“Star Trek” boasts one of the greatest deaths in sci-fi history with the demise of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” so much so that it was regrettably replicated decades later in “Star Trek Into Darkness.” The same couldn’t be said for William Shatner’s exit in “Star Trek Generations,” which ended on an “Oh my,” and fans responding with a collective “Oh dear.” For such an iconic figure in the franchise, Kirk deserved better, but even after reflecting on his exit, Shatner has admitted that he wouldn’t go back to tweak it if he were given the chance.
Speaking to Cinema Blend about the former “Twilight Zone” star and “Star Trek” icon was asked if he’d give Kirk’s death another go. “Probably not. The moment’s over. It’s done. I did the best I could,” explained the actor. While Shatner seemed quite firm about it, he was asked if he’d reconsider, given the ability to de-age actors and redo scenes through digital manipulation.
“I would like to have another couple of shots at it. But, and then when I say this is what I meant, I’ve heard people say just actually just before you came on. No, no, I got that. That’s what I got. So, you know, it enters the area. Uh, b******t. Sounds cruel. This is the area of fantasy.” But while a more bombastic exit might’ve been preferred, the one thing Shatner got right was Kirk’s final words, which he improvised during filming.
Kirk’s Death in Star Trek Generations Wasn’t What Shatner Had Hoped For
As much as most “Star Trek” fans probably didn’t want Kirk to die, there are some scenarios you both win and lose, and a victory could be found in what was essentially a torch-passing from Kirk to Picard in his last breath.”We knew that Kirk was going to die. I’d like to think we die the way we live. So Captain Kirk, I imagined that he’d die, that he would die with awe and wonder. Like, ‘Wow! I’m dying. I wonder … I wonder what’s going to happen now?'” Shatner explained in the documentary, “The Roddenberry Archive: William Shatner” “With courage and bravery, and he’s not afraid. So my thought was Kirk would die … ‘Wow.'”
However, Kirk was originally set to say something different before the Captain pulled rank and added his own idea. “So they wrote, ‘It was fun!’ And lying there, I thought, ‘It’s better than that.’ And I tried to see whatever it was. The cloud. The guy with the scythe. And say, ‘Oh my!’ Is the way I wanted to say it.”
Even with his contribution, though, the take that ended up in the final cut wasn’t the one Shatner had hoped for. “It didn’t quite come out that way. I didn’t know it until I saw it. It comes out a little fearful. I didn’t want it to be fearful … I did the best I could. I don’t know whether I would do anything different now, looking at it.”
