The Star Trek franchise returned to the small screen on CBS All Access in January when Patrick Stewart revived his role as Jean-Luc Picard.
But when a fan asked William Shatner if he, too, might star once again as Captain James T. Kirk, the veteran star demurred.
‘No. I think Kirk’s story is pretty well played out at this point,’ Shatner, 88, said on Twitter.
‘Played out’: William Shatner, 88, pictured on stage at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo on Sunday, has said he is done playing his iconic Star Trek character Captain James T. Kirk
Done: Responding to a question from a fan on Twitter, Shatner tweeted: ‘I think Kirk’s story is pretty well played out at this point’
Last summer, however, it was a different story when Quentin Tarantino revealed his hopes to direct a R-rated Star Trek movie.
‘Well, I’d like to do it. Whether I’d be up for it, I don’t know,’ Shatner said during an interview with Reuters in July 2019.
Then, turning to the camera, he addressed Tarantino directly, saying: ‘If you’re going to do Star Trek fifty years later, a few pounds heavier, come on, not a problem.’
Change of heart: Last summer, however, it was a different story when Quentin Tarantino revealed his hopes to direct a R-rated Star Trek movie. ‘Well, I’d like to do it. Whether I’d be up for it, I don’t know,’ Shatner said during an interview with Reuters in July 2019
Project: At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019, Tarantino confirmed that a script exists for his proposed Star Trek movie but it would only happen if Paramount approved an adult version
At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019, Tarantino confirmed to Empire that a script exists for his proposed Star Trek movie but it would only happen, he said, if Paramount approved a more adult version.
There’s been no update since on the project’s status.
Any return of Captain Kirk would have to find a way around the fact that the character was killed off in the 1994 movie Star Trek: Generations.
In the film, Kirk comes out of retirement to joined forces with Captain Picard of the USS Enterprise-D to stop a villain from destroying a solar system.
The mission succeeds but costs Kirk his life.
Icon: Shatner first appeared on screen as Captain Kirk in 1966 in the original TV series that ran for three seasons. He reprised the character in a bunch of movies and Kirk was killed off in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations
Meanwhile, Patrick Stewart, 79, revealed he initially did not want to return as Picard for the CBS All Access subscription streaming platform.
‘It’s a big deal for me because I have so many times publicly said, ‘I’m done. Star Trek was wonderful, and it changed my life and my career, but I have said it all and there is nothing more to say’,’ Stewart said during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in January.
The British actor added: ‘I didn’t just want to say, ‘No. Pass’, so I went to the meeting to explain to them face-to-face why I couldn’t do it. And then they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse!’
He said he had some conditions about reprising the role, explaining: ‘There were conditions – no uniform and no Enterprise. They said they could live with that and they have made a huge commitment to the series. We hope it is amazing.’
CBS All Access renewed Picard for a second 10-episode season before the release of the first which premiered on January 23.
Candid: Patrick Stewart, 79, revealed in January he initially did not want to return as Captain Jean-Luc Picard for a new series on the CBS All Access subscription streaming platform
Show me the money: ‘I didn’t just want to say, ‘No. Pass’, so I went to the meeting to explain to them face-to-face why I couldn’t do it,’ Stewart said. ‘And then they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse!’