There’s going to be big Star Trek casting news in the weeks to come, with lots of info hitting the web before Comic Con, or so I’ve been told. But if a gossip story running in the New York Daily News is to be believed, one name you won’t be hearing in the cast list is William Shatner.
According to the paper, the Shat is furious that he’s not been offered a cameo in Star Trek XI, but that Leonard Nimoy has. Supposedly he’s currently lobbying for a role in the movie, just so he can keep up with Spock. Shatner’s manager, Larry Thompson, thinks the whole thing is bullshit, though: "I don’t know that to be the case, so I can’t comment."
Star Trek XI is almost certainly a prequel film and not a reboot, featuring a young Kirk, Spock and crew. While the idea of having cameos from the old men is nice, if it’s not a framing device with the elderly spacemen reminiscing I don’t see how it would work – these guys are too recognizable. If Shatner shows up as some Starfleet Admiral, we’re all going to be yanked out of the movie.
By the way, I have to admit to having some kind of Star Trek fever with the imminent production of the film – at least a fever for the original series. There’s something I love about that show where the campy and the serious stood side by side; look at an episode like City on the Edge of Forever, which has a really heartbreaking story but also Dr. McCoy all sweaty screaming ‘Assassins! Murderers!’ Man, you can laugh and cry at that shit.