William Shatner sets sights on Star Trek musical

William Shatner hopes to arrange a show to celebrate 50 years of Star Trek – and it could even be a musical.

The 84-year-old, who played Captain Kirk when the television series launched in 1966, is trying to organise an show for Star Trek’s half century anniversary next year.

He said: “I’m attempting to sell a 50th anniversary show, but so far I’ve had very little luck. Maybe because Paramount’s going to do their own – but I don’t know how they can do their own without me. I’ve never been contacted.

“I’ve been actively trying to do a 50th anniversary show … We had a big company say: ‘What about a musical or a music variety show?’ That got some traction – but nothing’s come of it yet.”

Since Star Trek became a cult success in the 1970s, Shatner has appeared at fan conventions, made a documentary about the series, and even written sci-fi novels set within the Star Trek universe.

Despite this, he does not re-watch the original Star Trek – and has avoided seeing the newer series or films.

He said: “I haven’t watched myself on Star Trek, except when forced to because I’m directing something. So there are many, many of the episodes that I did all those years ago that I have never watched, and that goes for every iteration of Star Trek … I just haven’t had the time.

“The people on Star Trek: The Next Generation are friends of mine, and they kid me about the fact that I have never really seen a full-length Next Generation.”

Shatner is close friends with Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the series which ran from 1987 to 1994, and it was on a double date with Stewart and his wife that Shatner’s partner revealed she didn’t watch Star Trek either. The actor said: “The four of us went out on a date, and my prospective wife said to Patrick, ‘How can you be Captain if my husband’s Captain?’ She had never seen a Star Trek!”

Shatner’s latest project is A Christmas Horror Story, in which he narrates four interwoven stories featuring murder, possession, and a zombie outbreak at Santa’s workshop. But horror films do not feature in the Shatner family TV schedule at Christmas any more than Star Trek does.

The father of three said: “Am I going to watch horror films at Christmas time? No.

“Christmas time is usually the time when, for the last many many years, I have taken my family, children – and after my children got married and all that – taken them some place for a family holiday.”