William Shatner Makes Major Announcement For Shatner In Space
William Shatner's space journey may be over but he's got more to say about it!
This article is more than 2 years old
Back in October, William Shatner of Star Trek fame went where only around 550 or so people have gone before — he briefly entered orbit aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard. Now the man known best as Captain James T. Kirk wants to share his experience. Shatner’s one-hour documentary Shatner in Space will premiere later this month on Amazon Prime Video.
William Shatner announced the special’s premiere at CCXP Worlds 2021 (via Collider) yesterday. The documentary promises to chronicle not only the historic flight itself, but both what leads up to it and the aftermath. Shatner in Space begins streaming next Wednesday, December 15 in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. According to Deadline, Prime subscribers outside those areas will get to stream the special sometime in early 2022.
To those who followed reports of William Shatner’s journey into the heavens, Shatner in Space‘s existence is likely not a surprise. When word first emerged that the actor was hoping to get a seat on board New Shepard, rumors circulated that Shatner was looking to document the journey and had pitched the special to Discovery, who gave it a pass. Considering Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was the first person to greet Shatner and his New Shepard crew-mates upon returning to Earth, it’s not too huge a shock the Star Trek star managed to strike a deal with the Amazon’s streaming arm.
On Wednesday, October 13, William Shatner became the oldest person to ever journey to space. At the age of 90, Shatner beat out 82-year-old record holder Wally Funk, who earned her relatively short-lived record on the previous New Shepard flight in July — the same flight that carried Jeff Bezos into space. While Funk didn’t hold the record long, that she had it for any length of time brought with it at least one victory: when she obtained the record, Funk beat out astronaut John Glenn, who had famously opined women don’t belong in space.
With Shatner in Space clocking in at an hour, it seems likely there won’t be much coverage beyond the flight and its immediate lead-up and aftermath. However, there are at least a couple of items that would seem criminal to not mention. Chief among them, the tragic death of one of William Shatner’s three New Shepard crew-mates — entrepreneur Glen de Vries (pictured below, to the far left) — less than a month after the flight they shared. De Vries and Thomas Fischer died in a plane crash in New Jersey on Thursday, November 11. At the time it was reported both men were registered pilots, and it wasn’t clear which one was flying the plane.
Then there’s some of the criticism and ugliness slung between William Shatner and other celebrities after the actor’s flight. While not mentioning Shatner specifically, Prince William criticized Blue Origin for “trying to find the next place to go and live” rather than “trying to repair this planet.” On a much less friendly note, Shatner’s former Star Trek costar George Takei mocked the 90-year-old for his journey, calling him “a guinea pig” and “a specimen that’s unfit.” Shatner responded on Twitter by saying that “the only time [Takei] gets press is when he talks bad about me.”
