William Shatner up for Star Trek: Discovery cameo

William Shatner is boldly going to Asia with Henry Winkler, George Foreman, and Terry Bradshaw in the summer comedy/travel series Better Late Than Never. But with the upcoming launch of a new Star Trek series, Discovery, the question looms: Would Shatner be up for re-entering the final frontier and reprising his role as Capt. James T. Kirk in a guest spot?

“Am I up for it? I’ll get up,” he quips to EW, adding coyly, “If I said, ‘I hardly think so,’ that would be the beginning of negotiations.” Want to hear him answer the question again in a different way? “If I were asked, I might consider it.”

During a Comic-Con panel that celebrated the 50th aninversary of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Discovery executive producer Bryan Fuller hinted at such a scenario by playfully wondering aloud if there were a way to undo Kirk’s death and continue his adventures. So, if said negotiations did begin — and Kirk’s presence on the show (which will take place a decade before the original Star Trek series) could somehow be explained through the wonders of time travel and/or alternate universes — what exactly would he want to do on the show?

“Get the girl,” he deadpans.

In addition to starring in NBC’s Better Late Than Never (debuting Aug. 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT),Shatner, 85, has co-written another novel, Zero G, which comes out next month. “It’s a book of science fiction in which the FBI are in space 50 years from now, therefore Zero G — G-man in space,” says the actor/author, who earlier this year also released the book Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man, about his bond with his late Trek costar Leonard Nimoy.

Star Trek: Discovery will debut on CBS in January, and future episodes will premiere on CBS All Access.