Any Kirk in a storm!
(That one is for you Naval Dude).
Or should I say…
Any Trek in a Storm!
That one is for you, Voyager!
I still think Shatner will probably show up in it. But hey, I figured that Obama would pick Hillary as VP. Giving people what they want doesn’t seem to be in vogue right now.
I just hope it’s a great movie.
If you honestly thought he would be in it you were setting yourself up for disappointment.
JJ likes to surprise people and he likes “twists”. Maybe Shatner will show up as a photo on the wall at Starfleet academy. I don’t think he will be in the movie but I wouldn’t put it past JJ to place Shatner somewhere in a photo or in the background in a commercial or something obscure.
I’ve learned that the secretly filmed Shat scenes will be hand delivered to each theater on opening night.
The again, monkeys may fly out of my butt, too.
I’ll have to wait until the New Trek comes out,,,to see if William Shatner is or is not in the movie,,,
If not ,,,,,,,,,,I’ll start the ,,”Is William Shatner in the second Trek” rumour ..
I’ll be gutted if hes not in this,, I would give my front teeth to see Mr Shatner have a proper send off with the remaining TOS crew.
Im really worried now that this may be Nimoys last film as “Spock”,,theres a real sence of,,we may never see them together again,,,,sort of feeling
I hate that feeling,,,
:-Z
How is this still news?
I don’t understand how the Shatheads are still going nuts over this. Move on.
Shatner is not in film. I repeat, Shatner is NOT in the film.
That is the end of this Public Service Announcement.
Thank You.
Bob#10- LMAO!! Would that be standard chimpanzee-size monkeys or their smaller flying-monkey cousins…
If there is a segment in the film where, say, Spock is viewing a holovid of Kirk made before Kirk’s death (possibly a cut from an original series ep), would that qualify as Shatner appearing in the movie?
I’m surprised they couldn’t reach some kind of compromise… like having Priceline do a little 23rd century product placement? ;)
The more they say he isn’t in it, the more it seems that he is.
Time will tell for sure.
I’d still bet a dollar he’s in a post-credits wait-for-it-while-the-cinema-empties cameo.
I wouldn’t bet a fiver or anything, but I’d venture a single :)
Either way, I hear he’s still locked in as the monster in Cloverfield 2.
That really sucks.
Kirk was given the worst ending of any major fictional character in history.
Let’s hope that Abrams can at least give the character a better ending. If he at least does that I will shut up forever.
At the end of the movie, when old Spock returns to “the future” he arrives at a point in time when Kirk was still alive. I’m guessing we will actually not only see Kirk but also the rest of the surviving actors and the ones who have passed on through CG on the bridge of the starship Enterprise.
Torch passed.
Bring back Shat!
I’m sure I’ll get over it.
HONEST TO GOD “WHY ISN’T KIRK (SHATNER) IN THIS??? I don’t care how good it will be (I think it will be great), I would have been BETTER with Shatner… It was their chemistry (Nimoy/Shatner) that made it so special… What the hell JJ?
Pressure is building for the DVD “Special Edition Extended Director’s Cut Approved By God” to feature William Shatner as Kirk performing “Sex In This Club.”
This is great. The FINAL CUT is just a few weeks away and then it can sit on the shelf for what, eight months?
It will be odd if the plot is to reset the timeline and yet – among a billion other things – Kirk is still dead. I still think a K/S coda would be cool.
He’s not in this one, but will probably be in the next one, probably a cameo.
The Abrams team is right not to bring him back. While Shat is an entertaining actor, he’s a ham. All tongue and cheeck, just what the new team is moving away from, and rightly so.
God love the Shat, but he’s just not a very giving (read: good) actor. He chews up (read: commandeers) every scene he’s in, which must be exasperating for a director. Nimoy’s stillness and gravitas are way more suited to a “good” film, which I hope this will be.
I agree. J.J. is brilliant but as good as it will be, it could be “more” with Bill. For god sakes, he is Kirk! The actor you have playing a young Kirk is going to invoke “Shatner’s performance as Kirk” in some form, whether it be subtle or not. Why would you not have him? This is foolish. Don’t get me wrong, this movie will be solid, no question. I’m sure I’ll love it… but in the back of my mind, I’ll walk away wishing I could have seen BOTH KIRK & SPOCK on the same screen again. You guys could have took the time to make it happen… at the end of the day, it’s still just a movie.
