The Unbelievable Star Trek Twist You Never Knew: Inside Shatner's Jaw-Dropping, Rejected Comeback Storyline Revealed by Enterprise Showrunner

Summary

The anticipated return of William Shatner in Star Trek: Enterprise was unfortunately turned down. The proposed plot would have delved into the captivating Mirror Universe, showcasing an older and considerably more sinister rendition of Captain Kirk.

Captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise would have encountered a pocket universe in the proposed episode. This universe served as a community for banished individuals, including an evil Kirk portrayed by Shatner. The storyline revolved around a prison escape plan, led by evil Kirk, to take over the Enterprise and flee with their followers.

According to Manny Coto, the late showrunner of Star Trek: Enterprise, William Shatner's rejected comeback for the show was an incredible Mirror Universe storyline. Shatner's iconic character, Captain James T. Kirk, had been killed off in Star Trek Generations back in 1994, and Shatner bid farewell to the role. However, ten years later, Shatner, along with writers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, came up with an idea to bring a twisted version of Kirk from the original series to go up against Captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise.

In Peter Holmstrom's oral history book, "The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek," Manny Coto explained the proposed storyline for Shatner's guest appearance in the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise. Coto and producer Rick Berman met with Shatner and listened to his comeback idea, which Coto found very exciting. Here's what he had to say about it:

The episode revolved around a Mirror Universe theme. In the original episode "Mirror, Mirror," the villainous Kirk possessed a device called the Tantalus field. By pressing a button, he could make his enemies disappear. However, the Reeves-Stevenes proposed a different interpretation. They suggested that the field actually transported the opposing individuals into a separate universe. Consequently, these individuals found themselves on a planet, struggling to survive. Towards the end of the episode, the virtuous Kirk managed to persuade the villainous Spock to overthrow the evil Kirk and assume command of the Enterprise. Kirk also informed Spock about the Tantalus field. It was implied that, ultimately, the villainous Spock would send Kirk to the Tantalus field and take control of the Enterprise.

The revised concept involved a pocket universe where the villainous Tiberius Kirk, nicknamed Evil Kirk, and others banished by evil Spock were stranded. They had formed a community of sorts within a prison-like setting. The new idea was that Archer and the Enterprise accidentally stumbled upon this pocket universe. Evil Tiberius Kirk, now an older but still formidable man, desired to seize control of the Enterprise and escape. It became a tale of a prison break, with William Shatner portraying the character of evil Kirk, Tiberius, leading the charge to take over the Enterprise alongside other trapped minions.

William Shatner's Star Trek: Enterprise Comeback Was Rejected By Paramount

Paramount turned down William Shatner's proposal for him to return to Star Trek: Enterprise. According to Manny Coto in his book "The Center Seat," the studio didn't want to meet Shatner's salary demands, which were deemed excessive by Star Trek producer Rick Berman. However, Coto believed that Paramount purposely wanted the show to end and that they didn't bring Shatner on board not because of financial reasons but because they could have potentially saved the series. This is his own speculative theory.

During the production of "In the Mirror, Darkly," a Mirror Universe two-part episode in Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, Coto and the rest of the cast and crew were informed that the series was being canceled. Coto believes that if William Shatner had played a Mirror Universe version of Kirk and fought Captain Archer, it would have been a highly anticipated event for Star Trek fans. He thinks it would have been a classic and memorable addition to the Star Trek franchise.

Source: "The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek" by Peter Holmstrom