Age may be a deterring factor for a lot of things, but William Shatner thinks otherwise. Despite being 93 years of age, the veteran actor is open to reprising his role as Captain Kirk in a new Star Trek project — so long as the script impresses him.
Speaking to The Canadian Press, he shared that he won’t rule out the possibility, admitting that it would be a challenge. Still, Shatner is willing to give it another go if the stars align.
“It’s an intriguing idea,” said the star. “It’s almost impossible. But if was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it.”
To work around the age barrier, Shatner suggested using de-aging technology to turn him into a younger version of Starship Enterprise captain, much like how 80-year-old Harrison Ford was able to portray a younger-looking Indy in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
“[It] takes years off of your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are,” added the spokesperson for Otoy, a company specialising in de-aging technology.
Then, there’s the issue of Kirk’s death in the 1994 movie Star Trek Generations, which ended up being Shatner’s last outing in the popular franchise. The actor has come up with a plot device that could bring back his version of Kirk, and it involves brain-freezing technology.
“A company that wants to freeze my body and my brain for the future might be a way of going about it,” Shatner said. “‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here.’ There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!’”
The role of Captain Kirk was succeeded by Chris Pine in J.J. Abram’s Star Trek franchise, comprising 2009’s Star Trek, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, and 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. A fourth movie is in the works, with Zachary Quinto (as Cmdr. Spock), Zoe Saldaña (as Lt. Nyota Uhura), Karl Urban (as Dr. Leonard McCoy), John Cho (as Lt. Hikaru Sulu), and Simon Pegg (as chief engineer Montgomery Scott) expected to return.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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