Star Trek's William Shatner receives honor at San Diego Comic-Con

William Shatner and Paul Wesley at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 (Getty Images)

JULY 29, 2022 - During San Diego Comic-Con, Star Trek star William Shatner was honored with a special handprint ceremony honoring the actor. The event was organized by Legion M, the fan-owned production company leading the upcoming documentary based on Shatner’s life. A series of reports from TrekMovie.com brought us some of the highlights of his participation in multiple events at the convention.

As the weekend got underway, William Shatner joined Star Trek: Strange New Worlds actor Paul Welsey (James Kirk) onstage for Legion M’s William Shatner handprint ceremony. While filling the shoes of what is arguably Star Trek’s most iconic character is an incredible honor, Wesley introduced Shatner with humility, saying, “I can’t imagine taking on such a character with everything that it means to countless fans without having the support of the man who first brought him to life. Thankfully Bill, or Mr. Shatner, the original Captain Kirk himself went out of his way to make a newcomer like me feel welcome. And for that, I will be eternally grateful.” For his introduction, Shatner called Wesley “sweet”, and relayed to the audience that the two were actually neighbors for much of Wesley’s life.

During a Thursday panel in which the actor showcased the new documentary, the film’s director Alexandre O. Phillipe commented on his inspiration for the film. “I’m really a fan of [Shatner’s] observations on life, on nature, on the universe, on these connections, these things that connect us all in sort of strange, mysterious ways,” he said. “So I started really thinking about what is the best way to make a film about Bill.” Phillipe went on to discuss the autobiographical songs of Shatner’s musical career, and how his music is a significant influence in the documentary. Phillipe said, “I decided to structure the doc around a number of songs and delve into essentially a number of themes that I felt were really important to Bill,” adding, “the film is really a celebration of Bill the human and his career, of course, but it’s going to be a very lyrical film, a very poetic film.”

With the film still in production,  a release date for the William Shatner documentary has yet to be announced, but you can be sure we will keep you updated as more details come forward.