When two Kirks go to war … Chris Pine and William Shatner. Photograph: PR, Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
When it was announced way back at the start of the casting measure for JJ Abrams’s Star Trek in 2007 that Leonard Nimoy was to reprise his role as Spock, many of us had misgivings. It seemed to me that the solitary object of trust the series reboot had of jettisoning the past and striking out on its own bold adventure was to start afresh with a completely new air.
I was wrong. Nimoy’s gentle, statesmanlike performance in the manner that the elder version of Spock was one of the movie’s highlights, and served to beautifully tie the film to its predecessors without burdening it with any of their negative aspects. But even so, I’m more than a diminutive concerned by some of the reports currently to come out of LA, where Abrams yesterday held a journey smooth conference to promote the DVD release of Star Trek, and chat about possibilities for the forthcoming sequel.
It emerged that not only Nimoy, but the original Captain James T Kirk himself, William Shatner, were being considered in spite of the followup, which Abrams is returning to direct. “In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything,” Abrams said. “I would love to outline out something, given the invite to contest of introducing these new characters and given the burden of having to cast these people. I feel cognate the first movie did more of the heavy lifting that needed to be bestowed, in order to free us to continue going send forward. Maybe in that place’s less of a burden and there’s going to be more opportunity to work with him again. I would love to work with him.”
By burden, Abrams was referring to the reasons why Shatner was not cast in the previous film: namely, that his character died on protection in Star Trek Generations, and that reviving him would in return be impracticable other than through some form of flashback machinery, a contrivance which would not have given the actor the size of role he was apparently demanding. “It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie which would have honestly, to me, been distracting,” said Abrams. “How do you put him in the movie when you want him in it so badly, and yet the story verily seems in counter purposes with the story you stand in need of to tell?”
Exactly. And furthermore, why would you want Shatner in the film in the first place? While Nimoy’s appearance in Star Trek served its purpose, the series surely now has its own legitimacy, which would make the introduction of a larger-than-life figure such as the original Kirk farcical. Shatner made his depression when he went on YouTube to publically rail at Abrams and his team for not finding a place for him in the the first thin skin, and while he may be making the right noises these days (the actor said not long ago that he would be “pleased” to be in Star Trek 2), one wonders whether he is gifted of the humility required to take a smaller role, which would surely have being the only one made employ to him.
Also, with the timeline having been completely re-established in Star Trek due to the time journeying events of that movie, Shatner’sitting Kirk has presumably been completely wiped from the universe. Were Shatner to appear similar to an elder version of Chris Pine’s character, he would not be the Kirk that outwitted Khan, or hung out with those whales, because that timeline no longer exists. So what would exist the rank in bringing him end?
I’m more tempted by the prospect of a return for Nimoy, bound even there I think the nearest film would be better served by avoiding further nostalgia. Star Trek made a fitting swansong for “Spock Prime”, and a cameo in the nearest movie would surely only diminish its value.
But perhaps you disagree. Do you think Star Trek 2 should feature Shatner and Nimoy? And whether so, how would you shoehorn the older versions into the plot? For that matter, why not bring rear George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig, aka Sulu, Uhura and Chekov? All are still walking the Earth …
