William Shatner’s Captain Kirk Returns In “Unification” Short Film From Roddenberry Archive

[Mon0Zer0]

 

[Orcadian]

Watched this a couple of days ago, via a social media post. Sorry, but I found it barfworthy. We'd been so encouraged to watch that I should have been suspicious!

 

[Mon0Zer0]

Watched this a couple of days ago, via a social media post. Sorry, but I found it barfworthy. We'd been so encouraged to watch that I should have been suspicious!

Haha, why Barf-worthy?

 

[KGeo777]

Shatner played Kirk for a video game intro in 1996 too.

The technology is incredible--that they can do a pretty decent facial recreation of someone without it triggering a fakeness response.

 

[Orcadian]

Haha, why Barf-worthy?

Schmaltzy! Actually I don't think you could improve on Kirk's original farewell to Spock.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Schmaltzy! Actually I don't think you could improve on Kirk's original farewell to Spock.

Spock should have been with Kirk when he died.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

Schmaltzy! Actually I don't think you could improve on Kirk's original farewell to Spock.

It is a little schmaltzy. But this is a tribute to a deceased beloved actor and an onscreen partnership, not an episode of Picard. We can let it pass, no?

The technology / prosthetics is pretty remarkable.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

I'm kind of tempted to try and deep fake a minute or so of an episode of Star Trek continues to see how close you can get the voice / look of TOS. Even for a minute it'd be an awful lot of work.

 

[KGeo777]

It would be really hard. Even if you had a perfect rendering of the person--matching the performance traits would be so difficult without it coming across as somehow artificial in some way. The gestures, the pauses, the voice characteristics, emotional qualities in the performance. With this silent approach, it is so limited--they can't have him turning his head much--especially the 1966 Kirk. But it is still a really good effect.
There's no doubt they will keep exploring it--and eventually attempt a more ambitious TOS recreation.

 

[Orcadian]

Spock should have been with Kirk when he died.

I'm sure I remember an episode where Spock has gone into an intense radiation field (possibly the drive core?) knowing it will kill him, and Kirk is there with him. IIRC he actually does bid Spock farewell (possibly not in those exact words).

 

[paranoid marvin]

I'm sure I remember an episode where Spock has gone into an intense radiation field (possibly the drive core?) knowing it will kill him, and Kirk is there with him. IIRC he actually does bid Spock farewell (possibly not in those exact words).

Ah, but that was Spock doing the dying.

Kirk says at one point that he won't die (Final Frontier?) without his friends with him. Now I know that he and Picard get on okay, but I'm sure he was referring to Bones and/or Spock.

 

[Lumens]

Better than Kirk dying in that movie would have been him transported in time and space to Earth, circa 1960, by that rift in time and space thing. There he renames himself to Gene Roddenberry and writes about his experiences which then becomes a TV series...

 

[Orcadian]

Ah, but that was Spock doing the dying.

Kirk says at one point that he won't die (Final Frontier?) without his friends with him. Now I know that he and Picard get on okay, but I'm sure he was referring to Bones and/or Spock.

But isn't the latest little film about Spock dying? Kirk goes to say goodbye...

 

[Danny McG]

the pauses

Would it be Kirk without them?

 

[paranoid marvin]

Sorry, just to be clear, my comments were purely about Kirk's death in 'Genrrations'. An awful movie that Nimoy did well to avoid - and so should Shatner. He should never have left his character tl end in such a fashion.

 

[Droflet]

I stumbled across this and thought it is worth sharing. Enjoy.

 

[BAYLOR]

Sorry, just to be clear, my comments were purely about Kirk's death in 'Genrrations'. An awful movie that Nimoy did well to avoid - and so should Shatner. He should never have left his character tl end in such a fashion.

Killing of Kirk , didn't like that at all. As to the film itself , it was essentially a very bad next Generation episode with bigger budget masquerading as a theatrical film. The studio let the people who produced and wrote the series do the film , given end result, it was a big mistake . What they should have done instead was, bring in an A list director and producer and only allowed the tv show producers involvement as consultants .


Peter David's excellent Star Trek novel Vendetta would have been the ideal story for the first Next Generation Trek film.

