William Shatner Was Against Bringing Khan Back For ‘Star Trek II’

What would Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan have been like without Khan? The world will never know what could have been if the classic science fiction film hadn’t brought back the Star Trek: The Original Series villain, but star William Shatner was against the idea when it was first pitched.

Khan Noonian Singh, the genetically enhanced warlord played by Ricardo Montalban, first appeared in the Star Trek episode “Space Seed” and Shatner wasn’t keen on the idea of tying the Star Trek movies directly to the original series.

“I recall that they began to talk about the second movie, and the talk began to be about what segment of the 79 [TV episodes] that we shot would be useful,” Shatner says in an interview with IGN. “And I kept saying, ‘Why do we want to go to a segment? Why don’t we invent something absolutely new?’ And the people in charge were much more aware than I was that the fans would be more sympathetic to… [it] would be a better vibration if it echoed a popular hour from the series, and make that, and then further the story as a film.”

Looking back on the film 35 years later, Shatner admits that the filmmakers had a point and that Montalban’s return as Khan was a victory for the film series.

“They were absolutely right that there was a ramification doing it that way, and the fact that the actor [Ricardo Montalban] was able to repeat his role was another singular advantage,” Shatner says. “It’s a truism, that the more powerful the villain is the more powerful the hero. If the hero can overcome a powerful villain, look how much stronger that makes the hero. So the better the villain, the better the hero.”

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is returning to theaters for its 35th anniversary. There are also rumors swirling that Khan may return again in a prequel TV series.

In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) monitor trainees at Starfleet Academy, another vessel from the United Federation of Planets is about to try out the planet-creating Genesis Device in a seemingly deserted portion of space. In the process, two of Kirk’s officers are captured by Khan (Ricardo Montalban), an enemy Kirk thought he’d never see again. Once more, Kirk takes the Enterprise’s helm, where he meets Khan’s ship in an intergalactic showdown.