As all good Trekkies know, Leonard Nimoy was a heralded co-star in the 2009 reboot of Star Trek, helping to hand off the franchise to a new group of actors. Nimoy then went on to make an unannounced cameo in the sequel, 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness.
It's part of the lore of these new movies that William Shatner could have appeared in the first one, in a small cameo, but this planned moment was later cut from the script. Subsequently, Shatner (no doubt having heard that his buddy Nimoy had been in the movie) stated on the record that he would be happy to appear in one of the new movies.
According to Badass Digest, he may be getting his wish. Reporter Devin Faraci claims his sources have told him that there's a scene already written into the script for Star Trek 3 that calls for the original Kirk and Spock (played by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto in the new films) to appear together on screen one last time. Even better, Faraci says that the scene in which they appear is integral to the story, and not merely a couple of cameos shoehorned in as fan service.
So it sounds like the opportunity is there if Shatner wants it. The proverbial ball will soon be in his court.
With J.J. Abrams off directing in a galaxy far, far away, the third Abramsverse Trek is set to be directed by Roberto Orci. Orci co-wrote the first two films with his longtime writing partner Alex Kurtzman. The dynamic duo, who've had a hand in every franchise from Sleepy Hollow to The Amazing Spider-Man flicks, parted ways recently to pursue different projects. Kurtzman is busy helping shepherd Sony's Spider-Man franchise; he's attached to direct the Venom movie. Orci is writing and directing Star Trek 3, which isn't a bad thing since he's the hardcore Trekkie of the two.
This will mark Orci's directorial debut. Paramount has set no release date, but this one's likely to drop sometime in 2016.
