The idea of William Shatner returning to the role of James T. Kirk has been a hot topic since his version of the character was killed off in the 1994 film Star Trek Generations. There have been a variety of attempts to bring him back, but none have panned out. Even as he has moved into his 90s, the actor has made it clear that if the stars were to align, he is ready to return to the final frontier—and just this weekend, he indicated that there has been some discussion of just that.
Shatner expecting a new pitch
William Shatner is in Vancouver, BC, this weekend as a headlining guest of Fan Expo Vancouver. The Direct staff member Jennifer McDonough reported from his panel that the 93- year-old actor “had been contacted by a writer on one of Paramount’s currently-in-development Star Trek series.” Shatner is quoted as saying:
“I have been asked to come back as Kirk so many times. 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.”
What show could fit?
The key word in the report is “series,” so if that is accurate we are talking Star Trek TV on Paramount+ and not one of the various feature projects in development at Paramount Pictures. As of now, Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy are the only active series. A fourth season of Strange New Worlds is set to go into production within weeks and the second season of Starfleet Academy should go into production around mid-2025. The only show we know of that’s in the early stages of development (and has not been greenlit yet) is Justin Simien and Tawny Newsome’s Trek comedy show which takes place in the early 25th century, an era last seen in Picard season 3. But there could be other shows being developed that are still under wraps.
Set in the 23rd century before the original Star Trek, Strange New Worlds already has a Kirk in Paul Wesley, but the show also shown it’s willing to do all sorts of fun timey-wimey things, so maybe young Kirk meets an old Kirk in SNW season 4?
William Shatner (James Kirk) with Paul Wesley (James Kirk) and Dan Jeannotte (Sam Kirk) at STLV 2023 (Photo: Jon Spencer/TrekMovie.com)
Starfleet Academy is set in the far future, as seen in Discovery, in the 32nd century, and could avoid the time travel scenario altogether. An older and wiser Kirk could be a holographic training/teaching simulation, or even a de-aged Shatner to look more like say Kirk of the movie era could be on the table.
There’s also the tantalizing tease from Picard season 3 of Kirk’s remains being kept at Daystrom Station, where the display text had the name “Project Phoenix“—which of course certainly implies that a resurrected Kirk/clone of Kirk may be in the works by Section 31 in the early 25th century. This might lend support to the idea that the show he’s referring to is the Newsome and Simien comedy show, since it’s the right era for Project Phoenix—but all of this is just speculation at the moment.
Kirk’s body stored at Daystrom
Shatner has been approached before
Shatner has been approached before. It was rumored that Roberto Orci had a role for him is his unproduced third Kelvin timeline film. A scene was written for him (but never officially pitched) in Star Trek 2009, which you can read more about here. There were also discussions to bring Shatner back for Star Trek: Enterprise.
Shatner has been softening on the idea of returning to play Kirk even without being specifically approached, as he told USA Today back in 2021. We’ve also seen him pontificate on the idea of returning in a de-aged form, first mentinoing the idea back in 2018. And he recently gave his approval to use his likeness at various ages as Kirk for the Roddenberry Archive’s moving short film Unification.
Sam Witwer as Kirk with William Shatner’s Kirk via digital makeup in Unification
Be sure to check back at TrekMovie for updates on this developing story.
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Well, this is Star Trek. The sky’s the limit 🖖
Only in ‘FOR THE WORLD IS HOLLOW AND I HAVE TOUCHED THE SKY’
(always surprised there wasn’t some late 70s rock band didn’t use those words as lyrics for some kickass song along the lines of Kansas’ ‘Borne on Wings of Steel.’)
It’s perfect for that. Like the title to some huge 8 minute album closer.
I wrote a line for an unproduced script (inspired in part by a David Warner line reading in TFF), and I think about it a lot in rock-ballad song terms, but never came with more lyrics to support it: ‘Heaven’s a conspiracy of angels.’ I remember mentioning it to my mother during the 90s and she was very upset about it, saying it wasn’t a thought that people needed to ever hear voiced, which confirmed for me that it WAS a great notion, but I still never got anywhere with it.
That does make for a good song title! Definitely fits into the mould of rock ballad. It also sounds to me a bit like a late DS9/Dominion War focused episode title too. Or even a DS9 era Section 31 episode title.
