Shatner's gone there before, but new 'Trek' isn't on frontier

By Will Keck, USA TODAY

LONG BEACH, Calif. — William Shatner is not over the moon about being excluded from director J.J. Abrams' Star Trek film, due this Christmas.
"I think they're coming toward the end (of shooting, so) they've got another three weeks to hire me," Shatner joked at the opening of the traveling exhibit Star Trek: The Tour. "No, I don't think you'll be seeing me, unfortunately. I don't know the reason why."

Turns out, it was nothing personal.

Abrams explains why the senior Captain Kirk wasn't beamed back to The Enterprise: "The only reason Mr. Shatner is not in the movie and Mr. (Leonard) Nimoy is, is that his character died on screen."

But Trekkies seem to want him back. A website called BringBackKirk.com condemns the "sloppy" death of the character in 1994's Star Trek: Generations, when the retired captain was smashed on a cliff.

Shatner hated the scene. "The mistake I made was thinking I could make it a spectacular death with what they had written," says the actor, who then dreamed up a story line to bring Kirk back: Spock snatched Kirk's DNA. His idea became the novel The Return, and he says it could work in the new film.

Abrams responds, "You and I could come up with dozens of ways, but every way that we came up with felt like it was transparently fan boys trying to get Shatner in the movie."

But Shatner says: "J.J. doesn't need to worry about being a geek. He's a fabulous moviemaker, and this is science fiction."

Every week, Hollywood reporter Will Keck webcasts an interview with a star. This week, it's William Shatner at the Star Trek: The Tour exhibit. Watch at CelebWatch.usatoday.com.

Will also can be seen Mondays on TV Guide Channel's Hollywood 411 (9 p.m. ET/PT).