William Shatner CONFIRMS He Was Approached For ‘Star Trek 3’

Star Trek alum William Shatner, after plenty of speculation and rumors surrounding a possible role in the third film of the rebooted franchise, confirmed that he was indeed contacted about appearing in the next installment.

Shatner had spent much of the past week denying the rumor that he would show up alongside former castmate Leonard Nimoy in the forthcoming Star Trek 3. The actor even took to Twitter earlier this week to address the buzz, saying “I don’t know anything about the current gossip. Nobody has contacted me. Right now it’s just rhetoric to cause hype.”

Let’s talk ST. I don’t know anything about the current gossip. Nobody has contacted me. Right now it’s just rhetoric to cause hype.

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) September 23, 2014

Once William denied involvement in the movie and the hype began to die down, most everyone took the actor on his word. Now, only a few days later, Shatner has acknowledged that he was, in fact, approached to be a part of the new film.

William confirmed, while in Nashville for Comic Con, that producer J.J. Abrams had reached out and offered him a role, and that he would be “delighted” to be involved if his proposed part was “meaningful.”

Shatner revealed that Abrams had him promise to stay quiet about any potential appearance. “[Abrams] said “you can’t say anything’, and I said ‘I wont even tell my wife. I wont tell anyone. I wouldn’t do that, JJ.'”, William described at a Q&A. “So I get back from Australia and it is all over the Internet, that the director held an interview and said they wanted Shatner and Nimoy to be in the next movie. I bet JJ is frothing at the mouth.”

William did express concern about his involvement with the new film, even wondering how he would fit into the story all these years since the original Trek.“How do you get me fifty years later into the movie…I know it’s science fiction, but even I couldn’t come up with an idea.”

Shatner had been vocal about taking part in the first remake, describing then-director J.J.’s acquisition and re-imagining of both the Trek and Star Wars franchises as him “being a pig.”

“He’s collecting the two franchises and holding them close to his vest,” William claimed. “He’s probably the most talented director of that ilk that we have but he’s gone too far this time.” Shatner has since clarified those statements and voiced support for the new versions of the classic film series.

William, whose career spans almost six decades, has famously spent the last 17 years as the spokesperson for Priceline.com.

There is still no word on the significance of William Shatner’s role in the upcoming installment of the popular reboot. The movie is reportedly set for release in 2016 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original TV show that Shatner starred in from 1966 to 1969.

[Image via treknews.net]