CBS Says Never Say Never About William Shatner Returning To Star Trek

Star Trek fans had their year made when it was announced this past weekend that Patrick Stewart was returning as Captain Jean-Luc Picard for a brand new show to be released on CBS All Access. This will be the first time that the iconic star of the franchise has returned to his role in 16 years and is a clear sign that the network’s keen to explore Trek‘s rich past.

That being said, don’t get your hopes up for any other series that focus on old characters. Deadline asked CBS TV Studios President David Stapf if there were any plans for further revival shows to follow Picard’s return and he wasted no time in giving his reply. “No,” was the straight-to-the-point answer.

The interviewer then zeroed in on the chances of whether William Shatner could return to Star Trek as Captain Kirk at some point or whether this was a “definite no” as well. To this, Stapf was vaguely more positive. “I would say, never say never,” he said.

Recently, the leading man of Star Trek: The Original Series congratulated Stewart on his epic comeback as Picard and something tells us he’d love to follow in his footsteps and portray James Tiberius Kirk once again, too. After all, he said not too long ago that he’d be up for a return in Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek movie.

Of course, the issue with a return for Shatner is that Kirk died back in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations, which saw him officially pass the torch onto Stewart’s Picard. Still, death is always flexible in the Star Trek world. In fact, Shatner’s even claimed that J.J. Abrams offered him a role back in 2016’s Beyond, though it never came to be. Here’s hoping then that CBS somehow finds a way for him to return, even if it’s just for a brief cameo.