Star Trek fans aren't the only ones who are pumped about Patrick Stewart's reprisal as Jean-Luc Picard in an upcoming CBS All Access series. Former stars of the franchise are sharing their excitement, as well. Most notably, Stewart is getting love from fellow Federation captain and TV legend William Shatner, who was pumped to see the news. Per the actor:
William Shatner isn't one to shy away from hot takes when it comes to Star Trek news, but the actor had nothing but pleasant vibes to send towards his friend Patrick Stewart and the new series. Shatner's response came with a lot of baggage, as past headlines involving the actor have shown he has mixed feelings about old actors returning to the franchise. As an example, the actor has been very critical of Leonard Nimoy's presence in the rebooted Star Trek films, but then last year he got in a very odd feud with Star Trek: Discovery actor Jason Isaacs after Isaacs expressed his distaste for former Star Trek actors potentially making cameos on the series.
News like that may be why several Star Trek fans commended William Shatner for his congratulations, and also why a few made remarks in an attempt to rile him up enough to get a response. One social media user was successful after asking if Shatner was jealous, although Shatner's response was about as even-keeled as his congrats to Patrick Stewart was:
William Shatner -- whose emoji game is on point -- brushed off the questions of jealousy and insisted he has no idea why he should be jealous of Patrick Stewart's Star Trek comeback. That might be because Shatner knows something the rest of the world doesn't, as Stewart's comeback and CBS' plans for multiple Star Trek-related shows almost certainly means Shatner's Captain Kirk could make a comeback of his own sometime down the line. That said, who knows if that's something the actor is actually even interested in, as he recently revealed he'd be alright with appearing as a Red Shirt if not Captain Kirk.
One thing that is certain is that there are plenty of Star Trek fans wanting Shatner back in the saddle as Captain Kirk. Age has ruled out Shatner's reprisal happening in Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Generations has already canonically shown Kirk's death at a much younger age than Shatner is now. Of course, Star Trek's current team could always find a workaround if they really wanted to, although fans would really need to search inside themselves to see if that's a change they really want to embrace.
Patrick Stewart's Star Trek comeback is in development, and the series will air on CBS All Access when it is ready. Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 will presumably arrive much sooner on the platform, with the series airing sometime in 2019. For a list of upcoming shows headed to television before both Star Trek shows, be sure to visit our summer and fall premiere guides. Those looking to see what else is coming to streaming in the near future should visit our Netflix and Amazon premiere guides.
