Nimoy Hasn't Yet Signed, Shatner Indeed Out of 'Trek XI'

This weekend while much of the world of genre fandom had its collective nose buried in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and William Shatner (Kirk) headlined a Star Trek convention in New Jersey, where they gave away a few tidbits about the eleventh Star Trek feature film.

"Thursday" was Nimoy's refrain on all movie-related questions, according to The Omega Sector, referring to the day at Comic-Con later in the week when director J.J. Abrams has promised extensive news about Star Trek. The Omega Sector reported that Nimoy would not even answer Shatner's questions.

Many fans were distressed not long ago when Shatner revealed that he had not been offered a role in the upcoming film, although Nimoy had. As it happens, Nimoy himself was distressed as well; he told Abrams that the movie "would be better with Shatner in it." However, he also explained to Shatner and others why this was not possible, asking, "What happened to Kirk in Star Trek 7?"

Captain Kirk indeed died in Generations, though as Shatner quickly noted, Spock died in The Wrath of Khan and returned from the dead in the next movie. The exchange led The Omega Sector to guess that Spock-as-Nimoy appears in the Next Generation era after the events of Generations. Shatner said that he had twice met with Abrams but on neither occasion did he feel confident that he would be involved in the film.

Meanwhile Nimoy insisted that he did not have a contract to appear in the upcoming film, though fans took his denials to mean that he had not yet signed the papers, not that the role was not forthcoming. "As I stand here today, I don't have a deal," he said. "The franchise is in good hands, and has a bright future."

Shatner mentioned that his upcoming novel about Kirk at the Academy had been held up by Paramount for awhile because they were waiting to see where the new film's script would go. The book will be released soon, but with a disclaimer stating that it "represents the author's unique vision" of how Kirk met Spock, which suggests that such an encounter indeed will take place in the movie.

For more news, as Nimoy repeatedly stated, fans must wait till Thursday at Comic-Con in San Diego. The full report is at The Omega Sector.

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