Paramount / Disney Captain James T. Kirk and Draxx the Destroyer
As Heavy has noted and as written about multiple times, William Shatner is truly a force. Despite his age (he’s 90 years old now), he always seems to have a new project making headlines.
He announced that he’d partnered with an artificial intelligence firm to create a living hologram in April. Then, his latest film, “Senior Moment,” came out to mostly positive audience reviews. The movie also starred Christopher Lloyd, who Shatner fought against on the Genesis planet in “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.”
After that, Shatner faced Mike Tyson in the boxing ring (and in an arm-wrestling match) in a series of promotions for Coppergel. But “Bill” found himself embroiled in hot water as his new show, called “I Don’t Understand,” was picked up by the Russian-owned network, RT.
“I Don’t Understand”
Somehow, a t-shirt designer thought Mr. Shatner was dead and started making t-shirts to remember him by. This weekend, Shatner will prove that he is indeed very much alive, as he will appear at the “Star Trek Original Series Set Tour” in Upstate New York for a few days of photos and autographs.
If that was not enough, Mr. Shatner will be headlining the 55th Anniversary “Star Trek” convention in Las Vegas in August. He recently told the British magazine, The Big Story, that his new album, “Love, Death, and Horses,” will be out soon. Oh, and he starred on Discovery’s “Shark Week,” too.
Shatner in “Guardians of the Galaxy 3?”
An average person might take it easy in their golden years, but Shatner is different. He obviously does not want to wind up like his counterpart — Captain James T. Kirk — lying dead under a bridge. Shatner is living life to its fullest.
Since he’s done playing Kirk, he’s set his sights on saving a different universe — the Marvel Universe.
In an interview with Express.co.uk, the actor said he would be up for a role in the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy 3.”
“Yeah!” he said in the interview. “I’ve guarded the galaxy many times.”
Dave Bautista in “Star Trek?”
There might be an opening for Shatner on the Guardians. The man who portrays “Draxx the Destroyer,” Dave Bautista, says that he was “born a Klingon.”
Bautista has also said that his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming to an end. Draxx’s story will probably be over when “Guardians 3” is released.
“We missed a huge boat on that character, and I don’t think it’ll ever come back around,” Bautista told Collider in a recent interview. “But I’m really just looking forward to finishing out this whole journey.”
As noted by ComicBook.com, it might not be the strangest thing to see Bautista in a “Star Trek” role. His Marvel castmate, Zoe Saldana, has a boot in both worlds. In the “Star Trek” Kelvin films, she’s the communications officer for the Enterprise, Nyota Uhura. In the Marvel films, she is Gamora, the daughter of Thanos and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
If the producers of “Star Trek 4” cast Bautista in a role, he’d join a few others who have been stars for both franchises. This select group includes Alfre Woodard (Lily in “Star Trek: First Contact”), Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk in “Star Trek” 2009), Neal McDonough (Lt. Hawk in “Star Trek: First Contact”), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Khan in “Star Trek Into Darkness.”)
Wrestling With Greatness
Shatner and Bautista also have something else in common — they are both affiliated with the WWE. Bautista was a professional wrestler for over 20 years and became one of the WWE’s biggest stars by the end of his time in the ring. While not a wrestler, Shatner has lent his star power and charisma to WWE on so many occasions that he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April. Bautista has delayed his entry into the WWE Hall of Fame due to scheduling conflicts.
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Shatner Up For ‘Guardians 3,’ While a Guardian Wants to be a Klingon