Thirty years ago this week, William Shatner took his final bow as Captain James T. Kirk in the film Star Trek: Generations. Kirk died, with a grieving Captain Picard at his side, saving an inhabited planet from annihilation. However, most fans were not satisfied with Captain Kirk’s final goodbye. Sure, it was neat to see him share the screen with Patrick Stewart as Picard. But they had only just met. It would have meant ten times more to have Leonard Nimoy’s Spock there as Kirk departed this mortal plane of existence. Alas, it was not to be. Until now, that is.
Via Trek Movie, we’ve learned that three decades after Star Trek: Generations hit theaters, the Roddenberry Archive, together with OTOY, has rectified this mistake with a short film called 765874 – Unification. Directed by Spanish filmmaker Carlos Baena, it was made with the involvement of Shatner himself, along with the Leonard Nimoy estate. This mostly silent short film will bring tears to the eyes of any longtime Star Trek fan. Especially those who wished Kirk and Spock could have had that one, final reunion. You can watch it in full above.
Using a combination of live-action footage and computer-generated imagery, this short imagines what would have happened if Captain Kirk had left the other dimensional Nexus (where he existed for 80 years in a suspended state) to visit Spock as he died many decades later. 765874 – Unification is filled with Star Trek Easter eggs. In fact, the name Unification is also the name of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode centered on Spock in his middle-aged years. (Which, for Vulcans, is around 120 or so). Actor Lawrence Selleck plays Spock, with CGI enhancement to appear like Nimoy.
Actor Gary Lockwood, who played Kirk’s buddy Gary Mitchell, returned to the role after nearly 60 years. Mitchell ascended to godhood in Star Trek’s second pilot episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” The implication here is that he used his godlike powers to help Kirk reunite with Spock in his dying moments. And Kirk would have needed the help of a deity. Because when Spock died offscreen in Star Trek Beyond, he was actually in another universe. The iconic Vulcan passed away in the so-called Kelvin timeline, used in the modern J.J. Abrams films.
Another character making a cameo is Robin Curtis, who played the Vulcan Lt. Saavik in the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The body of the younger Kirk was provided by Sam Witwer, who fans know as the voice of Darth Maul in the animated Star Wars shows. More Trek luminaries involved include Michael Giacchino, composer of the modern Kelvin-verse Star Trek films, and Picard production designer David Blass. Maybe the deepest cut reference in the film is a character from Star Trek: Discovery named Yor. This character crossed from the Kelvin Universe to the Prime Universe. Shatner’s Kirk and Nimoy’s Spock never got to say goodbye to each other on the silver screen. But 765874 – Unification is certainly the next best thing.