William Shatner took shots at Paramount over the handling of the Star Trek franchise and the erasure of the most beloved character in Star Trek history, Captain Kirk.
Prompted by a question from X user Herostraous, asking, “But will we ever see Captain Kirk again?” William Shatner took a recent Paramount+ Star Trek Originals promotional image, with a poster with every captain from every Star Trek show on the image, but oddly, Captain Kirk is missing.
William Shatner wrote along with the image, “All you have to do is look at the Paramount+ graphics to answer that question.”
His answer sparked outrage from fans, chief among them pop culture experts Nerdrotic, Doomcock, and The Critical Drinker.
Nerdrotic posted, “This is a crime against Star Trek.”
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Doomock said, “This is a travesty. Captain Kirk is the heart of Star Trek and without Captain Kirk, the whole thing is a SHAM. God bless #WilliamShatner and the immortal character he created. My childhood hero. Thank you for all the joy you brought me, Bill. You’re the best.”
The Critical Drinker asked, “Why do they keep trying to erase you?”
However, the discussion didn’t stop there as another fan asked William Shatner, “Has anyone at Paramount come out with an official explanation for this MASSIVE FLUB?”
Shatner replied once more, taking more shots at Paramount over their handling of the series, stating, “It’s not the first time it’s been going on for years. It makes no difference to me that a group who think they are “enlightened” (or whatever they think they are) obviously feels threatened by the Kirk character. It’s a character from a 1960’s TV show- get over it.”
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Star Trek would hardly exist without Captain Kirk. The character of Captain Pike, whom Kirk replaced after the pilot, was dry compared to the masculine, swashbuckling hero who helmed the series, which is why original CBS executives demanded the change after one episode of “The Cage.”
Now, Paramount is running a whole series with Captain Pike as Star Trek’s star and the Enterprise’s captain, and the show has a distinctly de-masculinized feel. Outside of Spock, almost all the cast and senior officers of the ship are now female, with commander Number One, security officer La’an, helmsman Ortega, and communications officer Uhura. Pike himself takes a much more “standoffish” role in command than Kirk, being emasculated by his crew at many points during the show.
Strange New Worlds has introduced a Lieutenant James T. Kirk character, played by Paul Wesley, as a recurring character who’s shown up in several episodes thus far, but the character doesn’t feel right at all. Unlike William Shatner, Paul Wesley’s character feels beta and unmasculine. He confirmed he had orders not to replicate the iconic Captain Kirk character played by Wiliam Shatner in an interview, stating the execs told him, “Please just do your own thing.”
With William Shatner mocking Paramount’s marketing of new Star Trek, it becomes apparent that the brand has significant problems living up to what it had in the past. Fans are noticing, too, one user posting a “fixed” version of the Paramount marketing, giving Captain Kirk the space he deserves on the poster.
Dozens of fans tweeted similar messages, stating that William Shatner’s Captain Kirk is Star Trek. Without him, the brand has nothing.
What do you think of William Shatner blasting Paramount on its handling of Captain Kirk? Leave a comment and let us know.
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