After denying rumours of a Star Trek cameo, William Shatner reveals that he actually has been approached… and would love to reprise the role of captain James T. Kirk.
Apparently joining Leonard Nimoy for the upcoming ‘Star Trek’ sequel, Shatner recently made a fuss of denying the rumours of his return… but it seems he may have just been trying to cover his tracks.
But while appearing at the Wizard World Comic Con in Nashville, Shatner revealed to fans that he has been contacted about a part in the upcoming sequel. And it was apparently Star Trek director J.J. Abrams who got in touch.
“Shatner said that while he was visiting Australia a couple weeks ago, J.J. Abrams called him from London,” says comicbook.com. “Shatner said Abrams told him, ‘I’m calling because the director of Star Trek, the next movie, has had an idea where you might be involved, so I’m calling to find out whether you would be interested.’”
Of course, he was quick to take the bait… but not without a rather firm condition.
“It depends on what you do with the character,” he said. “But I would be delighted.”
Star Trek fans will no doubt recall that Shatner was approached for a cameo in Abrams’ first reboot… but rumours suggested that the ageing Star Trek captain was hanging on for a bigger role. Thankfully, it looks as though he may be willing to concede that one… and if a deal is made, this will be the first time Shatner and Nimoy have appeared together in Star Trek since the 1991 movie, ‘Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country’.
“Shatner said that Abrams warned him that he couldn’t say anything to anybody,” said comicbook.com. “Shatner agreed not to even tell his wife.”
Obviously, that cat’s out of the bag on this one… but not without some rather expert denials from both Shatner and rumoured director, Roberto Orci.
“It’s all over the Internet that the director had held an interview and said they want Shatner and Nimoy to be in the next movie,” he said. “I’ll bet you J.J.’s frothing at the mouth at this point. So the news is out that they have an idea that they want Leonard and myself… they might want Leonard and myself in it. But I would love to do it. But how do you get me fifty years later into the movie? I mean how do you rationalize it. I know it’s science fiction, but even I couldn’t come up with an idea. So that’s the news on that.”
Do you think Shatner should return to the Star Trek franchise? Will he make a great addition to Star Trek 3? Let us know what you think in the comments below…