Captain Kirk Returns In Short Film to Celebrate 30 Years of Star Trek: Generations

Captain Kirk has returned for a final time in the short film ‘765874: Unification’ released by OTOY for their Apple Vision Pro app The Archive.

The launch was alongside some new interactive sets and documentary interviews about the behind the scenes action to celebrate the legacy of ‘Star Trek: Generations’.

Included in this is new interactive sets, props, and more from the 1994 film along with a 20-retrospective from Captain Kirk actor William Shatner, as he looks at the character both his experience playing him and his hopes for the future of the character. 

This experience is available in Digital Cinema 4K HDR and spatial video, designed for the Apple Vision Pro, but a more limited 2D version of The Archive can be viewed online. 

The short film aims to celebrate Shatner’s last appearance of the legendary Captain Kirk, with iconic ‘Trek’ characters brought to live-action with performances from Sam Witwer as a younger James T. Kirk, and Lawrence Selleck as Spock in period-accurate costumes. 

William Shatner and Susan Bay Nimoy, widow of the late Leonard Nimoy, served as executive producers on the film.  

Shatner spoke to the OTOY team about the technical and creative direction to bring Kirk back, describing the digital prosthetic technology. He said it “takes years off of your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are.” 

‘765874: Unification’ was directed by award winning Spanish filmmaker Carlos Baena, with a story from Jules Urbach, and original music by Academy-award winning ‘Star Trek’ 

composer Michael Giacchino.

Connecting multiple decades of ‘Star Trek’ lore, the short has nods to Robin Curtis’ portrayal of Saavik 1984’s ‘Star Trek III: The Search for Spock’, Mahé Thaissa as J.M. Colt from the 1964 ‘Cage’ pilot), and Gary Lockwood, who portrayed Gary Mitchell, Kirk’s friend from the second Star Trek pilot episode, ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’.

To bring the special effects to life during post-production, artists from OTOY and partner VFX studios brought together digital and physical prosthetics with live-action photography. 

Computer generated set extensions were used to expand on on-location photography, all in aid to deliver visuals rivalling films. 

OTOY film major scenes in 765874: Unification’ twice, creating coverage from video and spatial content for Apple Vision Pro.

Emmy-award winning visual effects supervisor Mark Spatny led OTOY’s international team of artists and animators, including visual effects artists Neil Smith, JJ Palomo, and Aaron Westwood.

The Archive is an endeavor spanning multiple decades between OTOY and The Roddenberry Estate, in collaboration with Paramount Game Studios. 

Their aim is to catalog and preserve key texts and documents from Gene Roddenberry’s life and career using immersive technologies. 

Other documentary videos released by OTOY on The Archive include: The Roddenberry Archive: Behind the Scenes, The Roddenberry Archive: The Cage, The Roddenberry Archive: The Next Generation (Returns), The Roddenberry Archive: William Shatner, The Roddenberry Archive: Walter Koenig, The Roddenberry Archive: Return to Tomorrow (with “Q”), The Roddenberry Archive: Deep Space Nine, The Roddenberry Archive: David Gerrold (Part 1) | (Part 2), The Roddenberry Archive: All the Enterprises – A to Z.

‘Star Trek: Generations’ brought together Captain Kirk and Captain Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, as they team up to stop an evil scientist Dr. Soran played by Malcolm McDowell), from causing calmity.