Considering the amount of time I’ve spent thinking about s31 — even before it was introduced as such, since I figured there had to be some organized group behind a lot of what we see happening in TUC and even as far back as TSFS (which is when I first started getting a 70s political paranoia vibe from TREK with that chilling, “I don’t think you want to be discussing this subject in public” line from the guy IDing himself as Federation Security) — it’s amazing I didn’t realize how well it dovetails with that phrase, so thanks for making that connection for me!
I’ve had a small file in my writing drawer for just over 30 years now that just reads “E-B miniseries” and has to do with the aftermath of Harriman becoming forever known as The Guy Who Got Kirk Killed, and how, after Starfleet tries to sweep the whole affair under the rug by burning the name and lettering off the ship and splitting the crew up for crummy assignments, Harriman gets recruited for something by a group representing as Fed security … but then realizes in mid-mission that he and his hastily-reunited crew have been put on the wrong side of the law and ethical behavior and has to do some drastic do the right thing stuff to win the day, which restoring the name for his disgraced starship. I think it’s time for me to actually put HEAVEN’S A CONSPIRACY OF ANGELS on that folder, though I doubt I’ll ever get to do much with it.
Interesting! The next time I watch those TOS era movies, I’ll have to remember to view them with that in mind. It makes a lot of sense, like you say. Both Discovery (and Enterprise before it) set up S31 as being there in that period, so it fits well. That’s a really cool character arc for Harriman too, from his ‘next tuesday’ Generations beginnings through to being a worthy captain of the Enterprise, and it all lines up perfectly. Glad I helped you make that connection :)
isn’t there a ST novel where demora sulu is captain of the E-B?
I’ve spent decades avoiding reading that one (though I’ve read several other Peter David books) just because I don’t want to see where he went with it.
One half of me is saying “oh please god no”, the other half is saying “make it so”. So do whatcha plz, I’ll be happy either way.
This! I think it would truly depend on the story. Unification was such a good ending for the character I am not sure I need more. The only story I think I would like to see about Kirk would be the Tarsus IV incident and the events leading up to it. They could do that on SNW though. I know it’s been covered in some books but a live action episode would be nice.
If we saw Kirk was suffering ptsd over Tarsus on SNW it would be worth developing, but I don’t think that’s in the cards from what that Carrey-looking guy has shown us.
The people running the show are too busy goofing off with Star Trek to tackle anything serious.
Sad because the writers have explored PTSD, in the episode, Under the Cloak of War. I thought they did a pretty decent job. So we know they are capable of it. Such a missed opportunity not to go there with Kirk. I would imagine being a genocide survivor, among other things, would have a tremendous effect on how you see the universe. He has seen how the Federation and its colonies are not always a paradise.
Yeah, that would be a great story.
I have to concur with this.
While that would make for an interesting story, the creatives at SNW are so uninterested in doing anything with meaning that we will never see this.
Shoot, you could do the same story with a very young Kevin Riley and it would still work — possibly even better, depending on the actor but then you’ve still got that 21st century boondoggle of ‘trek writing’ not being able to deliver even on pastiche level.
Yup, exactly.
The only half of yourself that you must listen to is the half that says Make. It. So.
I think this would be perfect for the 60th anniversary. I’d do a telemovie around Project Phoenix. Act 1, Kirk is ressurrected and escapes from the lab. Act 2, S31 manhunts him, and finally catches him. Act 3, S31 reveals why he was ressurrected and how only he could save the galaxy from such and such terrible danger. He proceeds to do so, and departs to the sunset at the end…
Having said all that, the more probable thing is SNW (the character is already there, somewhat, and S4 will stream in 2026, for the 50th).
Things that I hope and pray they don’t do:
Why? What’s the point? What’s this “terrible danger”? How does this move the needle on the character?
How does it move the needle? He would be alive with a happy ending.
Maybe elements of Shatners ‘The Return’ adapted for a Star Trek Legacy stream movie? (with Patrick Stewart, Jeri Ryan,etc) directed by Frakes for 60th ann?
uh oh I mentioned a ‘star trek stream movie’..
Could it be the Mirror verse ‘Enterprise’ episode (that was originally supposed to star Shatner as older Mirror Kirk), adapted for SNW?
Not a criticism of him, just an observation … I don’t think Shatner still has the zip to play a mirror Kirk. I’m 30 years younger than him and I don’t have the zip to play a mirror Kirk, which in my mind is vintage (and I do mean vintage) Shatner.
