Trek Books

Shatner Talks More on Trek, Damon and His Latest Book

By Anthony Pascale ⋅ August 15, 2006 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

It is really becoming Shatner Week around here isnt it? William Shatner talked to the Toronto Star about Star Trek XI and his latest novel. When asked to comment about rumors that JJ Abrams is planning on bringing back Kirk and Spock he had this to say:

I don’t know about that…I’d heard a rumour that Matt Damon was signed (to play Kirk), but we don’t know if he is signed. I know nothing.”

…but if Abrams phones him, Shatner would certainly take the call:

Oh yeah…I would love to do it.”

This jibes with the comments he made to Extra recently (reported here yesterday). It is somewhat curious that he used the word ’signed’ when referring to Damon. Is he saying he knows a deal is in the works? The Insider’s Mark Malkin has confirmed that his sources say Abrams and Shatner have talked about Damon, but Shatner has denied that to StarTrek.com. So things are still as clear as mud…except for the fact that Shatner wants to be in Star Trek XI.

His Final Book?
Counting his latest book, William Shatner has co-written nine Star Trek novels, often referred to as ‘The Shatnerverse’. In these books Captain Kirk was brought back from the dead to continue his exciting adventures. He tells the Star that the latest ‘Captain’s Glory’ (co-written with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens) is going to be his last. Shatner says his busy schedule is forcing him to cut back on writing, and also has this to say about the Trek franchise:

“with the ending, the cancellation of the last television series, the audience for Star Trek has taken a step backwards,” Shatner says. “I prefer to use that analogy rather than say the audience is dying because I think people are waiting for the next Star Trek entity.”

Seemingly he is referring to Star Trek XI as the next ‘entity’, but it isn’t clear. Shatner has said in the past that he was working on a two book series about Starfleet Academy. When asked about this recently, Shatner’s editor Margaret Clark told the Trek Report that the project was still active but had no release date. It is unclear if he is now canceling that project, but the TXIR will look into it

[UPDATE: Not his final book]
The Trek XI Report just got off the phone with Margaret Clark and she clarified the situation. ‘Captain’s Glory’ will not be Shatner’s last book, but it is the last book in the ‘Totality Trilogy’. Clark believes that the Toronto Star may have misquoted or misunderstood Shatner when he was speaking about his final book of the trilogy. The two previous entries were 2004’s ‘Captain’s Blood’ and ‘Captain’s Peril’. There are still ‘pencilled in’ plans for two (not yet named) Starfleet Academy Books to be written by Shatner with the Reeves-Stevenses.

Captains Glory At Amazon
Excepts from Catpain’s Glory at Trek Web
Toronto Star: Shatner Brings Back Kirk - On Paper (NYT News Service)