Thanks to CBS and über-producer Alex Kurtzman, the future of Star Trek is incredibly bright.
Not only are the Powers That Be pushing forward with a second season of Discovery (replete with Spock, no less!), but Kurtzman and his crack team have drawn up plans for a separate Star Trek series featuring Patrick Stewart as the great Jean-Luc Picard.
Further details on that standalone show are being kept under lock and key for now, and while CBS seems willing to explore all avenues when it comes to Star Trek, the possibility of William Shatner pulling a Stewart and returning to headline a Captain Kirk spinoff appear slim to none.
That’s not to say the actor’s totally finished with the sci-fi series that helped make his name, though; while chatting to The Toronto Sun (h/t TrekMovie), the industry legend admitted that he’d be willing to guest star in a future episode of Trek, though he did note that his involvement would have to be run by the studio, first.
It will have to pass through enormous hurdles including permission from Paramount and then they’ll have to get back to me and see where things are at.
So there you have it, Trekkies; the great William Shatner may well return to the franchise at some point in the not-so-distant future. But before we get too excited about Captain Kirk potentially returning to the flight deck, we should warn you that the actor appears to be in no rush to reprise his Star Trek role anytime soon.
Right now I’m happy doing what I’m doing. 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, Star Trek fans will no doubt cling on to that sliver of hope long into 2019, by which point Discovery season 2 ought to be available for our viewing pleasure.