Wrath of Khan: This bloody battle scene was originally planned

There were some concerns about the script for Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, specifically that it didn’t have a Khan/Kirk face to face confrontation

The battle between Khan and Captain Kirk that raged onscreen during Star Trek: II Wrath of Khan was an intense battle of wits. Audiences loved the back and forth between the two powerful characters, but, originally, there was some concern that Khan and Kirk didn’t meet face to face. All of their anger and revenge took place at a distance from one another. So the powers-that-be put their heads together and not only came up with what would have been an awesome battle scene, they gave Khan a weapon that would have turned the odds in his favor…at least for a little while.

The villain of all villains was going to be given a metallic whip that could morph into various forms, including a lion’s head, an eagle’s claw, and a snake to name a few. Every time Khan would have cracked the whip, it would have ripped into Kirk’s flesh. So each time, Kirk wouldn’t know what type of animal or monster was going to take a bite out of him.

With Khan having the upper hand, a tortured and bloodied Kirk would have had to fight dirty to take the whip away from his nemesis. How he would have managed this is anybody’s guess. Of course, Kirk has managed to fight dirty many, many times.

Afterwards, with the weapon gone, the two would have engaged in a lethal hand-to-hand combat.  Of course, there was no doubt who would have been the successful combatant, but this would have been an incredible fight to see.

Alas, the film’s budgetary restraints prevented this twist from going forward. They simply didn’t have the money to shoot it. Afterwards, William Shatner admitted he was still somewhat disappointed that the scene was jettisoned. And now that we know about it, so are we.