Star Trek's William Shatner Knows How His Captain Kirk Can Return (But It's Gross)

James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) is without a doubt one of the best Enterprise captains in "Star Trek." The bold, brash Starfleet officer was the main man of "Star Trek: The Original Series" and multiple movies, but with the Kelvin Universe version (Chris Pine) possibly notwithstanding, it's easy to assume that time has passed him by — especially since the character dies in "Star Trek: Generations" when the movie quite literally drops a bridge on him. 

Despite this, Shatner was willing to entertain the idea of bringing Kirk back in an interview with the Canadian Press (via Global News), and he even came up with a somewhat unsettling plot where Kirk's frozen remains would be used to transplant his brain into a younger version of the character — played by a digitally de-aged Shatner, of course. 

"A company that wants to freeze my body and my brain for the future might be a way of going about it," he described the idea. "'We've got Captain Kirk's brain frozen here.' There's a scenario. 'Let's see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!'"

William Shatner would change some things about Kirk's death in "Star Trek: Generations," and he's even said that he would go back and demand a better death for Kirk if he could. As such, it's hardly surprising that he's willing to speculate about ways to give his famous character one more whirl — and possibly, a better ending. 

Still, don't take that to mean Shatner is chasing Kirk clout at any cost. On the contrary, he's quite aware of the character's importance in the franchise, and as such, any potential return would require a story worthy of Captain James T. Kirk's time. 

In the Canadian Press interview, Shatner himself notes that while he might be willing to revisit the role in the right circumstances, bringing Kirk back would be a tall order. "It's almost impossible but it was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it," he said. As such, if Kirk ever ends up returning on screens big or small, expect Shatner to make sure that fans are in for a thrilling ride.