William Shatner's Captain Kirk could be coming back to Star Trek. Speaking at Wizard World Nashville Comic Con, a typically laconic Shatner said that he'd recently received a call from J.J. Abrams regarding a role in the third Star Trek movie since the series was rebooted in 2009. Shatner said that discussions were preliminary at the moment and that any appearance would depend on what was done with his character, but that he would be "delighted" to return to Starfleet.

Speaking at the convention, Shatner said that he was surprised Abrams had called, as the two hadn't spoken for several years. Abrams had tried to get Shatner into his rebooted Star Trek timeline before, but Abrams said the plan fell through because Shatner made it "very clear that he wanted the movie to focus on him significantly." The planned scene would have reportedly featured Shatner's Captain Kirk singing a version of "Happy Birthday" for Leonard Nimoy's Spock, but it was cut because it was only there to pander to fans.

Abrams has now ceded control of Star Trek 3 to first-time director Roberto Orci, but remains on the project as a producer. It's unclear what kind of role Abrams offered Shatner on the as-yet-untitled Star Trek movie, but according to to a Badassdigest report posted last week, the film's script features a scene that reunites Shatner and Nimoy as Kirk and Spock. The two have not appeared on-screen together in their most famous roles since 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.