5. William Shatner
It is well documented how desperately William Shatner wants to be part of the J.J. Abrams Star Trek universe, and felt passed over when Leonard Nimoy was cast as future Spock while he was not brought in to play future Kirk. Shatner has since made snide remarks about Abrams and his take on the classic series, to which the director remarked, "I havent spoken with him in a long time, but I did read something where he gave me a fantastic underhanded compliment". Still, Abrams seems to take it in his stride, and if the right opportunity came along to bring Shatner in, he probably wouldn't outright dismiss it. There's a possibility that it just might be
too on the nose, but wouldn't it be fantastic to see Shatner make a small appearance as Kirk in Star Trek 3? The main worry is that even if they manage to crack a way for him to appear, Shatner is 82 years old now, and if the film wasn't made for even another 2 or 3 years, who's to say if Shatner will still be around then? Similarly, would fans actually want to see a potentially near-90-year-old future Kirk?