Star Trek: William Shatner Didn't Think He Had a Choice in Captain Kirk's Death

In 1994, the career of Starfleet legend James T. Kirk came to an end in the film Star Trek: Generations. Fans weren't very pleased with how Kirk's death and star William Shatner says he didn't have much say in the matter.

Shatner reprised his famous role as Kirk for a final time in Star Trek: Generations. The film brought Kirk together with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) of the USS Enterprise-D. Picard convinced Kirk to help stop the villain Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from blowing up the sun of the planet Veridian III. They were successful, but Kirk was mortally wounded in the effort.

The manner of Kirk's death is still a sticking point with Star Trek fans. In an interview with Trek Movie, Shatner says the decision to kill Kirk was out of his hands.

"Well, I didn't think I had any choice in the matter," Shatner says. "Paramount had decided that the ceiling that they could reach in our box office had been reached and they thought that by putting in the Next Generation cast, that they would reach a higher box office. That decision had been made. It was either I was going to appear and die, or they were going to say he died. So, I chose the more practical of the two.

"That was their theory. It didn't work out that way, but that is the way it was."

Patrick Stewart recently announced that he will return to his role as Picard in a new Star Trek series on CBS All Access. Shatner has since commented on whether he might reprise his own Star Trek role in a future series.

"Right now I'm happy doing what I'm doing," Shatner said. "I've been offered many series over the years. But I haven't done them because of the commitment of time. And at this stage of my life, that's more valuable than anything else."

Still, Shatner says that if the Star Trek writers can justify having Kirk back from the dead and decades older than he was the last time anyone saw him, he wouldn't rule out a guest appearance or cameo.

"It will have to pass through enormous hurdles including permission from Paramount," Shatner explained, "and then they'll have to get back to me and see where things are at."

What do you think of how Captain Kirk died in Star Trek: Generations? Let us know what you think in the comments section!