So, he is saying that Shatner is NOT in the movie? Right?
lol
Under no circumstance to we “need” the Shat.
stop saying the shat… are you stupid?
That’s like the “Hoff” which is also completely lame. God, so lame.
Anthony, YOU ARE TOO FUNNY!! This is absolutely hilarious!! I can’t believe this discussion is still going!!
Thanks for giving me a good laugh. Trekkies are, if nothing else, indefatigable.
And yes, I’ve been into the chocolate again…
:-D
kg
Maybe he’ll give a speech before the premiere of the movie?
it’s been now like 17 years since the whole crew was together, the likelyhood of that happening again are unlikely, especially given they were unable or unwilling to do it 14 years ago, and if the new flik is a hit sans original crew I doubt that will make a case for bringing them in after the fact, what might be cool is some sort of gimmick where they bring in the survivors on to an episode of Boston Legal, something clever could be worked out there, and lets all hope for a free enterprise 2, that would be a great venue for a lenny/shat mindmeld
So let me get this straight. The producers tell us they can take artistic freedom and change the uniforms and change the Enterprise interior, and this won’t pose a problem with future Spock and why he doesn’t remember it differently, but somehow, bringing Shatner back as Kirk is this huge canon/story problem that can’t be solved. Let’s be honest folks. The writers, producers and director just didn’t want Shatner back. It’s that simple. I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying it’s wrong. Just be honest with the fans about the reasons.
I give up on Shatner being in this. Hell, im still awaiting the return of the Sisko!
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it.
1) It’s FICTION therefore canon discussions and picking apart a fictional universe is just sad. I used to do it…WHEN I WAS 12!!!!
2) Chris Pine is now the person playing Captain Kirk…end of story.
That is all.
38. EXACTLY. Fiction allows for the suspension of disbelief, such as bringing a Vulcan back from the dead or a starship Captain back.
No Shat No Trek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope JJ comes to his senses and put Shatner in the film!
I love Shatner’s portrayal of Kirk. But…
Kirk died in “Generations”. Shatner looks too old to portray him at any point in time before his established onscreen death. Having him appear in the movie would just be a sentimental gimmick. To shoehorn him in somehow would seriously compromise the credibility of the story for me. Leave him out of it!
It’s funny, people are saying that this movie would automatically be better if Shatner were to turn up, but no one is willing to suggest the possibility (however remotely) that Shatner’s exclusion might be his own doing. J.J. and company might very well have felt that Shatner’s presence in this film might not have worked to the movie’s benefit, but who’s to say Shatner’s totally inocent in this matter? We don’t know the whole story. If he’s in it, and it doesn’t feel forced in, great. If he isn’t, oh well. It wasn’t the possible last appearance of Shatner as Kirk that drew my interest in this movie, it was the chance to see Trek return in a big way, having been infused with some badly-needed new creative blood.
#36 – hit the nail on the head. I’ve been saying this all along, like when they used the timing of the writer’s strike as an excuse.
Right or wrong about the decision, they haevn’t exactly been square about it.
They couldn’t even be that way with Shatner.
I think he played it the only way he could back in the fall – confused and a little hurt.
He’s human afterall.
definition: “shat” – past tense of sh*t.
Please address him by his full last name. The other is an insult. Or whatever.
TOS, the best of all Treks makes its movie return without even an apearance by the original crew? How low is Paramount and JJ gone not to at least throw in a sequence with the orignal crew, especially in a story that revolves around time travel!
I agree with you #16. This means that Shat is definately in the movie.
This breaking news just in: Generalissimo Francisco Franco is STILL dead!
I suddenly have a sneaking suspicion that maybe just maybe as a result of the time travel element… the movie may end with a post credits nod to the Shat…
Imagine if you will… ala Iron Man ending with Samuel Jackson showing up as Nick Fury… Spock returns to the 24th Century to share a glass of Romulan Ale with an aged but alive Admiral KirK!
C’mon… that would be totally cool, doable, not conflict with the movie, and give everyone a double happy ending…
I’m on board. Quote me Doug L. 8/25/08
45.TL,
The answer is simple: they don’t have to.
Also, in response to your post #40, Shatner is not the be-all end-all of Trek. Trek is bigger than any one actor or series. I’m not denigrating Shatner’s role in Trek, which was pretty important, I’m just saying that for me, Trek does not begin or end with Shatner. If it did, Trek should have ended with Generations.
Trek is bigger than any one actor, but I for one have more faith in Shatner than in JJ.