William Shatner's Kirk Returns In Nostalgic New Star Trek Short Honoring Generations' 30th Anniversary

William Shatner's Captain Kirk returns from the dead in a new Star Trek short celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Generations. Shatner’s Kirk helmed the starship Enterprise beginning with the original 1960s series and continuing through six original-cast feature films. The last on-screen appearance for the most iconic Star Trek captain came in 1994’s Generations, a bridge film handing the reins of Trek from the stars of TOS to the TNG cast.

It’s now been 30 years since Kirk met his somewhat unceremonious end in the much-maligned Generations, but the OG Enterprise captain is back in a short film celebrating that three-decade anniversary, courtesy of OTOY. Also appearing in the clip, titled 765874 - Unification, are Leonard Nimoy's Spock, along with Robin Curtis as Saavik, Mahé Thaissa as J.M. Colt, and Gary Lockwood as Gary Mitchell. To create Kirk and Spock respectively, digital prosthetics were added to live action performers Sam Witwer and Lawrence Sellek. Carlos Baena directed the clip from a story by Jules Urbach, while Oscar-nominated composer Michael Giacchino provided the music.

Creatives behind 764874 - Unification reacted to the short's release via social media:

What 765874 – Unification Means For Star Trek

Kirk Gets A Better Ending Than He Received In Generations

1994’s Star Trek: Generations provided a necessary bridge between the OG Trek movies, starring the TOS cast, and a new run of films headed up by the stars of The Next Generation. Unfortunately, only three OG Trek characters – Kirk, Scotty and Chehov – were on-hand to pass the baton to their younger successors. Adding another sour note to what should have been a rousing farewell, Kirk’s eventual death in the film was criticized for being anticlimactic after decades of thrilling space-hopping adventures.

Unification now brings Kirk back for one last Star Trek bow, and the send-off he receives is more emotionally satisfying than the disappointing ending he suffered in Generations. The short also features return appearances from some deep cut Trek characters, including the Vulcan Saavik, OG Trek character Colt and Kirk friend Gary Mitchell. But the highlight has to be the return of Leonard Nimoy's Spock, whom Kirk encounters during the short film’s depiction of what appears to be Star Trek heaven.

Our Take On Shatner’s Return To Star Trek

This Might Not Be The Last Time Shatner’s Kirk Appears On-Screen

Shatner himself contributed to Unification by acting as executive producer, in which capacity he offered creative direction, and by doing some voice over narration. The physical Kirk character is not Shatner of course, but actor Witmer in costume wearing a digitally created Shatner face. There’s some uncanny valley effect to the digitally-rendered Kirk and Spock, but overall the clip succeeds in conjuring the spirit of the iconic characters.

Shatner has notoriously been shut out of the Star Trek franchise since his appearance in Generations, and it seems the door will not be open to the star any time soon. That being the case, the only avenue for Shatner’s version of Kirk to return to Trek is as the sort of computer-generated character featured in Unification. The technology used to craft such digital recreations is only getting better with time, and soon it will be possible to convincingly resurrect retired and deceased performers.

The ethics of such resurrections will continue to be debated, of course, but in the meantime, Hollywood will likely not hold back in boldly going where the industry has never gone before. Unification had the blessing of Nimoy’s estate in using his likeness for a digital Spock, and as long as such permission is granted, things will seem above-board. If things continue on their present course, audiences may soon be seeing Shatner’s Kirk and Nimoy’s Spock back on the big screen in a new original time-line Star Trek movie.