Star Trek 2 Won't Include William Shatner

J.J. Abrams will be launching feature film Star Trek 2 eventually, but it appears the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, won't be along for the ride. The movie is still a long way off, so anything can happen in the interim, but Shatner himself has now publicly commented on the possibility of him reprising James T. Kirk for fans.

While speaking as a guest at the Calgary Comic Expo, Shatner had this to say about participating in the next big Star Trek movie, "I have become an acquaintance of J.J. (Abrams) as of late, but I'm afraid no -- no, I will not be in Star Trek 2, I'm afraid."

Shatner's non involvement in recent Star Trek movies is nothing new. The last Star Trek feature film which featured him was way back in 1994 -- "Star Trek: Generations". That sci-fi movie saw several of the original cast members - including Scotty (James Doohan) and Chekov (Walter Koenig) - in the same movie as Star Trek: The Next Generation crew members like Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the android Data (Brent Spiner), embroiled in a time spanning epic adventure.

Although Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek's original Mr. Spock, played along with the new cast in J.J. Abram's movie - including Chris Pine as young Kirk and Zachary Quinto as still wet behind the ears Vulcan science officer Spock, Shatner turned down a cameo role. Abrams said Shatner didn't accept the part, since he wanted more of a focus on his own character.

http://www.movieline.com/2011/06/report-william-shatner-probably-wont-appear-in-star-trek-2.php