William Shatner is best known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek TV series. While it only aired from 1966 to 1969, the actor's portrayal of Kirk, the charismatic and adventurous captain of the starship USS Enterprise, cemented his status as a cultural icon.
Shatner later reprised the role in several movies, including the beloved Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In 1989, the actor stepped behind the camera to helm Star Trek V, an entry which was considered a major disappointment (and largely still is outside of some hardcore devotees).
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Shatner admitted he has some serious regrets about the project and remains disappointed by its failure to live up to fan expectations.
"I wish that I’d had the backing and the courage to do the things I felt I needed to do. My concept was, 'Star Trek goes in search of God,' and management said, 'Well, who’s God? We’ll alienate the nonbeliever, so, no, we can’t do God.' And then somebody said, 'What about an alien who thinks they’re God?' Then it was a series of my inabilities to deal with the management and the budget."
"I failed. In my mind, I failed horribly. When I’m asked, 'What do you regret the most?,' I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture," Shatner admits. "So in the absence of my power, the power vacuum filled with people that didn’t make the decisions I would’ve made."
When the trade put it to the actor that Star Trek V had the odds stacked against it (including a surprisingly small budget), Shatner made it clear he still takes the blame but acknowledges that it wasn't an easy production.
"It is on me. [In the finale,] I wanted granite [rock creatures] to explode out of the mountain. The special effects guy said, 'I can build you a suit that’s on fire and smoke comes out.' I said, 'Great, how much will that cost?' They said, '$250,000 a suit.' Can you make 10 suits? He said, 'Yeah. That’s $2.5 million. You’ve got a $30 million budget. You sure you want to spend [it on that]?'"
"Those are the practical decisions. Well, wait a minute, what about one suit? And I’ll photograph it everywhere [to look like 10]."
That's in the past now, of course, and it was then put to Shatner that there have been rumblings online about Paramount+ potentially bringing him back as Kirk similar to Patrick Stewart's return to Star Trek in Picard.
"Leonard [Nimoy] made his own decision on doing a cameo [in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek]," he says. "He’s there for a moment, and it’s more a stunt that Spock appears in a future. If they wrote something that wasn’t a stunt that involved Kirk, who’s 50 years older now, and it was something that was genuinely added to the lore of Star Trek, I would definitely consider it."
At 92, the actor remains in good health, but the clock is ticking for him to get another shot at playing Captain Kirk again. Hopefully, it does eventually happen as he deserves another shot at the role after last appearing in 1994's Star Trek: Generations.