Why Star Trek Producers Didn’t Want William Shatner Playing a Villain

Star Trek is a massive multimedia franchise with various characters and stories told throughout it, but the character of Captain Kirk is easily one of the most famous characters in the franchise's history. While actors like Chris Pine and Paul Wesley have taken on the role in recent years, it is a role that will forever be linked to William Shatner. Shatner played the role in Star Trek: The Original Series from 1966 to 1969 and then reprised his role in six feature films released from 1979 to 1991 alongside the original crew. The seventh film, Star Trek Generations, focused on the crew from The Next Generation series but also had the long-awaited moment where Patrick Stewart's Captain Jean Luc-Picard finally met Captain Kirk.