William Shatner shares brutally honest response to Star Trek franchise question
Shatner, 93, made his debut in Gene Rodenberry's mega successful sci-fi franchise in 1966, playing Captain James Kirk, and was ultimately killed off in the 1994 film Star Trek Generations.
The actor has long been vocal about the reason behind the decision to kill off the character and, in response to being asked on question: 'Why did you let them kill Kirk off in generations?' he shared a gif on social media depicting someone shooting a gun filled with dollars.
Fna of Star Trek's praised the actor for his openness in the comments section, with one responding: 'He has a great sense of humour.' Another added: 'I can appreciate this level of simple honesty.'
However, it's worth noting that Shatner is not alluding to the fact he himself made money from the decision, but the studio – as he was told by a producer: 'We're going to kill Kirk because we think that [it] will make more money at the box office.'
In fact, Shatner was left unimpressed with the impetus behind the idea – but was told Kirk would be dying with or without his approval.
Shatner previously told Trek Movie: 'I didn't think I had any choice in the matter. 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.'
👇🏻😑 https://t.co/XAnpRURykX pic.twitter.com/9hurnRVDiY
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2025
'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.'
The film ended up making just $118m (£93.8m)
'I would have done something else,' Shatner told Crave Online in 2012. 'It was all against me. I wish that there had been more trumpets for the death of the character.'
In the last week, Shatner has also claimed that he has 'been approached to resurrect Kirk' by Paramount, who own the rights to the franchise.
He wrote on X/Twitter: 'Well, I don't know if you heard; I've been approached to resurrect Kirk. It's all still up in the air (or is it buried under some rocks? ). Whichever the case I'm waiting to hear what the folks at Paramount have to say.'
His return would follow the revelation in the third season of spin-off Star Trek: Picard that Kirk's body is in stasis at the Daystrom Institute.
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