William Shatner Calls Star Trek V Biggest Regret of His Career

Star Trek legend William Shatner turned 93 this week, and the actor has been busy reflecting on his life and career. Shatner originally played Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966 and went on to star in various projects in the franchise throughout his career. Of course, some of the movies and television shows in the franchise have been better received than others. In fact, Shatner recently revealed Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was the biggest regret of his career. The film was released in 1989 and was poorly received by critics and audiences alike. The film is currently up on Rotten Tomatoes with a 21% critics score and a 24% audience score. Not only did Shatner star in the film, but he also directed it. 

"I wish that I'd had the backing and the courage to do the things I felt I needed to do," Shatner explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "My concept was, 'Star Trek goes in search of God,' and management said, 'Well, who's God? We'll alienate the nonbeliever, so, no, we can't do God.' And then somebody said, 'What about an alien who thinks they're God?' Then it was a series of my inabilities to deal with the management and the budget. I failed. In my mind, I failed horribly. When I'm asked, 'What do you regret the most?,' I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture. So in the absence of my power, the power vacuum filled with people that didn't make the decisions I would've made."

What's Next For Star Trek? 

It's been nearly 60 years since Star Trek first debuted, and the franchise is still going strong. Star Trek: Discovery's long-awaited fifth and final season is finally coming back after a long hiatus. The show is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, April 4th on Paramount+. The first two episodes of the show's final 10-episode season will be released at the same time followed by weekly episode drops on Thursdays. You can read a description of the season below:

"The fifth and final season will find Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well... dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it."

It was also reported this week that Star Trek's latest movie just wrapped filming. Star Trek: Section 31 is also coming to Paramount+ and will star Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, the character she originated in Star Trek: Discovery. In the film,  film, Georgiou is "Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets" but must "also face the sins of her past." The movie also stars Omari Hardwick (Power), Kacey Rohl (Hannibal), Emmy winner Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso), Sven Ruygrok (One Piece), Robert Kazinsky (Pacific Rim), Humberly Gonzalez (Ginny & Georgia) and James Hiroyuki Liao (Barry).

Stay tuned for more updates about Star Trek.