I think whatever its going to be they are going to shave off about 3 decades from his age with CG/AI
Mirror Kirk causing havoc for the kids at Starfleet Academy would be fun, ngl!
Or if he was just a straight holo-Kirk, he could teach the Kobayashi Maru section of command training, but be able to dynamically re-re-re-program the test to offset any creative jiggering by the brighter students. Could be a running gag for a whole season, come to think of it.
‘Even centuries dead, Kirk’s more unbeatable than ever.’
Having written that, I’d still actually prefer seeing a holo-Eddington who taught a class in ethics … I’m still of the opinion that Sisko was on the wrong side of all that, and seriously so. But then again I think the Maquis aspect is what DS9 should have focused on, as the Dominion wasn’t ever as engaging for me.
I really don’t want to see Shatner playing Mirror Kirk.
If he’s going to play Kirk again, I would like him to be the original, jumping off the excellent “Unification” short.
I really hope his return as Captain Kirk isn’t wasted on that comedy show. Just please no.
TBH anything in the Kurtzman era will waste Shatner. The REAL Kirk is above this even if Shatner is willing to take the paycheck.
Of course he is. Concepts needing to be explored…
Star Trek: Depends
Star Trek: Retirement on Risa
Star Trek: Project Prostate
Star Trek: Legacy
Star Trek: One for Yes, Two for No
The ship has still sailed…..
In the mirror universe, Kirk quotes somebody other than John Masefield when he says, ‘All I ask is a short ship, and a black hole to steer her round” (and a magic teardrop shaped button that makes my enemies go poof.)
The 4th JJ film is never getting made. It’s been almost ten years. Hoping for Shatner cameo at this point is ludicrous. When they haven’t got a single film made out of like 12 abortive screenplays and ideas. The Hawley, the Tarantino movie, the Hemsworth as Kirk’s Dad movie. And I’m sure there is a bunch more.
Trekmovie really needs to make a comprehensive list of all these aborted attempts to make a movie and how much they came in the development process.
It could easily fill an entire reference book at this point. Caught In A Transport Buffer: Beyond Beyond
You might want to search the site, I recall it’s been done a couple of times in the last decade….
Also Matt ‘new Fantastic 4’ Shakman (which had no details on the plot unlike the other versions of ST4), so thats 4 different versions (plus rumoured pitches by Meyer and Bob Sallin etc)
Pike met a possible future version of himself in Quality of Mercy. Paul Wesley could have a similar encounter with a 90 year old Kirk for the 60th anniversary. I could see this happening and not being too contrived.
I have zero interest in the resurrection of post Generations Kirk.
Y’know, if the trek origins was movie was really inventive and out there, it could be showing origins of various aspects of Fed and ‘Fleet across a century or two, sort of like a Trek version of Griffith’s INTOLERANCE. It’d be easy to have a resurrected Kirk as the payoff for that.
Most of these ideas smack of a cheap gimmick that will cheapen the decades of fantastic career-defining work that Mr. Shatner gave to Star Trek and will severely sully his legacy.
That is particularly true of a “final” appearance on a cringeworthy workplace comedy.
No post-PICARD magic resurrections, either: the thing about death is its finality, and this constant resurrecting of dead characters mocks anyone (which is all of us) who has had to cope with grief. And before you tell me about TSFS, if everyone becomes a Christ figure, no one is.
The time to do this was on ENT (probably in “Through a Glass Darkly”), when he could have had a serious role. He was right to turn down a cameo singing “happy birthday” in the first Abrams film.
I hope they turn him into a synth and his golem fights a cyber octopus from another dimension. Maybe he can team up with the Red Angel and Empress Georgio. Yum yum!
And make it a musical comedy too!
I cringe at the thought of this, honestly. This sounds like Kurtzman trying to pull every lever he can before the new regime comes in and possibly cleans house. I can’t fathom a compelling reason to do it, and I don’t think any of the current writing staff on these P+ shows are capable of writing for the character. I know this can be done, and reasons concocted.. but they just don’t sound like good reasons. Reunification was a perfect swan song for that version of the character. Just let it be.
God bless Shatner. He is alive and full of energy. Will be very unfortunate to reject the opportunity to see Shatner Kirk again one more time. I really hope he is the star on the upcoming Origins movie.
At his age, I don’t expect him to take the center seat of any major Star Trek production.
Sometimes he just says things to get attention, but for what it’s worth, I do hope they make something interesting happen.
