All the recent news about the Quentin Tarantino Star Trek project in development at Paramount has gotten the attention of Star Trek’s first captain. As for Tarantino, he has come to a decision about whether a Trek film would count as his 10th and final film.

Shatner shares the love with Tarantino

As he has been promoting his new movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, writer/director Quentin Tarantino has also talked about his possible Star Trek film in development at Paramount, including effusing his admiration for the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner. This adoration came to the attention of Mr. Shatner himself, who told Reuters:

Quentin Tarantino said something in the paper that somebody said to me, that he loved me. And Quentin, I love you. If you’re going to do Star Trek, hey, 50 years later, a few pounds heavier, come on, not a problem.

The actor confirmed he is ready to return as Captain Kirk, saying:

I’d like to do it. Whether I’d be up for it, I don’t know.

Watch his comments below.

William Shatner said he'd love to reprise the role of Captain Kirk for Quentin Tarantino's possible ‘Star Trek’ project pic.twitter.com/78ci7iGbnm — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 27, 2019

The latest comments from Tarantino which we posted last week noted how it appears he is interested in doing a film set before Star Trek: The Original Series (in Star Trek’s “Prime Timeline”), but he is also interested in using the actors from the Kelvin Timeline movies, such as Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock). Tarantino has said that Shatner was always his gateway into Star Trek, so it would not be surprising if he found a way to also use the legendary actor in his film if it ever moves from development to greenlight and production.

William Shatner last played Kirk on the big screen in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations, which featured the death of James T. Kirk. But, there are always possibilities in Star Trek and science fiction, especially when it comes to bringing characters back. If CBS and Star Trek: Picard can bring back Brent Spiner and Data, then Paramount can bring back Shatner’s Kirk for Tarantino’s Star Trek.

Tarantino decides Star Trek is not a loophole

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino’s 9th feature film as a director and he has been firm that he will retire from filmmaking and focus on writing after his 10th. Earlier in the month, Tarantino pondered how Star Trek could fit into his final film plan, noting directing a Star Trek film could possibly be a “loophole” allowing him to direct a Trek film and then another original film. However, upon more reflection, it appears he has decided that there is no Star Trek loophole. Last week Tarantino told EW:

You know, I think it has to count. I think it has to count. A year ago, I was thinking [adopts a pompous auteur voice], Well, okay, if I do Star Trek, naturally my last one would have to be one I wrote. Now, I’m like, ‘No, no, if I want to do Star Trek that much, I need to want to do it that much.’ We’ll see.

The Star Trek project in development at Bad Robot and Paramount was born out of a pitch Tarantino gave to producer J.J. Abrams in late 2017. A script was assigned to writer Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) in 2018. Tarantino has recently said he plans to work on the script with Smith now that his work on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is complete. Even if Tarantino chooses not to direct, Paramount may still be interested in moving forward on the project with another director, with Tarantino as one of the producers. Earlier this year Paramount motion picture group president Wyck Godfrey talked up the possibility of working with Tarantino on a Star Trek film, so the studio sees an opportunity to associate the Oscar-winner with the franchise.

Shatner takes Wrath of Khan tour to Europe

There is a Star Trek movie you can see with Shatner, live and in person. Over the last year, William Shatner has been touring around the country doing screenings and Q&As with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

And this morning Shatner announced he is headed to Europe for more dates in March 2020, starting on March 9th in Glasgow, Scotland. There will also be stops in Dublin, Ireland, Prague, Czech Republic, London, UK, and Cardiff, Wales. For more info, visit williamshatnertour.com.

Europe! I'm actually heading back to the US today from London but I wanted to let you know that I'll be back with a Wrath of Khan Screening Tour in March! Head over to https://t.co/hH55Paf7Ze for more information! See you Next Year! 😘 pic.twitter.com/1EbpN9S4ra — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) July 29, 2019

Keep up with all the upcoming Star Trek movie news at TrekMovie.com.