New Star Trek Fan Film, '765874: Unification', Honoring Captain Kirk And Spock Goes Viral With Massive Fan Praise
Classic Star Trek fans have not had much to look forward to in recent years, with Alex Kurtzman taking the science fiction brand with Discovery and Lower Decks and turning the show into something unrecognizable from what it was. Now, the Roddenberry Archive has teamed with OYOT to make a beautiful tribute to Captain Kirk and Spock, which has fans hopeful quality Star Trek still can be made.
For the 30th Anniversary of the release of Star Trek: Generations, the film which tied the original series and The Next Generation together with an adventure featuring both Captain Kirk and Captain Picard, the Roddenberry Archives worked with OYOT to create a film for the fans.
Generations infamously showed Captain Kirk dying after saving a civilization. Many fans found this moment anti-climactic, wanting Kirk to go out in a much bigger blaze of glory. Now, with Unification, Star Trek shows Captain Kirk in life-after-death, as he goes through a series of dreamscapes highlighting the impact Kirk had on Starfleet and the Federation, as well as delving into self-reflection, before finally reuniting the character with Spock in what appears to be the afterlife.
The film stars William Shatner with de-aging technology and harkens back to the death scene of Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with a computer-generated older Leonard Nimoy. The characters look off into a new dawn, in a hopeful, strange, new world, making for a feel of something more like Star Trek than many recent iterations of the show.
Fans were overjoyed with this sendoff for the original series crew, and the film has gone viral.
Director Carlos Baena posted about the film, saying, “Proud to share '765874: Unification', a Star Trek short I’ve directed this year. A true labor of love (and blood, sweat & tears) by a lot of great talented folks. It was a careful / delicate balance between storytelling, a respect for StarTrek and new technologies. (thread)”
“But above all, for me, the heart of this short was focused on honoring the emotions of Kirk and Spock’s lifelong friendship while crafting a universal story of one last reunion.”
“While I didn’t grow up watching Star Trek in my country, I drew from the memory of my parents, whose love and presence I carry with me every single day. Sunsets take on extra meaning for me since I spent the last hours with my 15-year-old dog Tia, watching her final sunset.”
“My heartfelt thank you to a wonderful crew who worked endless hours on this challenging film. Thank you to the cast who I was inspired by every day on the set. Thank you @WilliamShatner, @OTOY, @ParamountPics and @roddenberry for trusting me with this film.”
“Lastly, thank you @StarTrek for allowing me to be part of your world. I’ve truly enjoyed working on these last 4 StarTrek shorts. . “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP” - Leonard Nimoy. . Dedicated to my parents,” he concluded.
William Shatner also posted the project, noting that a Star Wars fan account even shared the film as a triumph.
OTOY posted to their website on the film, “On the 30th anniversary of “Star Trek: Generations”, The Archive and William Shatner revisit Captain Kirk’s final appearance on screen in a new 8-minute video produced for The Archive app on Apple Vision Pro: “765874: Unification”, launched in tandem with new interactive sets and documentary interviews and behind the scenes content celebrating the legacy of the 1994 film.”
You can watch Unification here:
What do you think of Unification the new Star Trek fan film honoring Captain Kirk and Spock? Leave a comment and let us know.
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