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Captain Kirk died successful 1994's Star Trek Generations, hurtling to his destiny -- successful reasonably ingominous manner -- portion connected a collapsed catwalk. "It was fun," helium said, arsenic William Shatner signed disconnected for the past clip arsenic the legendary Starfleet officer.
Except, successful the 32 years oregon truthful since then, we've gotten 2 caller versions of James T. Kirk: The archetypal is Chris Pine's big-screen iteration from the J.J. Abrams trilogy, and the 2nd is Paul Wesley's "why is helium ever hanging astir the Enterprise erstwhile helium doesn't adjacent enactment present yet" mentation connected the bid Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. (Shatner himself besides returned, presumably astatine the precise slightest with his lawyer's approval, done the re-use of Original Series footage successful the Deep Space Nine occurrence "Trials and Tribble-ations" successful 1996.)
But adjacent so, that wasn't capable for immoderate of the folks down Strange New Worlds, who precocious revealed to Polygon that they tried to get Shatner himself backmost for a impermanent changeable connected the amusement ever since it launched. How precisely would they person brought backmost the 95-year-old histrion to play a quality who died erstwhile helium was conscionable astir 60?
Well, it turns retired Strange New Worlds co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman and his penning partners had a beauteous absorbing thought successful that regard. But they weren't the archetypal to effort to lure Shatner backmost to the captain's seat. While the histrion has said that he's been asked to travel backmost arsenic Kirk galore times, it has ne'er materialized (aside from successful comics, books, and the similar -- and no, we're not counting Kirk's seemingly preserved assemblage from Star Trek: Picard). Let's look astatine the astir factual examples of the near-return of the Starfleet icon...
Return to the City connected the Edge of Forever
"I person been asked to travel backmost arsenic Kirk truthful galore times. If Kirk is going to travel back, it has to mean something."
That's what Shatner said astatine a Vancouver normal successful 2025, arsenic reported by The Direct. Interestingly, astatine that aforesaid quality helium mentioned that helium had been approached by a existent Trek bid writer astir a imaginable return. While the histrion did not notation which writer, helium did accidental helium was "so impressed" by the scribe and that helium would beryllium receiving a transportation for the amusement the pursuing week.
Could this person been Goldsman who The Shat was talking about? The timing would marque sense, arsenic the lone bid successful accumulation successful 2025 were Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy. Plus, Goldsman is an avowed instrumentality of classical Trek, and has added (some mightiness accidental shoehorned in) assorted ties to The Original Series successful his Trek work, truthful his tendency to springiness Shatner 1 past crook successful the relation is... logical.
"I person been asked to travel backmost arsenic Kirk truthful galore times. If Kirk is going to travel back, it has to mean something." -William Shatner“
Assuming that is the writer the histrion was talking astir successful 2025, it seemingly ne'er panned out. According to Polygon, Goldsman’s "biggest regret was not being capable to bring William Shatner backmost to play a mentation of Kirk who decided to enactment successful Depression-era New York with Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), a crockery room relation helium fell successful emotion with successful the occurrence 'The City connected the Edge of Forever.'” The study adds that portion the Goldsman and his chap showrunner Henry Alonso Myers "tried to marque that hap each season," including scripting versions of the story, it ne'er panned out. And present with Strange New Worlds' last play wrapped and waiting to air, it ne'er will.
At archetypal glance, it sounds similar it could've been a truly chill mode to springiness Shatner's Kirk -- oregon an alt-version of him -- a last farewell. But would it person been, actually? The full constituent of "The City connected the Edge of Forever" is that Kirk has to sacrficie his large emotion successful bid to prevention humanity's future. (It's a agelong story.) Wouldn't his moving his mode astir that determination deflate the full conception down what, to galore fans, is the top occurrence of Star Trek ever? I conjecture we'll ne'er cognize astatine this point.
Mirror Universe Kirk... oregon Chef Kirk?
When Star Trek: Enterprise entered its 4th play successful 2004, precocious showrunner Manny Coto -- a Trekkie himself -- planted a clump of connections to different Star Trek shows passim the season. But 1 thought -- to bring Shatner backmost arsenic a Mirror Universe mentation of James T. Kirk successful a two-part occurrence -- was not to be.
The Mirror Universe of people is that realm successful Star Trek wherever the atrocious guys are moving things... and the bully guys are the atrocious guys! (What a concept.) "Shatner playing evil Kirk is much amusive than Shatner playing bully Kirk," Coto said successful a Blu-ray diagnostic for the season. Going by "Tiberius" -- Captain Kirk's middle-name -- this would've been a mentation of Kirk that didn't interruption continuity, since the past clip we saw the Mirror Universe Kirk was connected the 1960s bid erstwhile helium was inactive live and well. And successful fact, the storyline that was planned would've revealed that it was really Tiberius who created the Mirror Universe successful the archetypal place!
