Star Trek has had many great captains, but no matter how big the franchise and its lore get, Captain James T. Kirk remains an enduring icon who cannot be forgotten. Equally iconic is Captain Kirk actor William Shatner, who is still making headlines in his ’90s with his takes on Star Trek and fandom culture as a whole, not to mention the actual trip he took to space in 2021.
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However, one thing you won’t see William Shatner doing is making an appearance in any new Star Trek project. The actor has been graciously candid with his take that not only has he done everything he wants to with the role, but that everything that can be done with the character has been done already. Shatner certainly has more claim to his opinion on Captain Kirk than most other people on Planet Earth, but it doesn’t make him right. If anything, the Star Trek franchise has spent the last few years (and counting) proving just how wrong he is.
Shatner’s Captain Kirk Isn’t the Only Take on the Character
The first thing that William Shatner may not be able to acknowledge is that the role of Captain Kirk has expanded beyond him. An entire generation of Star Trek fans grew up with Chris Pine as their Captain Kirk, thanks to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies of the 2010s. Pine was, admittedly, doing a loose imitation of Shatner’s Kirk, but he was able to make his version of the character iconic all over again.
More recently, the TV series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series) has introduced a younger version of James T. Kirk, played by former Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley. Wesley has been playing Kirk since the Season 1 finale of Strange New Worlds in 2022, and has been steadily increasing his Star Trek fan base this whole time. While Wesley has done well recreating a lot of the mannerisms and offbeat cadence of Kirk, he has also been praised for doing far more than mere imitation of Shatner’s character: Wesley’s Kirk has been the focus of some intense episodes of Strange New Worlds, but those stories have revealed this version of Kirk to have a lot more obvious depth and heart, as he learns fundamental lessons that are shaping him into the future captain of the USS Enterprise.
While the fan base watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds may be smaller than the film audience, it’s significant enough to acknowledge that the franchise has accomplished a major feat in recasting one of its most iconic characters. That accomplishment could be extended to Wesley’s co-star Ethan Peck, who has played a young Spock in both Star Trek: Discovery and Stranger New Worlds, and has similarly taken claim of the role, while also winning over longtime fans.
The New Captain Kirk Can Still Boldly Go Forward
The status of the Star Trek TV Universe is currently unknown. As Paramount goes through some monumental shifts (merging with Warner Bros.), there seems to be renewed focus on making Star Trek a feature-film attraction. A new film is “in development” over at Paramount, with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves filmmakers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley reportedly looking to explore a “completely new” take on Star Trek.
With that new project on the horizon, it’s been looking less and less likely that Paul Wesley and other Strange New Worlds actors will be able to transition into another spinoff series. But it’s not completely off the table yet; Strange New Worlds Season 4 will premiere on Paramount+ this summer, after that, the show will still have Season 5 left as its final run, before ending. By the time Strange New Worlds wraps up, Paramount may have a clearer roadmap to where it wants the franchise to go next, and that could include continuing what Strange New Worlds started.
You can stream Star Trek content on Paramount+. Discuss the franchise with us on the ComicBook Forum!
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Image courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
