There is only going to be one Captain Kirk in STAR TREK BEYOND, and it’s all Chris Pine.
That’s the word from William Shatner, the original Captain James T. Kirk of STAR TREK lore, as it pertains to any cameo rumors that have persisted in recent months that he’d be making an appearance in the next STAR TREK sequel.
In an interview with SFX Magazine, Shatner says that, while someone may have planned something at some point, he was never privy to those ideas actually becoming a thing.
There was never a conversation… It would have been interesting to see what their fertile imaginations could have done with somebody who is 20 years older than when Captain Kirk died [in Star Trek Generations] and how they would have explained the difference in appearance. But that never came up. I’m sure they must have thought of it one time or another but I never had a substantial conversation about replaying the role.
Shatner’s possible involvement seemed to stem from Bob Orci’s plans for the third STAR TREK film, but let’s not forget… Orci is no longer involved with BEYOND, having dropped out of directing the film – a vacancy later filled by Justin Lin – and Simon Pegg and Doug Jung were tasked with penning a page-one rewrite of the entire project… so, while Shatner and Pine may have been in the cards to share the screen as a pair of Kirks, it doesn’t look to be the case any longer.
STAR TREK BEYOND docks in theaters on July 22, 2016.