A new Star Trek series is available with a Paramount+ subscription, which means it's time once again for the fandom to fight about modern changes in the series and what is "authentic" to Gene Roddenberry's vision. This time around, however, we have people in government weighing in, including one person asking William Shatner to take control of the franchise.
Stephen Miller, United States Homeland Security Advisor, recently posted the message to Shatner hoping Paramount would bring him back to lead the franchise and its shows and movies into the future. For those who missed it, here's his post on X:
Tragic. But it’s not too late for @paramountplus to save the franchise. Step 1: Reconcile with @WilliamShatner and give him total creative control. https://t.co/HRMDcYeBnUJanuary 16, 2026
William Shatner offered a tongue-in-cheek response to the plea, but others replied to the comment with a lot of enthusiasm. As a longtime Trekkie with love for Shatner and the franchise, I have to talk about how terrible of an idea that is for those who may not be aware.
By His Own Admission, William Shatner Has Not And Will Not Actually Watch Star Trek
While he's definitely attended screenings of the movies and watched an episode here or there, William Shatner has never actually regularly watched or kept up with Star Trek. In general, he's said he doesn't watch a lot of television, but he especially doesn't like watching things he's been in. This may be breaking news to a more casual audience, but most Trekkies know because he frequently says as much at appearances, and he does a lot of those.
I think the reason why the mainstream is often confused by this fact is that Shatner has offered up his opinion many times over the years about things that Star Trek should or shouldn't be doing. Anyone is free to express their opinion, of course, but it should be noted that his opinion is largely formed by hearing comments from people replying to his social media posts or taking photos with him at conventions. To say his finger is on the pulse for anything Star Trek has done since he wrapped working on TOS would be disingenuous, to say the least.
He Co-Wrote And Directed One Of The Worst Star Trek Movies
As Captain Kirk, William Shatner played one of Star Trek's best characters, but let's not forget he's also responsible for one of the worst movies the franchise ever made. Shatner co-wrote and directed The Final Frontier, a movie that, again, he himself has admitted sucks.
Granted, Shatner has maintained that had he been able to do the story the way he wanted, and had the budget it warranted, the movie wouldn't be as it is. Unless there was a temporal distortion that allowed us to see a timeline in which that happened and measured it up against reality, we're never going to know the answer to whether that's true. For now, we live in the reality in which the version we saw is all we have, and it won a Golden Razzie for the effort.
William Shatner Is 94 Years Old
He may be the most active nonagenarian on the planet, but there's no denying age is a factor when it comes to selecting the person to shape the future of a franchise. At 94 years old, I doubt he's itching to spend his days in meetings developing Star Trek television programming, and even if he were, I'd question whether the studio would extend him the offer to do that.
Speaking to Star Trek specifically, which just launched the critically-acclaimed Starfleet Academy, we're looking at a franchise that is trying to draw in a younger audience. Not to be cynical, but I don't know of many 90-year-olds that can accurately peg down the things the current young generation is into. I think that task is best left to the people currently working in the industry, as new voices and fresh faces come into the shows.
Star Trek, by design, is meant to change and evolve. The reason it doesn't go back to the moral message and storytelling of the '60s is that these aren't the messages we need to hear right now. Sure, there are parallels we can look at and liken modern issues to, but we're past the point of "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" needing to be the strongest moral message the franchise can send.
He's Been A Poster Boy Of Discouraging Progressive Ideas In Trek...Which Is The Point Of The Franchise
Once again, William Shatner hasn't kept up with Star Trek that had nothing to do with him, and is largely unfamiliar with even some of his old episodes. This led to a pretty wild moment during San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, in which he stated creator Gene Roddenberry would "turn in his grave" if he learned of some of the things happening in modern shows.
The quote was used as a rallying cry for those critical of Star Trek in the past decade, with some suggesting Roddenberry would be against inclusive casting or some of the ideals being promoted. CinemaBlend spoke to Shatner to get clarity on what he meant a couple of years later, and the star said he was referring to sexual relationships between crew members.
This somewhat goes back to Shatner being ignorant of Star Trek, but sexual relationships between crew members have happened in the franchise for a very long time. If we want to get technical, Captain Kirk oversaw the marriage of two crew members in "Balance Of Terror." Sex between crew members has been a part of the franchise for quite a long time.
It's unclear if William Shatner shares any of the more extreme views some critics of Star Trek have, so I won't speak to that. What I will say is it seems he draws a crowd of supporters that speak out about "DEI" and "woke" in his comments, and I think if he were put in charge, there'd be an expectation for him to end that.
Alex Kurtzman May Be Signing A New Deal
It's true that Alex Kurtzman, who has overseen Star Trek's big relaunch on streaming since the launch of Discovery, has a deal with Paramount Skydance that expires in 2026. While some have speculated he'll exit the franchise, Kurtzman suggested to CinemaBlend he'll sign a new deal, though he had to be vague in wording given he couldn't publicly comment on what's happening behind closed doors.
If that happens, then it's clear that Paramount Skydance is pleased enough with Alex Kurtzman and what he's done so far to trust him with the future of Star Trek a little longer. I think that's a smart move given all the successes we've seen in recent years, but if others think William Shatner is the answer given his limited experience, knowledge of the subject and age, who am I to judge?
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. Check out the new series, as well as classic Trek shows, as we await news of some sort about who will guide the franchise in the coming years.
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