No William Shatner Cameo in 'Star Trek'? J.J. Abrams Says Why
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Paramount, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
It's time for a paltry Star Trek update -- I think a new tidbit surfaces about once a month. A scan through Cinematical's archives reveals the last one was on August 15th, so we're right on schedule. This time, J.J. Abrams finally breaks his silence to SciFi Scanner about the original (and to many, the only) Captain Kirk. William Shatner has been pretty vocal about not being asked for so much as a cameo, particularly since Leonard Nimoy got one. Rumors tell us that just about all the surviving cast members might be popping up, too.
Well, it sounds as though Shatner has only himself to blame. According to Abrams, "It was very tricky. We actually had written a scene with him in it that was a flashback kind of thing, but the truth is, it didn't quite feel right. The bigger thing was that he was very vocal that he didn't want to do a cameo. We tried desperately to put him in the movie, but he was making it very clear that he wanted the movie to focus on him significantly, which, frankly, he deserves. The truth is, the story that we were telling required a certain adherence to the Trek canon and consistency of storytelling. It's funny -- a lot of the people who were proclaiming that he must be in this movie were the same people saying it must adhere to canon. Well, his character died on screen. Maybe a smarter group of filmmakers could have figured out how to resolve that."
Now, given the intense secrecy surrounding the film, we may all walk into the theater and find Shatner beaming back at us. Oh, the head shaking and bemusement that would ensue! But I think the rift is pretty real on this one.
Related Headlines
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. Despite the fact that i'm really not happy about this being made, it is nice to hear Abrams say that he'd been trying to get Shatner into it. But here's the problem JJ, you directed a (horrible) re-make of transformers, and he's WILLIAM SHATNER.
$*#@ing figure it out!
4. While I am not sure how I feel about the remake, and I believe if they were going to start fresh, they should have skipped the original cast entirely, I do want to point out:
Transformers (2007)
-Overview
-Director:Michael Bay
J.J. Abrams
Fringe: (Executive Producer, Writer)
Lost: (Executive Producer, Writer, Director)
Cloverfield (Producer)
Alias (Executive Producer, Writer, Director)
Mission Impossible III (Writer, Director)
And I liked Transformers. (I know it was dumb, the acting was mostly bad, but the action was fun.)
Posted at 11:29AM on Sep 9th 2008 by Scott K.
5. I like you, you don't let a little thing like facts get in the way of your rampant fanboyism! It takes a certain kind of mind to ignore reality in order to prove your point, I think you should consider running for office.
Posted at 1:36PM on Sep 9th 2008 by eugene
6. As far as I'm concerned, Shatner is the one and only Kirk. The character was a boyhood hero of mine and the man is a never-ending source of amusement and bemusement. I have great affection for Shatner (of course I don't know him and have never worked with him) so my fondness comes without negative baggage.
That being said, he does not deserve to be in this new movie for one reason: in 1994 he took blood money to kill off my boyhood hero, and in a lame fashion in a mediocre movie. Part of me has never forgiven him for that. Now Nimoy is getting a shot to come out of retirement to reprise Spock and the bloated male diva is having a tantrum. Too bad.
This very rant sounds a little like a tantrum, and I am an adult male who should not get worked up over what is, in the big picture, trivial stuff. However, to paraphrase Sarek, my logic is uncertain where Star Trek is concerned.
Posted at 11:33AM on Sep 9th 2008 by James
8. it's so clear these guys don't care about trek and that no real effort is being made to even make a good movie. i even heard there was going to be a musical number in it with orion girls and everyone knows orion girls can't sing. so stupid. they should leave the whole franchise to the fans. let them make new trek. they know what's best. always have.
Posted at 2:25PM on Sep 9th 2008 by d
9. I really really hope that last comment was a joke, because if it was it was so subtle it was brilliant.
Posted at 5:35PM on Sep 9th 2008 by Jason
10. We LOVE Bill Shatner. Come celebrate the man with us.
http://www.screenjunkies.com/general/13-craziest-william-shatner-moments
Posted at 12:09PM on Sep 10th 2008 by max powers
11. yeah, my rampant fanboyism was blinding me.
sometimes i just get hack directors confused when i'm filled with nerdy star trek rage.
the reality is, this movie will be a quickly forgotten, phenomenal waste of time and money.
and yeah, it'd be better if no original cast were involved.
Posted at 2:31PM on Sep 10th 2008 by juicerino
12. KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!
Posted at 12:32AM on Sep 13th 2008 by Stu
13. I am a Shatner and TOS fan. I am sure that the new movie will try to entice a new generation of viewers into the future like TNG show did. I do like the version of "young Kirk and young Spock" that Shatner developed in his book "Collision Course." Maybe someone should make a movie out of that story? Also, Shatner did resolve the Kirk death problem in his series of books that came out in 1995. I am just hoping that my collection of memorabilia increases in value on e-Bay. May we all continue to "Live Long and Prosper"
Posted at 7:38PM on Sep 15th 2008 by Alice Curry
Add your comments
Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.
When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.
1. Thank god he's not in it, I dont even like that Nimoy is in it, just leave these actors to their former glory and forge ahead into something new, if you keep trying to please a vocal few you'll always get tied up.
Posted at 9:50AM on Sep 9th 2008 by Hugo