Star Trek: The Original Series season 2's classic episode, "Mirror, Mirror," introduced the Mirror Universe, Star Trek's alternate reality where humans formed the fascist Terran Empire instead of the United Federation of Planets. In "Mirror, Mirror", Captain Kirk and some of his USS Enterprise crew were switched with their Mirror Universe counterparts. In the alternate reality, Kirk learned that his evil double owned a weapon aboard the ISS Enterprise called the Tantalus Field that he used to make his enemies vanish.
Nothing more was revealed about the Tantalus Field, and Star Trek's subsequent stories set in the Mirror Universe never mentioned Captain Kirk's diabolical technology again. However, had William Shatner appeared on Star Trek: Enterprise, the truth about the Tantalus Field not only would have been clarified, but it would also have been integral to what happened to the evil Kirk, and how he meets Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise.
William Shatner’s Rejected Star Trek: Enterprise Appearance Would’ve Explained Kirk’s Tantalus Field
The Tantalus Field Still Has No Canonical Explanation In Star Trek
In the original “Mirror, Mirror,” the evil Kirk had a device that was called the Tantalus field, which you press a button and his enemies would vanish. Now, it was implied in there, in that episode, that they just kind of died, but what the Reeves-Stevenes were saying [was], “What if what this field did was transport everyone who was opposed to him into this pocket universe?” So, they were all on this planet surviving. At the end of that episode, it’s implied that the good Kirk had convinced the evil Spock to take command from the evil Kirk. And Kirk told him about the Tantalus field. So you would have surmised that at the end, the evil Spock would have sent Kirk to the Tantalus field [and taken] command of the Enterprise.
William Shatner's Star Trek: Enterprise proposal would also have clarified what happened between the Mirror Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the Mirror Captain Kirk after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series' "Mirror, Mirror." Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Mirror Universe episodes explained that Spock attempted to institute reforms and change the Terran Empire. Shatner's Star Trek: Enterprise story would have filled in how Spock used the Tantalus Field to banish Captain Tiberius Kirk, who would have tried to stop the goateed Vulcan.
Why William Shatner’s Star Trek: Enterprise Appearance Never Happened
Shatner Might Have Saved Star Trek: Enterprise
We sketched it out. We brought it to the studio. The studio looked at it, just in broad strokes. They said, “Great.” And then either agent, lawyer, someone from Bill’s team called [us] up, and I will not even mention the numbers. But the number was probably 8x more than the studio had any interest in.
In The Center Seat, Manny Coto had his own take: [Paramount] wanted [Enterprise] to die." In season 4, the UPN Network and Paramount decided to cancel Star Trek: Enterprise. Coto's spin is that the studio didn't hire Shatner "not because he was too expensive, but because they might've saved the series. That's my conspiratorial thinking." Indeed, William Shatner appearing on Star Trek: Enterprise would have lured longtime fans and boosted ratings for the series. However, it's also likely that not even Shatner would have saved Enterprise from the network's ax.
Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4 Did A Mirror Universe Story Without William Shatner
The Mirror Universe Also Returned In Star Trek: Discovery & Star Trek: Section 31
Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 showrunner Manny Coto loved the Mirror Universe and decided to tell a story in the alternate reality without William Shatner. Star Trek: Enterprise season 4's "In a Mirror, Darkly" was a two-parter set entirely in the twisted parallel universe. "In a Mirror, Darkly" was about Commander Jonathan Archer scheming to gain power in the Terran Empire by commandeering the USS Defiant, a 23rd century Constitution Class starship that crossed over from Star Trek's Prime timeline.
Instead of answering questions about the Tantalus Field from "Mirror, Mirror," Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 's "In a Mirror, Darkly" became a sequel to a different Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "The Tholian Web." "In a Mirror, Darkly" revealed the fate of the USS Defiant, which vanished in "The Tholian Web." In the Mirror Universe, the USS Defiant was indeed stolen by the self-styled Captain Archer, until he was betrayed by Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), who took over the starship and declared herself the new Empress of the Terrans.
DID YOU KNOW: Star Trek: Prodigy season 2's episode, "Cracked Mirror", revealed the state of the Terran Empire in the late 24th century.
William Shatner Still Hints He's Making A Star Trek Comeback
But Not In The Mirror Universe
20 years after Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled in season 4, William Shatner could potentially return to Star Trek. In February 2024,m Shatner was a guest at Fan Expo Vancouver and revealed that a writer from a currently in-development Star Trek series contacted him about returning. Shatner said, “I have been asked to come back as Kirk so many times. If Kirk is going to come back, it has to mean something. It has to be the show. But I was so impressed by this writer, so I said, 'Let’s talk after I’m done in Vancouver.'"
Whether anything will come of the 94-year-old William Shatner's Star Trek comeback is unknown. However, Shatner performed as Captain Kirk for the first time since 1994's Star Trek Generations in the short film 765874 – Unification. Shatner collaborated with actor Sam Witwer and computer graphics company OTOY to bring back Captain Kirk and reunite him with Spock. If William Shatner does return to Star Trek, it won't be as Tiberius Kirk, and the answer to the Tantalus Field's mystery from his rejected Star Trek: Enterprise pitch will remain non-canonical.
