William Shatner Says Paramount Might Bring Back Captain Kirk

The highly popular Unification short film seems to have struck a chord...

In November of last year on the OTOY YouTube channel, a short movie was released that had the Star Trek fandom buzzing. Dubbed 765874 - Unification and produced in conjunction with the Roddenberry Archive, the film revolves around Captain James T. Kirk and Mister Spock reuniting for one, last moment of closure. Released in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Star Trek Generations, the ten-minute film was a stirring mix of CGI, AI, and practical effects that brought Kirk to life through three different periods of his life in very convincing fashion. Of all the Star Trek misfires in recent years, it has proven to be one of the few projects to excite and unite Star Trek fandom. You can watch it right here:

It seems that the success of Unification was not lost on Paramount, at least based on a recent statement by William Shatner himself. According to the actor, he has been approached by a writer with the intent of bringing Kirk back. What that would mean and in what capacity is unknown, but Shatner shared with an audience at FanExpo Vancouver that "it would have to mean something" to properly bring Kirk back after so long being gone. This is a stark reversal from the the past few years of the character's handling by Paramount and Alex Kurtzman, the latter being the person who has spearheaded all of the failed and derided Star Trek content that's been coming out for years now. Kirk is largely ignored owing, many feel, to Shatner's more conservative political views.

Money talks, however, and with Paramount in dire financial straits and looking for a win, the success of Unification was surely too large to not try and capitalize on. If Shatner, who will turn 94 this year, is willing to look past recent transgressions and give Paramount one, final turn as Captain Kirk, surely they and fans will be happy to have him.

Source: ScreenRant