Star Trekcan resolve two lingering issues in one go by bringing back William Shatner as James T. Kirk, but not as we know him. Plenty of familiar faces have made the voyage home toStar Trekover the past 20 years, from Leonard Nimoy’s Spock creating a bridge between the old and new in 2009’sStar Trekreboot to thecast ofThe Next Generationreuniting inStar Trek: Picardseason 3.
Conspicuous by his absence has been William Shatner, who is yet to reprise his iconic role as James T. Kirk in any officialStar Trekmovieor TV show since his character died at theend of 1994’sStar Trek Generations. Kirk’s death does pose somewhat of a stumbling block to any potential return for Shatner. Fortunately, the wonderful world ofStar Trekharbors many mechanisms and methods via which dead characters can resurface, andShatner himself has teased his long-awaitedStar Trekcomebackcoming sooner rather than later. The real question is how best to make that happen.
William Shatner Could Play The Future Version Of Chris Pine’s Kirk In Star Trek 4
Shatner Doesn’t Have To Play Prime Kirk
One way William Shatner could slip back into the guise of James T. Kirk for a final time is as the future version of Chris Pine’s Kirk from the Kelvin timeline in theupcomingStar Trek 4movie. Immediately, this route brings several major benefits. Chief among them,Star Trekwould avoid having to reconcile Shatner’s latest appearance with Kirk’s death inGenerations.Playing the Kelvin timeline Kirk would completely negate the need for retcons, Nexus shenanigans, paradoxes, or any other sci-fi get-out-of-the-afterlife free card.
Star Trek 4’s story could essentially frame itself as the older Kirk recounting a thrilling adventure from his past.
The casting would make canonical sense too. The Kelvin timeline alteredStar Trek’s history, but didn’t alter the actual biology of the main characters. WatchingStar Trek’s three Kelvin timeline movies, audiences are supposed to believe thatthe younger versions of Kirk and Spock look the same as their counterparts in the Prime timelineused to. When Zachary Quinto stands opposite Leonard Nimoy inStar Trek2009, the former is intended to represent what Nimoy’s youthful Spock looked like prior toThe Original Series, and the same goes for Pine and Shatner.
The concept of a 93-year-old Shatner portraying Pine’s Kirk in his twilight years checks out logically, then, but it also works from a thematic standpoint. IfStar Trek 4does ever happen, it will almost certainly be the last entry for the Kelvin cast, given how much the project has struggled over the past nine years sinceStar Trek Beyond. Just as Leonard Nimoy’s Spock was there at the genesis of the Kelvin movie series,William Shatner’s Kirk can be there at the end, creating a poignant full circle moment.
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In terms of how Shatner’s older Kirk would factor into the story, time travel would risk feeling too similar to Spock’s involvement inStar Trek2009. Instead, Shatner’s scenes could serve as a bookend.Star Trek 4’s story could essentially frame itself as the older Kirk recounting a thrilling adventure from his past. The image of Kirk as a storyteller, passing his knowledge and experience onto the next generation, would arguably offer Shatner a more fitting farewell toStar TrekthanGenerationsdid.
Shatner’s Return Can Reinvigorate Star Trek’s Abandoned Kelvin Timeline
If Anyone Can Get Star Trek 4 Going, Kirk Can
As well as resolving the problem of how to bring the original James T. Kirk back in a way that makes sense and means something,Star Trek 4casting William Shatner would also revive the franchise’s frustratingly abandoned Kelvin sandbox.The Kelvin timeline is a pit of unlimited potentialthatStar Trekhas barely tapped into over the past 16 years. FollowingStar Trek Beyondand the stagnation of a follow-up release, the variousStar TrekTV showshave merely referenced J.J. Abrams' alternate timeline in passing, letting a huge sector of the IP go to waste.
Many iterations ofStar Trek 4have come and gone, from a Chris Hemsworth Kirk-athon to the brief flirtation with Quentin Tarantino that was always unlikely to materialize. The sequel’s status as a long-term resident of Development Hell cannot be attributed to one factor alone, butbringing William Shatner on board for a James T. Kirk return could be the focal pointStar Trek 4needsto start making progress.
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The revolving door of directors suggests that no single story idea forStar Trek 4has managed to stick during the project’s ongoing gestation. Getting Shatner to commit and basing a story around the older Kirk might just be the anchorStar Trek 4, and the Kelvin timeline as a whole, has been crying out for.
The Problem With William Shatner Playing A Different Version Of Kirk
Something Would Feel Off About Shatner Playing A Different Kirk
The big drawback of having William Shatner play an older version of Chris Pine’s Kelvin timeline Kirk is that his presence may not carry quite as much emotional weight as it should. The appeal of Shatner appearing in anyfutureStar Trekproject- indeed, the main reason for bringing him back in the first place - is reuniting viewers with a character they grew close to over the course ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesand its subsequent movies. Shatner would sound like Kirk, look like Kirk, and act like Kirk, but ultimately wouldn’t be the character we know and love.
Star Trekhas a perfect way to let William Shatner play James T. Kirk one last time, and in a fashion that would save the franchise’s Kelvin universe.
This wouldn’t be the Captain Kirk who encountered Khan on a sleeper ship, the Kirk who watched Spock die, the Kirk who gave his life to help Jean-Luc Picard save the day.This would be the Kirk who lost his father on the Kelvin, met a future version of Spock, and got resurrected by a tribble. The whole dilemma poses a philosophical question over whether the appeal of Shatner’s return would be Shatner playing James T. Kirk inStar Trekagain, or the opportunity to reunite with a character who shares many fond memories with the audience.
If it’s the latter, and the original Kirk is a must-have, William Shatner featuring inStar Trek 4becomes a lot harder to justify. The dual issues of retconningStar Trek Generationswhile simultaneously avoiding a repeat of Leonard Nimoy’s time-bending story inStar Trek2009 rear their ugly heads.
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Star Trek Beyond
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At that point, it begins feeling like Shatner would be better off making hisStar Trekswansong on the small screen, either inStrange New Worldsor theupcoming Starfleet Academy series. The harsh reality appears to be thatStar Trekhas a perfect way to let William Shatner play James T. Kirk one last time, and in a fashion that would save the franchise’s Kelvin universe, but in order to do so, it’s a different Kirk that Shatner needs to play.
