William Shatner Nearly Returned To Star Trek As A Villain

As longtime fans already know, Enterprise had a two-part episode that memorably explored the Mirror Universe, but it didn’t feature Kirk. Instead, that episode gave us a better glimpse of what life was like in this evil universe as Mirror Archer and crew tried to secure some Tholian technology. This episode also confirmed the fan theory that the first USS Defiant from The Original Series had fallen into the Mirror Universe through a rift in space, a plot point that Star Trek: Discovery would later build on.

Originally, though, showrunner Manny Coto wanted to bring William Shatner back for this episode so the veteran actor could bring Mirror Kirk back to life. The story would have involved the Tantalus Field from the original “Mirror, Mirror” episode actually transporting people back in time where they would be deposited in a penal colony in “our” universe. After Mirror Spock used this device to send Mirror Kirk to the penal colony, the cunning captain ended up taking over the colony.

How, though, would Mirror Kirk’s story have intersected with Captain Archer and the crew of the Enterprise? After discovering the existence of the penal colony, Archer and his crew were going to focus on freeing the prisoners. This would lead to Mirror Kirk battling Archer and trying to take control of his starship, proving perhaps that even for his evil mirror counterpart, commanding a starship is the “first, best destiny” for Captain Kirk.

After meeting with Manny Coto, William Shatner seemed keen on coming back to Star Trek (again), so why is it that we never saw Mirror Kirk make an appearance? Unsurprisingly, it all comes down to money: Shatner wanted a hefty amount to return as Kirk, and while the amount was less than Coto thought it would be, it was still more than Paramount was willing to pay. While that may sound like executives being cheap, Paramount claimed to have some numbers backing up their decision.

Coto said that Paramount crunched the numbers and found that the rating boost Shatner would have given UPN wouldn’t have justified Shatner’s payment. Between this and Coto’s impression that Paramount would have said no even if it was a lower rate, the dream of Mirror Kirk’s return died. That’s a shame because even if it was going to be a portrayal of his evil counterpart, a cameo on Enterprise could have given William Shatner a better farewell than he got in the eminently forgettable film Star Trek: Generations.

For better or for worse, an Enterprise cameo by Mirror Kirk could also have changed how the Mirror Universe was portrayed in Discovery. Instead, Paramount keeping him away is what led to those crazy plot points about a mustache-twirling Lorca, a Saru-snacking Georgiou, and dominatrix Tilly. Given how fun all of these characters were and how the Mirror Universe arc was an early standout for Discovery storytelling, maybe it’s for the best that Mirror Kirk never appeared again.