Timelines are for the birds. Now that we have that out of the way, do you remember when William Shatner and J.J. Abrams had some supposed friction which led to Shatner not being a part of STAR TREK in 2009? He wasn’t part of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS either but by then many figured it was a lost cause. Well prepare to be teased once more as Roberto Orci (and co-writers John D. Payne and Patrick McKay) has gone as far as to write a part for Shatner in the STAR TREK 3 script. He just wants us all to get along I think.
Badass Digest reports:
"I have learned that the script for Star Trek 3 includes a scene that reteams Shatner and Nimoy onscreen as Kirk and Spock for the first time in canon since 1991′s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It would be a pretty huge moment for fans of the franchise, and likely the last time we’ll ever see Shatner as James T. Kirk in official continuity."
I don't think the quality of the franchise would take a hit if this was to happen; people love this type of stuff. Sure there are some continuity questions and concerns, but some mumbled exposition takes care of all that right? Faraci went on to say: “this appearance is plot-driven and integral enough that it might just survive any future revisions.” See, nothing to worry about.
The question really is if Shatner would return, and the answer of course is yes. So he implied once before anyways (and this discredits the notion of a feud between Abram and himself):
A new onscreen scene with Shatner and Nimoy would be awesome. While we’re at it though, would George Takei return? Maybe not: