J.J. Abrams Wants Shatner For Star Trek 2!!!

[USS Excelsior]

J.J. Abrams Wants Shatner For Star Trek 2!!!

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/LetsCutTheBS/news/?a=10797

Should William Shatner reprise his role as the most famous intergalactic captain of all time? Or is it in the cards for him to finally hang up his phaser?

JJ Abrams was successful with the direction he took the new imagined Star Trek franchise in. Leonard Nimoy was in the first installment and now it looks like Mr. Abrahms is looking for ways to get William Shatner in the second installment of the brand new Star Trek franchise.

"It was a foregone conclusion that we wanted Shatner in the [first] movie. The problem was that his character died on screen in one of the 'Trek' films. And because we decided very early on that we wanted to adhere to 'Trek' canon as best we could, the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with.

In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything. I would love to figure out something. There's going to be more opportunity to work with him again. I would love to work with him. We speak. We actually have a lunch date planned. I'm a fan. I'm a friend of his. Or, he's at least a friend of mine. He may say otherwise on his blog today. I have no idea. But, I really couldn't like him more and would love to work with him."

I trust JJ, he did a great job with the first movie and will continue to do so in the second Star Trek film, regardless if they figure out a way to bring Kirk back or not. So, lay it all out there ComicBookMovie fans, do you want to see the Shat back as Captain Kirk in Star Trek 2?

 

[Supreme Admiral]

Uh-oh! I knew that he wants him in star trek 2 all along! My answer is YES!!!!!

 

[bigdaddy]

He should be in it and not speak, and not be Kirk.

 

[TenLubak]

Neat! I can't wait for Kirk to come out of the nexus again! Star Trek 1 09 was ok, but am hoping for a better movie for Star Trek 2. This is good to hear.

Hopefully I walk out the theatre happier than I did this time after spending my last 17 dollars on Star Trek 1.

 

[startrekrcks]

that is brilliant news how will they make Shatner come back.

 

[Saul]

I hope he comes back. It would be cool if he did. Maybe as a Hologram given to the crew by spock to help them defeat Khan. When Kirk asks what happened to him in future Spock says "To quote an old friend of ours, 'you're dead, Jim'".

 

[Skywalker]

Honestly, I'd rather ST2 didn't bring back Shatner or Nimoy. Nimoy's seen them off, now this crew should stand on their own.

 

[Jax]

Kirk is dead, people should get over it so no Kirk thank you.

 

[Shazam!]

Honestly, I'd rather ST2 didn't bring back Shatner or Nimoy. Nimoy's seen them off, now this crew should stand on their own.

I'd have to agree with this, but possibly for different reasons.

I think constantly reminding the audience that what we're watching isn't the 'real' Star Trek but is in fact some alternate-universe-timeline nonsense would be a mistake.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Well, this is the same kind of general, cautious statement that Abrams has made all along - there's not a thing new here, and it doesn't constitute a statement of intent to use Shatner at all.

In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything. I would love to figure out something.

He'd have "loved" to have Shatner in the first movie, too, but it "didn't work out."

If they do, I'm sure that Orci and Kurtzman will come up with something as cool as they did with Nimoy.

As for the alternate timeline, the success of the first movie demonstrates that almost no one is bothered or even gives a crap what alleged "timeline" a movie takes place in. That's all "inside baseball" foolishness.

 

[urolles]

Delurking/Reposting my entry from the TrekMovie-Board on this topic ...

What i find most intriguing about the Abrams-team approach to their version of STAR TREK, is how strongly and on how many different levels they rely on the various concepts of Transmedia Storytelling Theory.
I feel tempted to read the whole endeavor as a textbook example of those principles and as a field study on their validity and viability.

For example, one of the most basic formulas of Transmedia Storytelling revolves around a narrational strategy that transports substantial, often closely related, but not directly inter-dependent portions of one story over a variety of different media formats.

Therefore, the approach to create a separate, but closely linked, narrative space of existence for the Prime versions of the TOS characters, for example in the form of a “companion” movie co-released on DVD/Blu-ray or over some “HULU”-like Internet-delivery platform, does seem feasible, at least theoretically.

Such a project would certainly represent an interesting continuation of what is currently being done for the new film, in the form of the various comic books (Countdown, Nero, Spock), that carry supplemental story-lines for the movie´s main narrative.

Of course, the realization of this idea would require the allocation of a substantial amount of manpower and financial resources and might therefore not be considered viable. But on a purely narrational level, i do see some very interesting possibilities.

One intriguing aspect of storytelling in such a space could be the chance to preserve a crucial element of character building that sets apart STAR TREK from many other US TV- and movie narratives.
Due probably more to circumstance, rather than to deliberate planning, the TOS characters, over time, have been allowed not only to grow and mature, but to truly age as well.

Placing these long established, old(er) protagonists continuously at the center of the narrative, rather than reducing them to supporting mentor figures, or replacing them altogether by other, younger characters, has introduced a rather unique temporal dimension into the fictional world of STAR TREK.

This story trait represents a distinct feature of the TOS-portion of the franchise and remains missing from most of the other prominent American pop-cultural narratives, whose hero characters often do exist, and quite deliberately so, in an almost perpetual state of a nondescript here and now.

The narrational space created by an adjunct movie could also be used by this new team of writers, to explore how their personal version of a more traditional form of STAR TREK storytelling might look like, i.ex. with regard to a slower paced narrative, a less streamlined plot, or the usage of metaphorical story motives and trademark Tropes, such as the non-villainous adversary.

Of course, I cannot simply infer any interest on the part of the writers, to truly revisit those elements of the Prime-verse, but if I interpret Orci´s and Kurtzman´s audio commentary analysis of the STAR TREK IV narrative correctly, they are indeed completely aware of the inner workings of the previously practiced methods of STAR TREK storytelling, and they also seem to show a certain amount of appreciation for them.

...Relurking

 

[Broccoli]

But Shatner was in Star Trek 2...

Oh, wait. You mean Star Trek 12...

 

[Saul]

As for the alternate timeline, the success of the first movie demonstrates that almost no one is bothered or even gives a crap what alleged "timeline" a movie takes place in. That's all "inside baseball" foolishness.

"It was a foregone conclusion that we wanted Shatner in the [first] movie. The problem was that his character died on screen in one of the 'Trek' films. And because we decided very early on that we wanted to adhere to 'Trek' canon as best we could" - JJ Abrams

 

[startrekrcks]

why is people against the idea of Shatner coming back to Trek

 

[iguana_tonante]

Uh, isn't this old news? I'm sure I've read the same interview some times ago...

 

[Shazam!]

why is people against the idea of Shatner coming back to Trek

Probably for the reasons stated in their posts.

 

[Brainsucker]

So, the next installment will be about Time Travel again? Oh nooooooo

I don't care if William Shatner has a part in the Star Trek; I don't care if He becomes the old Kirk. But putting a time travel plot in the sequel will change Star Trek to Time Trek.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I've got nothing against Shatner doing one of these movies, if the producers and writers want him.

There was a far stronger indication the other day that Abrams is looking at working the Shat into the next one: Shatner did a surprise walk-on and accepted an award on Abrams's behalf during the Spike Scream presentation. He made a joke about how much more successful ST 09 would have been with him in it, urging Abrams to "call me."

Abrams was present and had already accepted other awards, so of course this whole thing was a gag worked about between Abrams and Shatner beforehand...which means that Abrams thinks that blatantly teasing audiences with the promise of Shatner being in the next one is a Good Idea.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Shatner could play Kirk's grandfather in Star Trek XII...

 

[Mr. B]

I don't see how this could be done without looking forced... especially after what we saw in XI.