No chance. Kurtzman Trek in live action has never been interesting except for SNW S1.
Would be great. Hopefully they don’t waste that chance. But, as he said, the script is good, so it is therefore possibly not from one of these deadbeats at Obvious Hideout.
SNW has very well written episodes. Prodigy was great from A to Z. Picard Season 3 was a big improvement due to the original cast. Having Shatner back while he is still healthy and energetic, in his 90s, is truly an honor. Really hope they can make it happen.
Setting aside that it’s been months since there’s been any information on this rumored origins project…if this is something that was discussed over cocktails somewhere, and its brand spanking new, Shatner would be 95 or 96 at principal photography. If they are going that AI/CGI route like that god awful short a few months back……well, let’s just not, okay?
Of course I’d watch whatever it is, if it happens.
But I’m hoping that it would be well-written — and that he would be playing Kirk and not just himself (see: Shatner in Generations, Patrick Stewart in Picard).
Heck, I went to see Captain America this weekend mainly just to see Harrison Ford, so…
I really can’t imagine any SNW or, given just it’s setting, an Academy story that it would be worthwhile and meaningful to bring Shatner in for. Especially given the character is dead. It’s gotta be more than a cheap gimmick, especially one in service of others characters. This is Captain Frickin’ Kirk we’re talking about. The only thing that I can really imagine working is another one off Paramount + movie. It would have to be really well done though, built around furthering and giving a proper send off and conclusion to the character.
It’s staggering that Shatner is 93 and doing so well. That being said, can you imagine anybody singing off on a show with a 93-year old actor who will be 94 or 95 by the time it’s filming…and then continue on for several seasons? That seems like an impossibly risky bet. I can’t imagine they are interested in anything but a short-term project at best, telemovie perhaps or a few episodes of something.
He’ll be 94 in a few weeks.
Keep in mind, Star Trek Unification was hinted at being in the far huture. And across univeres. Anything can happen after his resurrection.
Yeah, but I don’t know that it’s canonical, either, and I hope it isn’t. Not because it’s a bad scenario to include.. quite the opposite, but it works best if it’s left alone.
Also, please pleae PLEASE do not tie in the OG KIRK with the horrible Kurtzman era of Trek!
Agreed!
+1….
+2
I don’t think there’s enough money to de-age Shatner full time for him to be ‘the show’. They did it with Data and others in Picard season 1, but those were bits in comparison to what Shatner would want if he ended up in an episode (or tv movie), let alone a miniseries. I also don’t think he’ll do animation. I don’t see how that is ‘meaningful’ to him. What I CAN imagine them doing is putting him in an episode of either current live-action shows and have it set in the Kelvin Universe in a different time, where he didin’t end up in the Nexus and continued living his life. They could also do that in a tv movie set during the temporal war in the 31st century, before Discovery arrived, featuring another version of Daniels.
They did such a piss poor job with Data in PIC S1. That is hardly the basis with we should go by, Harrison Ford in the latest Indy movie was way better.
Please don’t. Theres just no way anything good is goung to come out of this with the people currently in charge of the IP.
I hope it’s this TNG movie Sir Patrick Stewart was talking about.. That would fitting the Kirk mentioning in Picard Season 3..
A loose adaptation of Shatner’s novel?
It’d appeal to his ego, like putting horses into GENERATIONS was a good lure.
I was wondering what happened to that movie. If they’re one and the same, it would very much feel like Generations 2. Maybe there’s something to it though, in that Generations was a passing of the torch, of sorts. Maybe having both OG Kirk and Picard’s final appearances in the same story, would be quite a nice parallel.
Finally good News for Trek. THIS is the real stuff. Fingers crossed.
You can hand-wave a resurrection with reference to the Nexus- he was in there long enough to get some sort of boost and hadn’t been out too long so it stuck. Or something. Then give him 1701-A from the museum (or let him take it) and let him explore the galaxy, saving people and breaking the Prime Directive right and left.
Project Phoenix seems like the best idea. It’s clear that at some point, he was saved from his fate in generations. It would be cool to see the story behind it. Anything less than that makes no sense. A clone is stupid. A double is stupid. You don’t bring back William Shatner and not have him play the iconic character and give him a happy ending and reverse the dumbest decision in Star Trek history.
I don’t see how it’s dumb. Everyone dies, and Kirk got to go out saving millions of lives. It’s better than Trip dying for no reason.
