Before we get to what J.J. Abrams has to say about his upcoming STAR TREK movie, let us humor a teensy bit of hot air from a loveable old kook. Sci-Fi Wire caught up with William Shatner and was told, “I met with J.J., and they told me they would like me to be part of their film, but they have to write the role… It’s a very complex, technical problem of how to write the character in, and I’m not sure how they will solve it.” In regards to his role, he also said something about the filmmakers finding a way to incorporate “the dead captain in with the young captain,” which doesn’t make much sense, especially considering that Shatner also supposedly confirmed in this interview that the under-wraps storyline does indeed follow a young Kirk (and Spock, presumably). Who’s the dead captain? In all fairness, his statement was that the film is “based on” on the adventures of young Captain Kirk, so it’s possible the focus will be on a different character. Or maybe Shatner’s just crazy. Don’t get me wrong, a cameo from Shatner in Abram’s TREK is entirely plausible, but I’d imagine getting him in the film is not as much the utmost concern as his words here suggest.
Meanwhile, Abrams told Entertainment Weekly of the recently completed first draft of the script, “On the one hand, for people who love Star Trek, the fix that they will get will be really satisfying. For people who’ve never seen it or know it vaguely, I think they will enjoy it equally, because the movie does not require you to know anything about Star Trek. I would actually prefer [that] people don’t know the series, because I feel like they will come to it with an open mind.” So, are any Trekkies pissed that the film won’t be steeped in Trek lore?