Even though Shatner in talks with Paramount to return as James T. Kirk, the possibility of his return to the franchise feels a little greater compared to recent years, although nothing has been confirmed just yet. The actor has declared that any comeback has to "mean something" rather than just being for the sake of taking place, but it also needs to make canonical sense.

After making his debut as Captain Kirk as part of played in the Kelvin Timeline movies by Chris Pine, and by Paul Wesley in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, it really would be something else to have the original actor back.

6 William Shatner Could Return As Kirk From Another Star Trek Universe

Prime Kirk is dead, but other versions could appear

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 recently reminded everyone of just how vast the franchise's multiverse is. It's not a trope that Star Trek often explores, but it does it just as well as any other saga when it chooses to. Star Trek's multiverse has already allowed the return of certain legacy actors in alternate versions of their original roles, so there's no reason why the same opportunity can't be afforded to Shatner.

One possibility is for Shatner to reprise his role as Emperor Tiberius, the version of Kirk from Michelle Yeoh's Emperor Georgiou in Star Trek: Discovery.

5 Time Travel Could Create A Timeline Where Kirk Survives Star Trek Generations

Kirk's death at the end of the 1994 Star Trek movie could be undone

At the moment, William Shatner has aged out of playing Kirk in Star Trek's Prime Universe, as the main version of the character canonically perished in Star Trek Generations during his team-up with Captain Picard. If Paramount is willing or able to digitally de-age Shatner for the entirety of his potential comeback, it won't be as much of a problem, but doing so would be time-consuming and expensive. Plus. it might just not look that great. That being said, Kirk's death could be retconned using time travel.

There are many Trekkies still unhappy with how Kirk left the franchise in Star Trek Generations, so a retcon such as this would solve that issue. Plus, it would mean Prime Kirk could live to an age much closer to Shatner's current age. That way, the nonagenarian actor could simply reprise the role without the need for digital intervention or high-concept multiverse storylines.

4 Star Trek Could Bring James T. Kirk Back Via A Transporter Malfunction

Commander Riker's transporter clone storyline is a prime example of how this could work

Star Trek's transporters can be temperamental and buggy machines. There are several episodes throughout the franchise that prove just how many things can go wrong when trying to beam a character from one location to another. Just a couple of examples are Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) becoming a single entity in Star Trek: Voyager's "Tuvix," and Commander Riker (Jonathon Frakes) discovering he has a transporter clone in Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Second Chances." For Shatner to come back, the TNG storyline would serve as a more suitable example.

Shatner's age would likely need to be applied to the transporter clone, but after a line like, "The temporal compensators degraded after decades of neglect," it would make sense why Kirk's pattern wasn't perfectly preserved.

To illustrate, Kirk traveled by transporter countless times throughout the Star Trek timeline, and not all instances will have been tied to the Enterprise. All it would take would be for Star Trek to introduce an old transporter that was used by Kirk at some point, and include the twist that a copy of Kirk has been stuck in the pattern buffer all this time. Shatner's age would likely need to be applied to the transporter clone, but after a line like, "The temporal compensators degraded after decades of neglect," it would make sense why Kirk's pattern wasn't perfectly preserved.

3 Section 31 Could Resurrect Shatner's Kirk After Recovering His Remains In Star Trek: Picard

Kirk's remains are no longer buried on Veridian III

James T. Kirk dies on Veridian III in Star Trek Generations, and Picard gives him a burial under a pile of rocks on the surface of the uninhabited beta quadrant planet. His remains buried there for a long while, but Star Trek: Picard 3 came with the shocking revelation that Kirk's body was recovered by Section 31 at some point and placed into stasis at the Daystrom Institute.

The Federation-run institute that's been revealed to be harboring Kirk's remains specializes in advanced robotics and other technological research. So, if they are storing the dead body of a decorated Starfleet officer, it stands to reason that they would have something in mind akin to resurrection. It seems like a very specific addition to Star Trek canon if the franchise isn't planning to bring back Shatner as Kirk, but such a twist hasn't yet been officially confirmed.

2 Shatner Could Appear As A Future Version Of Chris Pine's James T. Kirk In Star Trek 4

Star Trek 4 could allow Shatner to (kind of) follow in Leonard Nimoy's footsteps

There is already a loose blueprint in place that could allow William Shatner to come back to Star Trek as James T. Kirk, and it exists in JJ Abrams' 2009 reboot movie - the simply-titled Star Trek. Taking place in an alternate reality called the Kelvin Timeline, Zachary Quinto's Spock was visited by Leonard Nimoy's Prime version of the character at the end of the movie to give him some sage words of wisdom. The destruction of the USS Kelvin had caused their two realities to diverge, so although both Spocks had the same origin, they had essentially become separate characters.

If and when the third sequel happens, Shatner could travel back from the Kelvin Timeline's future as an older version of Chris Pine's version of the character.

Although Abrams' Star Trek series hasn't been active since the third installment in 2016, iral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) visiting her past self in the Star Trek: Voyager finale.

1 Star Trek: Prodigy Season 3 Getting The Green Light Would Open The Door To A Shatner Voice Cameo

The Netflix show has already used time travel to tell its story

Star Trek's animated content has served as the perfect platform for various franchise comebacks in recent years. Although Star Trek: Lower Decks would have been perfect to accommodate Shatner's return, the animated comedy drawing to a close in 2024 means such a collaboration is no longer possible. Thankfully, there is still the possibility of Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 getting the greenlight, if Netflix deems another run worth of production. If so, Kirk could be cast in a voice role alongside other franchise stars and figures from Star Trek's modern era.

Although Star Trek: Prodigy is set after Kirk's death in Star Trek Generations, the animated show has already made heavy use of time travel to tell its story. Plus, although it's technically a spiritual successor to Star Trek: Voyager, characters from other franchise installments have already shown up - such as Wil Wheaton's Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation. So, William Shatner returning to Star Trek in this way wouldn't really call for any concessions.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

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  William Shatner

  Birthdate

  March 22, 1931

  Birthplace

  Montreal, Quebec, Canada

  Height

  5 feet 9 inches

  Notable Projects

  Star Trek: Enterprise

  Professions

  Actor, Author, Producer, Director, Singer

  Discover the latest news and filmography for William Shatner, known for Star Trek and Boston Legal.

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• 

  Star Trek

  Created by

  Gene Roddenberry

  First Film

  Star Trek: The Motion Picture

  First TV Show

  Star Trek: The Original Series

  First Episode Air Date

  September 8, 1966

  Cast

  William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh

  TV Show(s)

  Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

  Star Trek is one of pop culture's biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.

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