William Shatner Nearly Returned to New Star Trek: Fans Just Learned How
For generations of Star Trek fans, William Shatner's Captain Kirk remains the face of the franchise. That's why a newly revealed behind-the-scenes story from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is so interesting. It turns out producers spent years trying to bring Shatner back, and the idea they developed sounds like something many longtime viewers would have loved to see.
The revelation comes from Strange New Worlds executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman, who recently discussed one of the biggest stories they never managed to bring to the screen. According to multiple interviews published ahead of the show's upcoming fourth season, the creative team repeatedly explored ways to involve Shatner in the series. The effort stretched across several seasons and included multiple story concepts.
Their most ambitious idea centered on a return to 'The City on the Edge of Forever,' widely regarded as one of the greatest episodes in Star Trek history. In the original 1967 story, Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler while traveling through time. He ultimately allows history to take its tragic course in order to preserve the future.
Related: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Producers Reveal What Turns Captain Pike Into a Puppet
The proposed Strange New Worlds storyline would have imagined an alternate version of Kirk who made a different choice. Instead of returning to his own time, this version would have remained with Edith Keeler (played by the amazing Joan Collins), creating an entirely different future. Shatner would have played that older alternate Kirk, allowing the actor to revisit one of the most important relationships from the original series decades after it first appeared on television.
According to the producers, the concept was discussed repeatedly and scripts were developed, but the episode never moved forward. No definitive explanation has been provided for why the project failed to materialize. With Strange New Worlds now approaching its final seasons, the opportunity appears to have passed.
What makes the story especially compelling is how neatly it connects multiple generations of Star Trek. Strange New Worlds has already embraced the franchise's history while introducing new audiences to classic characters. A Shatner appearance tied directly to one of the most beloved episodes ever produced would have created a wonderful bridge between the original series and the modern era.
One additional 'what if' detail is that Joan Collins is thankfully still with us, so there's a possibility that she may even have been able to return to her original role in the story. Now that would have been a way to boldly go into a sequel to a Trek classic.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 4:42 AM.