You can potentially save billions of lives by voting to impeach an insane power-mad CinC (and you should have, you bozos) but it’s not the way to deliver the climax of an action movie.
For that, you have to, after safely evacuating your crew, singlehandedly pilot your fatally wounded starship into a giant structure housing the baddies, ramming it so deftly that you take it out of orbit and go out with a real blaze of glory while demonstrating your committment to universal peace (my choice for how TUC should have ended.)
Project Phoenix needs to finally heal him in the 26th Century so the Enterprise-J (not Enterprise-JJ) can ferry him back to Earth where he meets the descendants of McCoy and Spock (assuming the Saavik pregnancy is canon, or make it canon). And even better is if aforementioned descendants are married (could you imagine McCoy turning in his grave knowing one of his descendants married one of Spock’s). And of course meet the descendants of Peter Kirk and his siblings, and Sulu’s and Chekov’s.
After that, the EMH Doctor (whom we know is “alive” in the 31st Century) can be his psychologist to help Kirk acclimate to the new era.
And once all that fan service is done… I dunno, someone better than me at writing stories can come up with the Universe-scale disaster that only James T. Kirk and his 23rd Century thinking can save.
Star Trek: Kirk
Somehow, Kirk has returned and is living in a cabin in Iowa riding horses and cooking eggs.
A galaxy-ending threat from another universe emerges and Kirk needs to put together a ragtag crew of misfits to save the universe.
Starring William Shatner as Kirk, Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, and Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Gorgeou.
Directed by Olatunde Osunsamni.
There wouldn’t be a dry seat in the theatre!
Don’t forget to put Tawny Awesome in there somewhere.
We need Picard in there somewhere too.. Perhaps recreating their famous nexus scenes but this time quoting each others lines.. And instead of regular horses they get on the unicorn horses from Trek V and ride toward the new Enterprise (G? H?) in a scene that harkens back to Chris Pine in ST09 . And also Jeri Ryan too
Maybe it is the Star Trek legacy project with captain seven.
“This might lend support to the idea that the show he’s referring to is the Newsome and Simien comedy show, since it’s the right era for Project Phoenix—but all of this is just speculation at the moment.”
THE RESTAURANT ENTERPRISE SNL SKETCH IS COMING TRUE!
What’s next, Love Boat: The Next Generation?
There is an “echo” of him in the Nexus. Maybe with a quantum phase discriminator, he can be retrieved to serve starfleet one last time.
Better hurry Shatner is not getting any younger. Only do it if it’s a better ending for Kirk than Generations. Certainly possible depending on what they come up with. Unification was sweet but not “real” even within in my head cannon.
I and others have said this again, but the best way of using Shatner again is to jump right off that “Unification” short. At the end, a resurrected Kirk (maybe as a golem with the original’s spirit captured by godlike Gary Mitchell as was seen in the short?) made it to the Kelvin Timeline to comfort a dying Spock Prime. That means that Kirk Prime shows up in the Kelvin Universe shortly before the Star Trek Beyond feature.
I’d like to see one last Kelvin film with the Abrams cast involving Kirk Prime. Maybe, at the end, to save the Kelvin characters, say, Kirk and Spock and Bones, Kirk Prime takes the fall. Make it big, make it poignant, and incorporate the CGI de-aged Shatner to play an important role.
It could be big. Market it for all it’s worth.
Anyway, that’s what I would do, but, knowing Paramount, the way it is dragging its heels and developing a stupid pre-Star Trek film, I truly doubt we’ll ever see it. Time is running out.
Love to see this if they can do it right and do justice to the character. There are some quick and simple ways to get Kirk alive again. Hope it works out.
With the recent Unification short, there are lots of uses for Captain Kirk.
Dude is 93. They need to get on that. Unless it’s a cameo, I can’t see them having him as 93-year-old Kirk.
No!
William Shatner is Star Trek’s biggest icon. His return as the real James T. Kirk would be a massive media event and surely give Star Trek it’s best ratings in decades and be a massive PR victory as this would make every mainstream news outlet around the world…This is a no brainer that should have happened decades ago…Make it so!!!!
You’re right, with the caveat that Spock and Kirk are the icons (and I’d personally put Bones there too).
About time. Something possibly for the 60th Anniversary.
A TV special, a al Doctor Who’s “The Day of the Doctor”, that incorporates legacy characters like Captain Kirk would be nice.
I’m happy either way.