While fans continue to wait for upcoming Star Trek shows to arrive, there’s a major event we should all acknowledge. William Shatner recently turned 95, and it might be his biggest year yet given his hints that he may return to play James T. Kirk. While we continue to speculate about his potential return, the actor shared a heartwarming message ahead of another year.
Shatner, whose performances in Star Trek are available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription, was on Instagram talking to fans ahead of his 95th birthday. In a short but sweet message, he reflected on 94, and he expressed his thanks to all who made it great:
As I complete my 94th lap around the sun, I am filled with the wonder and awe of life. Thank you, my friends, for making my life so special.
The actor may not be able to watch himself in Star Trek, but he seems grateful that others have over the decades as they’ve helped give him the wonderful life he’s still celebrating every day. In fact, Shatner has stayed busy in his 90s, doing everything from lending his voice to a short film featuring a de-aged Kirk to hosting a reality television show about Mars. He also does a ton of convention appearances yearly, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s one of the most mobile men in his 90s on Earth.
Trekkies were grateful to hear from William Shatner so close to his birthday and sent him well wishes as he celebrated his major milestone with friends and family. The Instagram post was littered with positive comments about the fictional Starfleet Captain, as can be seen below:
- Happy Birthday Captain❤️ – tini_stielzchen
- You should be eternal!!! I admire you so much – alem.angeles.belen
- Happy Birthday Sir Shatner, thanks for existing and for bringing Kirk to life, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH ❤️❤️❤️❤️ – _ladyhobbit
- Ditto, Thank you for actually making something worth watching on T.V. – cursedscythe_poetry
- Happy birthday old friend. May you have another 94. – iamseanmaguire
It’s so great to see love for the actor remains strong in the Star Trek fandom despite the amount of time he’s been away from it. His last official appearance as Captain Kirk happened in the movie Star Trek Generations, where his character was killed off in a controversial manner.
This has led to the question of how William Shatner could possibly be in talks to return to Star Trek, though there is no shortage of scenarios.
Many are quick to point out that Kirk was resurrected in a series of novels via a project that was vaguely alluded to in Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard.
It’s also possible an alternate version of the Captain could show up, now that Lower Decks has established multiple universes exist in the show. There’s no shortage of scenarios to talk about, and I’m sure we’ll be discussing many of them as Shatner celebrates another trip around the sun.
CinemaBlend wishes William Shatner a happy 95th birthday and can’t wait to see what the year brings for the beloved Star Trek actor. Of course, we’ll keep a close eye on any updates about him potentially returning to play Kirk and other news about the franchise that pops up.
