William Shatner
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW
“Mr. Scott, set the de-ager for 40 years!”
William Shatner says he’s down to play Captain James T. Kirk in a movie again, and has an idea for how it might work.
The 93-year-old sci-fi legend told the Canadian Press that he’d be willing to return to the Starship Enterprise under certain conditions.
“It’s an intriguing idea,” Shatner said. “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.”
Shatner suggested he could play a younger version of his iconic character, thanks to a company he’s working with that specializes in de-aging technology that “takes years off your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are.”
Patrick Stewart and William Shatner in Star Trek: Generations.
Paramount Pictures/Photofest
While Kirk was, of course, killed off in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations (photo above), Shatner suggested that Kirk’s body and brain might have been frozen for posterity and then he gets revived years later.
“‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here,’” he mused. “There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper [in his hair]. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!’”
The prospect of this happening seems rather unlikely, of course. But filmmakers keep getting rather bold with de-aging technology, so it’s hardly impossible that a future Trek film might take Shatner up on his offer and at least try for a de-aged Kirk flashback or cameo of some kind.
Shatner was doing this interview to promote his biographical documentary You Can Call Me Bill, which is being released On Demand.
The actor famously journeyed into space in 2021 as a member of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin craft, becoming the oldest person to ever go into orbit.
Shatner has managed to remain quite sharp, energetic and hearty despite his years. The actor credits both genetic luck and taking care of himself.
“I eat well, I exercise, I ride horses a lot,” he said. “My wife cooks non-inflammatory foods extremely well.”
