Back in September, it was rumoured that William Shatner could reprise the role of Captain James T. Kirk for this year’s Star Trek Beyond, with Shatner subsequently confirming that he’d been approached. However, it seems he’s now changed his mind, telling SFX Magazine that:
“There was never a conversation. It would have been interesting to see what their fertile imaginations could have done with somebody who is 20 years older than when Captain Kirk died and how they would have explained the difference in appearance. But that never came up. I’m sure they must have thought of it one time or another but I never had a substantial conversation about replaying the role.”
It seems that Kirk would have featured in the movie, had Paramount not ditched Roberto Orci’s draft for the film and brought in Simon Pegg and Doug Jung to rewrite the script.
SEE ALSO: Simon Pegg “didn’t love” Star Trek Beyond trailer
Star Trek Beyond is set for release on July 22nd 2016 and features returning cast members Chris Pine as James Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Zoë Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Anton Yelchin as Chekov alongside new additions Idris Elba (Luther), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Joe Taslim (The Raid) and Lydia Wilson (About Time).
Originally published January 7, 2016. Updated April 13, 2018.
