William Shatner Shot Down A “Serious, Animated” Captain Kirk Star Trek Return

William Shatner turned down a unique idea to return as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Ever since Captain Kirk was canonically killed off in 1994's Star Trek Generations, William Shatner has been sought after to reprise Kirk in various Star Trek TV series and movies. Kirk is one of the few Star Trek icons whose death actually stuck, while others, like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Data (Brent Spiner), died and were resurrected. The latest attempt to court Mr. Shatner's comeback as Captain Kirk was from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

TrekMovie spoke with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds executive producer Henry Alonso Myers, who confirmed that he and co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman tried to get William Shatner to guest star in every season: “Yeah, we were trying to [get Shatner]. We were genuinely having a long discussion with him about it…” Myers details their offer to Mr. Shatner: to reprise Captain Kirk in a "serious" sequel to "The City on the Edge of Forever," but in the style of Star Trek: The Animated Series. Read Myers' quote below:

Henry Alonso Myers: “What we were trying to do was an animated episode with him. We wanted to do... a very serious one. We had a whole plan to do it around him and to redo ‘City on the Edge of Forever’ and kind of do a retelling — not a retelling, like a part two kind of thing.”

“We wanted to try to get him involved. And we had a long discussion with him about it. And sometimes these things work out, sometimes they don’t. We wanted to find something that would have pulled him in and made him interested. Sometimes it’s hard to find something on the same page as the people you want to work with.”

"The City on the Edge of Forever" is considered Star Trek's greatest episode, where Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock time traveled to Great Depression-era New York City to prevent the timeline from being altered. Kirk fell in love with Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), but let her die so time could proceed as it should.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds hoped to entice William Shatner to play Kirk in "a part two," positing an alternate timeline where Captain Kirk saved Edith Keeler and stayed with his greatest love. Making it an animated episode not only homages Star Trek: The Animated Series, but also circumvents any issues with the 95-year-old Shatner playing his most iconic alter ego once more.

Interestingly, William Shatner issued a public statement online addressing reprising Captain Kirk:

If someone came up with a meaningful way to bring Captain Kirk back to life, and gave him something genuinely interesting to do that added to the beauty and spirit of Star Trek, I would be delighted to consider it... But that has never come up... So, until someone comes knocking with an idea worthy of Kirk... I wait. For them. Or for eternity.

Many fans interpret this as Mr. Shatner's tacit explanation of saying no to guest-starring in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Whether it is or not, Bill turning down Strange New Worlds' animated "The City on the Edge of Forever" sequel can be interpreted as him feeling that the idea was not "worthy of Kirk," "meaningful" enough, or not sufficiently adding to "the beauty and spirit of Star Trek."

Meanwhile, Strange New Worlds season 4's finale honored Star Trek: The Animated Series in a different way, by adding characters like Lieutenant M'Ress to Captain Kirk's (Paul Wesley) USS Enterprise in live-action.

At this point, William Shatner will likely never play Captain Kirk again, but that seems to suit the legendary actor just fine. Captain Kirk will return in the series finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which will end its fifth and final season with Shatner's successor, Paul Wesley, becoming Captain of the USS Enterprise and launching Star Trek: The Original Series' five-year mission.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 1 to 4 are streaming on Paramount+