In 1994, William Shatner appeared for the last time in a Star Trek film or series, starring once again as James T. Kirk. That year was the release of Star Trek Generations, the first film featuring the crew of The Next Generation and the last film featuring the crew of the Original Series.
It was a spiritual and literal passing of the baton, with Shatner's Kirk meeting Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard just before Kirk dies for good. It was the end of Shatner's run with Star Trek, and while he's done many conventions, interviews, and documentaries for Star Trek, he's never returned in a creative sense.
That is, until now. Exactly 30 years ago, Shatner took his final bow as James Kirk, walking away from the role he made famous in his early 60s. Now, in his early 90s, Shatner is back in the seat again. Though, not in the captain's chair.
Serving as an executive producer alongside Leonard Nimoy's late wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, Shatner oversaw the creation of a short film called "Unification", which saw prolific character actor (and Star Wars mainstay) Sam Witwer play the role of Kirk. Though it was Witwer playing the character, thanks to the use of prosthetics and CGI, Witwer looked just like Shatner.
The short film was done in conjunction with the Roddenberry Archive, a project designed to establish Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's legacy forever with a digital footprint. Over the last year or so, several short films have come out, but this may be the most important. Not only did it feature Shatner as an executive producer, but it's a project that was done in conjunction with Paramount.
So while it may not be officially canon, it was officially done under the official Star Trek banner. It's been a long-time coming for Shatner to return to Star Trek in any meaningful and official way, but we're glad it happened. If we get nothing else, then this visual spectacle will serve as a fitting close to the run Shatner had with the franchise.
A run that started as a shaky second-pilot, and morphed into a franchise that has spanned decades.
