The two biggest science fiction franchises in the history of the universe, Star Trek and Star Wars, have had something of a rivalry going for decades. While Trek had a series going as early as the 1960s they’ve both been on the big screen since the late '70s. For the most part, the rivalry has been more among fans, because there’s little geeks like more than indexing things, but occasionally it spills out into the people involved in one series or another. William Shatner has been using his Twitter account to troll fans excited about the new Star Wars film. When the poster was revealed last week Shatner thought a couple of the characters looked familiar. He started by comparing the rebel flight suits to classic sci-fi series Space: 1999.
We’re forced to admit that the two suits look familiar but then again they always have. Space: 1999 actually predates Star Wars by a couple of years. Even so, the X-Wing pilots have never looked quite as ridiculous as a 1970’s BBC series. Poe Dameron looks like a pilot. The other image looks like somebody’s about to go play in the snow. Shatner didn’t stop there of course, because Star Wars also stole their villains from Battlestar Galactica
See what we’re saying? He’s just trolling at this point. Comparing Captain Phasma to a classic Cylon doesn’t even make sense. We’re pretty sure the Cylons were just repurposed Doctor Who Cybermen anyway. Still, Shatner has been utterly successful in getting people riled up on his Twitter account. We imagine him sipping a cup of coffee and laughing maniacally as the replies come rolling in from angry fans.
He left the best for last however. A direct swipe at his rival while setting himself up as the king. If you’re a life long Star Wars fan you may want to brace yourself, this one could hurt.
Was that the sound of a mic being dropped? We think it was. We’re fairly certain that William Shatner is just having a bit of fun at fans' expense. We hope so, anyway. We’re not sure the guy who directed Star Trek V should really be throwing stones.
