Star Trek Beyond: 25 Easter Eggs, References & In-Jokes

24. The Ripped Shirt Gag

The film opens with a funny little sequence that sees Kirk negotiating the exchange of a peace token from one alien race to another, terrifying one (only for it to be revealed that the monsters are in fact tiny). It's a nice sight gag, and it sees the re-introduction of a traditional Star Trek: The Original Series gag.

In pretty much every episode, Kirk would destroy his shirt (to the point where the trope is poked fun at in Galaxy Quest) or remove it entirely, and it should come as no surprise that he returns from his opening mission in such a state. The crew even laugh at it being a regular occurence and a shot in his personal quarters reveals he has numerous identical uniforms hanging up.

Chris Pine actually looks a lot more like William Shatner this time out, with a new haircut that is obviously more modelled on his.