The thought reportedly came from Shatner and his penning partners Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens; the duo had joined the Enterprise penning unit that season. The brace had antecedently co-written, with Shatner, a ton of the actor's Trek beingness books.
But arsenic Coto pointed out, the workplace seemed to get acold feet astatine the thought of spending a batch of wealth connected the episode, peculiarly arsenic they astir apt knew the amusement was astir to beryllium cancelled. Was helium referring to the wide accumulation costs of specified an episode, oregon Shatner's asking terms specifically? Probably a spot of both.
Still, Enterprise Season 4 did negociate to revisit the TOS clip play successful a consciousness with the two-parter "In a Mirror, Darkly," which was acceptable successful the Mirror Universe and featured the evil Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his unit discovering an Original Series-era vessel that looked conscionable similar the classical Enterprise. Set phasers to nerd out.
Another communicative thought that ne'er went anyplace reportedly progressive the Enterprise's "Chef" character. Chef ran the galley connected Captain Archer's Enterprise NX-01, and portion helium was often mentioned, helium was ne'er seen (aside from successful 1 occurrence wherever he's glimpsed but his look is obscured). It's a spot hard to find a definitive root for this one, but seemingly Shatner would've played Chef, not Kirk. But the information that helium looked similar Kirk would've figured into immoderate benignant of escapade wherever Chef would've had to cosplay arsenic Kirk. (If anyone has definitive quotes from the writers oregon Shatner astir this pitch, fto america know!) Ultimately a mentation of this thought was utilized successful the much-maligned Enterprise bid finale, "These Are the Voyages..." wherever Jonathan Frakes' Riker appeared arsenic Chef connected the holodeck. Or something. (Don't ask.)
Happy Birthday From Star Trek 2009
When J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek for the large surface successful 2009, Leonard Nimoy played an integral relation successful linking the caller instrumentality connected the franchise to the old. While acceptable successful yet different alternate beingness -- the Kelvin-verse -- the archetypal beingness which featured the Nimoy, Shatner, etc. versions of the characters inactive existed. So erstwhile Nimoy appears successful the 2009 film, he's playing a overmuch older mentation of classical Spock, albeit 1 who meets his younger, alternate-universe aforesaid successful Zachary Quinto's Spock.
So it would've made consciousness that Shatner excessively could've popped successful for a cameo astatine the precise slightest arsenic Captain Kirk... maybe, kinda? The occupation is, by the constituent successful the timeline (nerd alert again) wherever Spock Prime enters the Kelvin-verse, Kirk Prime is already agelong dormant and buried (under a heap of rocks, acknowledgment Jean-Luc) connected Veridian III. So putting speech the information that determination was already a beauteous crowded telephone expanse of actors who needed surface time, determination was besides the information that it, uh, logically wouldn't marque consciousness for Shatner's Kirk to appear.
"How could you not enactment 1 of the founding figures into a movie that was being resurrected? That doesn't marque consciousness to me!" -William Shatner“
Back earlier the movie was released, Shatner expressed his disappointment astir not being formed to Extra TV: "How could you not enactment 1 of the founding figures into a movie that was being resurrected? That doesn't marque consciousness to me!"
The happening is, Abrams said astatine the clip of the film's merchandise that a country was written that brought backmost Kirk Prime, adjacent if it yet coiled up not moving for the movie and was dropped. This would've been a cameo wherever Kirk appears successful a holographic day connection for Spock.
"It was precise tricky," helium told Sci-fi Scanner (a tract that present appears to beryllium defunct), arsenic relayed by The Guardian. "We really had written a country with him successful it that was a flashback benignant of thing, but the information is, it didn't rather consciousness right. ... The bigger happening was that helium was precise vocal that helium didn't privation to bash a cameo. We tried desperately to enactment him successful the movie, but helium was making it precise wide that helium wanted the movie to absorption connected him significantly, which, frankly, helium deserves."
Abrams besides pointed retired that the character's decease successful Generations had earnestly analyzable the matter.
"Maybe a smarter radical of film-makers could person figured retired however to resoluteness that," helium said.
They weren't the first, oregon last, to try.
Talk to Scott Collura @scottcollura.bsky.social, oregon perceive to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or bash both!
Top representation credit: Disney/Randy Holmes / Disney via Getty Images
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