This short film, courtesy of the Roddenberry Archive, has been making the rounds online.



Didn't know whether to post it in an existing thread or create a new one. I hope I made the right choice.

I think it’s really well done, especially the encounter of the 3. The main thing that didn’t work for me was the walking as it didn’t look natural, and the end looked like faces floating on bodies. More Excited where this could go in years when new authentic audio can be added.

Eh, it's OK. They still look uncanny sometimes. Robin Curtis was looking pretty good though.

I thought it was quite sweet and well done. I was surprised to see William Shatner had so much to do with it.

Soundtrack was good but I had a hard time believing Kirk would keep from talking that much. And the paunch was a little too small.

But where was Bones?!?!?!?

Link below holds an explanation of the story and how the short was made.

On my first view, I thought it was all nexus ribbon stuff, but it turns out Kirk's walk was him transitioning to the JJ Abrams timeline since that's where Spock dies.

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-kir...on-short-film/

Definitely give credit and watch the original link. But I prefer this supercut that tells the entire story with the previous parts cut in as well.


And I like Trek Culture's breakdown on what happened.

This is an absolute gift to Star Trek fans. I couldn't believe how official and well done all this was. This isn't a mere fan film. This is official canon as far as I'm concerned. This isn't just deep fake either. Real actors and practical and digital prosthetics were used to great effect.

• William Shatner actually came back to play Kirk again
• This had the blessing from Leonard Nimoy's estate
• Rod Roddenberry's involvement
• Robin Curtis returns as Savik 40 years later
• Gary Lockwood returns as Mitchell
• The Okuda's were involved
• Doug Drexler was involved
• Kevin Fiege was thanked for some reason
• They got Michael Giacchino to compose the music!!
• Spock has a son!

OMG this was absolutely incredible. Such an amazing poignant coda to Kirk and Spock. They even had an air tight story for why he was able to return and say goodbye to Spock and be with him there in the end. The music was amazing and very heartfelt. Beautifully shot.

Yeah this deserves some sort of Paramount approved/commissioned physical release. I want add it to my Trek library.

At the very least add it to Paramount+. It's way better than any short trek they've ever produced.

And the crappy youtube compression really showed at the end scene. At least when I watched it there was a lot of compression artifacts.

I'm of like mind as Sam Witwer. Rather than shy away or outright oppose all this AI, de-aging, and similar tech, actors should be proactive and ensure they get control over how it's used and full compensation when it's used (similar to what James Earl Jones did with his voice prior to his passing). It is also a potential way to expand the roles they can take.

Similarly, I feel writers, artists and musicians should do the same. The tech is here and is bound to improve, may as well make sure to find ways to profit from it.

While I agree as well, I can also see a cost side of this as well. An actor gets paid to play an actor, an actor gets paid to use their likeness, and you need to pay for the SFX. And then there's residuals. Cost keep going up. I also thought of the awards. Does the actor that portrays another actor get an award? Or does the actor with the likeness gets it. Or do you give it to the SFX team? Can of worms.