 

[KGeo777]

William Shatner May Return to STAR TREK as Captain Kirk One More Time

William Shatner May Return to STAR TREK as Captain Kirk One More Time

William Shatner hints at a return to his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk in a Star Trek project, at the age of 93.

www.yahoo.com

"Over thirty years since his last appearance as Captain James T. Kirk, it appears that iconic actor William Shatner may return to the Captain’s chair in a Star Trek project one more time. Yes, he died heroically in the film Star Trek: Generations. But when has death been the end for a Trek character? Via Slashfilm, we learned that while appearing at Fan Expo in Vancouver, the nearly 94-year-old actor was asked about the possibility of returning one more time to his legendary role. He said a writer on one of Paramount’s currently-in-development Star Trek series had contacted him about this very thing. Here’s what he told the audience:

I have been asked to come back as Kirk so many times. If Kirk is going to come back, it has to mean something. It has to be the show. But I was so impressed by this writer, so I said let’s talk after I’m done in Vancouver. So I’m awaiting a pitch to make it the show, it should come on Monday or Tuesday.

Ever since Captain Kirk died in Star Trek: Generations back in 1994, rumors have surfaced that Shatner would return, as Leonard Nimoy did after they killed Spock in The Wrath of Khan. Paramount offered Shatner cameo roles as Kirk in Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005, as well as the 2009 J.J. Abrams feature film reboot. But he always turned them down, saying if Kirk was to come back, it would not be just for a cameo. So whatever they are pitching him, it’s got to be something Kirk-centric, and probably not an episode of Strange New Worlds or the upcoming Starfleet Academy series.

Could it be a Star Trek: Kirk series? Something focusing on his character in his final adventure, similar to Star Trek: Picard? A fan film called 765874 – Unification recently brought Kirk back to life, and fans went nuts for it. Sam Witwer played Kirk, with makeup and digital enhancement to look like Shatner, but with Shatner’s cooperation. Maybe this has spurred the actor to rejoin Starfleet once last time. The final season of Picard showed that Starfleet has Kirk’s body hidden away in secret, for something called “Project Phoenix.” We may find out soon if that little Easter egg is leading to something bigger. 2026 is Star Trek’s 60th anniversary after all. And we can’t imagine anything bigger to celebrate than the return of Trek’s first on-screen Captain."

 

[Mon0Zer0]

William Shatner May Return to STAR TREK as Captain Kirk One More Time

William Shatner May Return to STAR TREK as Captain Kirk One More Time

William Shatner hints at a return to his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk in a Star Trek project, at the age of 93.

www.yahoo.com

"Over thirty years since his last appearance as Captain James T. Kirk, it appears that iconic actor William Shatner may return to the Captain’s chair in a Star Trek project one more time. Yes, he died heroically in the film Star Trek: Generations. But when has death been the end for a Trek character? Via Slashfilm, we learned that while appearing at Fan Expo in Vancouver, the nearly 94-year-old actor was asked about the possibility of returning one more time to his legendary role. He said a writer on one of Paramount’s currently-in-development Star Trek series had contacted him about this very thing. Here’s what he told the audience:

I have been asked to come back as Kirk so many times. If Kirk is going to come back, it has to mean something. It has to be the show. But I was so impressed by this writer, so I said let’s talk after I’m done in Vancouver. So I’m awaiting a pitch to make it the show, it should come on Monday or Tuesday.

Ever since Captain Kirk died in Star Trek: Generations back in 1994, rumors have surfaced that Shatner would return, as Leonard Nimoy did after they killed Spock in The Wrath of Khan. Paramount offered Shatner cameo roles as Kirk in Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005, as well as the 2009 J.J. Abrams feature film reboot. But he always turned them down, saying if Kirk was to come back, it would not be just for a cameo. So whatever they are pitching him, it’s got to be something Kirk-centric, and probably not an episode of Strange New Worlds or the upcoming Starfleet Academy series.

Could it be a Star Trek: Kirk series? Something focusing on his character in his final adventure, similar to Star Trek: Picard? A fan film called 765874 – Unification recently brought Kirk back to life, and fans went nuts for it. Sam Witwer played Kirk, with makeup and digital enhancement to look like Shatner, but with Shatner’s cooperation. Maybe this has spurred the actor to rejoin Starfleet once last time. The final season of Picard showed that Starfleet has Kirk’s body hidden away in secret, for something called “Project Phoenix.” We may find out soon if that little Easter egg is leading to something bigger. 2026 is Star Trek’s 60th anniversary after all. And we can’t imagine anything bigger to celebrate than the return of Trek’s first on-screen Captain."

So long as Kurtzman, Abrams or Bad Robot has NOTHING to do with it then I'd love it if he did return!

 

[Danny McG]

We were kids in the 1960s and we all wanted to be Kirk