Patrick Stewart may be returning to his role Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series, but fans shouldn’t expected franchise icon William Shatner to follow suit.
Speaking with the Toronto Star ahead of his appearance this weekend Toronto Fan Expo, the 87-year-old actor said he’s simply not interested in committing to another television series.
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“Right now I’m happy doing what I’m doing,” Shatner said. “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.”
That said, the legendary Captain Kirk actor wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to making a guest appearance on a Star Trek series. “It will have to pass through enormous hurdles,” Shatner said, “including permission from Paramount and then they’ll have to get back to me and see where things are at.”
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Those hurdles presumably involve the division of franchise rights that occurred in 2006 when CBS split from Paramount Pictures parent company Viacom. That led to the reboot of the film series in 2009, and the need to slightly redesign the U.S.S. Enterprise for the Season 1 finale of Star Trek: Discovery.
Shatner congratulated Stewart last month on his planned returned to Star Trek in a new series in development for CBS All Access, home of Discovery. The two shared the screen in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations.
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