Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be coming to an end after five seasons, but there are still plenty of stories the creators wanted to tell, including one which would have seen William Shatner return as Captain Kirk for the first time in decades.
William Shatner on Strange New Worlds
During an interview with Polygon, Strange New Worlds showrunners Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman spoke about the upcoming fourth season, and Goldsman said that his biggest regret was not being able to bring Shatner back as Kirk.
The concept, which the showrunners tried to bring to life every season, would have served as a sequel to The City on the Edge of Forever, one of the best episodes of the entire franchise.
In that episode, Dr. McCoy accidentally travels back in time through a mysterious portal called the Guardian of Forever. His actions alter history so drastically that the Federation no longer exists. Kirk and Spock follow him to 1930s New York, where they meet a kind social worker named Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), whom Kirk falls in love with. However, Spock learns that her survival would alter history, preventing the Allies from winning World War II, and Kirk is forced to make a heartbreaking choice: allow her to die to restore the future.
The Strange New Worlds episode would have followed a version of Kirk who decided to remain with Keeler in the past. It’s an interesting idea, and the team worked on several different scripts for the episode. It’s even possible that Joan Collins could have returned, as she’s still active in the acting world.
“I think if you get to the end and there’s nothing left for you to want to do, then that’s more of a disappointment,” Myers said. “I’m proud of every episode we’ve done, but I feel like the best dinners you come to don’t leave you feeling stuffed. They leave you wanting more.“
Strange New Worlds Season 4
The fourth season of Strange New Worlds will debut on July 23. “Season 4 is what I would call very pure Strange New Worlds,” Goldsman teased. “We move around in terms of tone, we move around in terms of genre, and then we drive it to the last six episodes, which is pretty singular.” As Goldsman mentioned, the fifth and final season, which has already wrapped production, will consist of just six episodes.
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