William Shatner stunned by 'Star Trek' snub
November 23, 2007

When most people think Star Trek, William Shatner follows as an almost-synonymous thought. However, when it comes to JJ Abrams re-launch of the Star Trek franchise, William Shatner won't be anywhere to be found, and that has the 76-year-old Canadian actor fuming.

Despite the fact that William Shatner has been the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise for almost 30 years as Captain James T. Kirk, the JJ Abrams-crafted Star Trek, set for release on Christmas Day 2008, won't have any sort of cameo appearance by the one-and-only William Shatner, and that has the man angry. In an interview with the TV show Extra, Shatner angrily stated, "How could you not put one of the founding figures into a movie that was being resurrected? That doesn't make sense to me."

Business sense or not, JJ Abrams seems to have found a way to revitalize Captain Kirk without having William Shatner around. As if that wasn't enough to get Shatner's blood boiling, his co-star from the original series, Leonard Nimoy, will not only be given a cameo, but will be offered a small role after his work as the original Spock. And as Shatner struggled to digest the news, he blurted out to Extra that, "I've become even more popular than I was playing Capt Kirk - I'm good box office and I get publicity."

This isn't the first time that William Shatner has gone public with his anger over not being offered a role in Star Trek. Recently, Shatner told the Associated Press that not casting him, "didn't seem to be a good business decision." Shatner added, "I have the popularity to ensure the movie has a good box office," noting that, "I'm not in the movie at all. Leonard, God bless his heart, is in, but not me."

Even though he's obviously upset that he's not in the movie, William Shatner did have some good things to say about Star Trek. "They are going in a different direction and it'll be a wonderful film." That means as angry as Shatner is, he still knows how to play ball. However, the plot details behind Star Trek have been a closely-guarded secret, so William Shatner will likely have to wait until Christmas next year to get a look at what's in store for the youthful crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.