William Shatner is one of the people largely responsible for the success of Star Trek, but his relationship with the franchise has become complicated over the past few decades. The actor hasn't held back in making polarizing comments about the modern direction of the franchise, and he wasn't holding back when pointing the finger at why his Captain Kirk may never return to the franchise. In a series of posts, Shatner took aim at Paramount+ and used it as evidence there's some potential grudge against keeping him involved.
This whole ordeal started on X (formerly Twitter) when a fan asked Shatner if fans will ever see Captain Kirk again after seeing the actor's response to Patrick Stewart getting another potential Picard movie. Instead of, I dunno, mentioning that Captain Kirk died in Star Trek: Generations (meaning bringing him back to life as an older gentleman could be difficult), Shatner said the following:
All you have to do is look at the Paramount+ graphics to answer that question. 😉 https://t.co/B4Rc9iUJGZ pic.twitter.com/uJEqIL7QZ7January 6, 2024
As seen above, William Shatner shared a photo of a picture of several Star Trek characters and most of the major Starfleet captains of the franchise. Shatner's Kirk is not on the poster, however, and the only representation from the original series is Leonard Nimoy's Spock. In the actor's opinion, this seems like evidence enough that he won't appear in any other upcoming Trek shows.
The actor continued on, noting that it's not the only time he's been snubbed by Paramount+ or its advertising. As for why that may be, William Shatner shared his own theory on why it continues to happen on the streamer:
It’s not the first time it’s been going on for years. It makes no difference to me that a group who think they are “enlightened” (or whatever they think they are) obviously feels threatened by the Kirk character. It’s a character from a 1960’s TV show- get over it.😉🤣 https://t.co/0QLH8HBc2O pic.twitter.com/ZR3vevL0U9January 8, 2024
William Shatner's relationship with Star Trek has been complicated over the years. The actor garnered attention when he remarked decisions made in the modern shows would make creator Gene Roddenberry turn in his grave. There have also been stories of past interactions he had with actors like Wil Wheaton, which showed the fandom another side of the actor than they'd maybe expected.
As for how William Shatner feels about being left out of the more recent years of Star Trek -- to the point he's not even in the advertising -- he claims it's not affecting him.
In the third post referencing the situation, Shatner stated that his legacy as Captain Kirk is set in stone, and trying to remove him by "erasing the past" isn't going to work:
It doesn’t bother me in the least. A bunch of self righteous strangers thinking they are sending a message by erasing the past?Who is going to forget? It’s everywhere. It’s so indoctrinated that it will take many generations to be forgotten no matter what they do. Let it be.😑January 8, 2024
While William Shatner's work in the original Star Trek is still available with a Paramount+ subscription, the franchise has introduced a new James T. Kirk in Strange New Worlds. Paul Wesley is now two seasons in the role and is open to carrying on the character's legacy outside of Strange New Worlds.
The string of comments caused a wide variety of responses from the online fandom, both in support and against. It seems William Shatner wasn't interested in continuing the narrative, however.
pic.twitter.com/2RuzCN4XnzJanuary 8, 2024
It is worth mentioning there have been claims over the years that 92-year-old William Shatner is not the person tweeting from his account, though there is no official confirmation of this theory, nor is there an explanation about who or why it could be possible. In any case, it's caused quite a stir over on social media, and I'm sure there will be many arguments about what the actor's legacy in the franchise should be longterm.
As mentioned, Star Trek's original episodes are available on Paramount+. As for William Shatner, he's always worth keeping tabs on via social media as he might just be one of the most active senior actors in the business, giving Dick Van Dyke a run for his money.
Even if he won't return to the franchise, I still think the odds are solid when it comes to him appearing in other projects before too long.
