William Shatner is an icon not only in Star Trek but also in the world of entertainment. He's been acting professionally for around 70-odd years at this point and has made an impact everywhere he's gone. Obviously, for us, his largest impact has been on the world of Star Trek, serving as the first official captain of the series.
He brought James T. Kirk to life and through three seasons of the Original Series, two more seasons of the Animated Series, and seven movies, Shatner made Kirk and Star Trek a legitimate brand. It's not just a fun science fiction series to talk about quietly in the back rooms of classes but a genuine blockbuster franchise.
He helped pave the way for the nearly 60 years of Star Trek and now the 93-year-old Shatner has returned to the franchise he helped cement. His version of Kirk, played wonderfully by Sam Witwer, returned for a special video as part of the Roddenberry Archive and in conjunction with Paramount Global (the parent company of Star Trek).
It was a bit of a homecoming, one that came out of nowhere. His involvement with the project was not widely known nor were there many conversations happening around the short term. So when it dropped, fans and media alike were quite surprised. Not only were people surprised, but everyone seemed to be very interested in Shatner and Kirk once again.
So much so that the Roddenberry Archive released a recent interview that features Shatner talking about his career, his dynamic with series creator and archive namesake, Gene Roddenberry, and other interesting topics.
Shatner wasn't the only name that was interviewed following the release of the Unification short film. Two other videos were released, one featuring Robin Curtis and the other featuring Shatner's long-time frenemy, George Takei.
While Takei didn't appear as his iconic character, Hikaru Sulu, Curtis did. She reprised her role as Saavik in the short-film. In it, she seemingly leads a group of people to meet Kirk following the events of Star Trek Generations; the film in which Kirk dies.
It's seemingly the afterlife, but with no dialogue it's very open to interoperation.
It was great to see her again and we're hoping this isn't the last time we see Takei, Shatner, and Curtis in the world of Star Trek.