The legendary captain of the USS Enterprise is interested in leading once more! Actor William Shatner recently revealed that he would be interested in starring in a Star Trek film as Captain James T. Kirk.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the news was revealed when the Canadian Press interviewed Shatner. When speaking about a return, the actor set a few conditions for what would bring him back to the role.
“If [it] was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it,” Shatner said.
A lot of thought and planning would need to be done if studios were to bring Kirk back to the big screen, especially considering that Kirk is dead in the original universe.
According to ScreenRant, at the end of Star Trek Generations, Kirk teamed up with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, to thwart the villain Dr. Tolian Soran. However, it is during the final battle that Kirk is mortally wounded and ends up dying.
Keeping that in mind, Shatner had a solution for how he could return to the universe. He says that he could play a younger version of the character in the film and would be able to do so thanks to a company that he works with that can de-age actors to make them look 10 to 50 years younger than they are.
Shatner also joked about what could be some of the plot development for his character returning to the universe.
“‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here.’ There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper [in his hair]. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!’”
While these are only ideas being suggested, Shatner is keeping busy working on other projects. One that just completed last year was a biographical documentary on his life called You Can Call Me Bill, which is now available On Demand and can be purchased on different streaming sites.
The 93-year-old joked that he is so active and sharp because he cares for himself and has gotten lucky with his genetics.
“I eat well, I exercise, I ride horses a lot,” Shatner said.