Captain's Log: Ben Stiller Will Interview William Shatner at NYCC — A Lifelong Fan Gets the Center Chair for Star Trek's 60th
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Variety reports that Ben Stiller will moderate a conversation with William Shatner at the Star Trek panel at New York Comic Con on October 10. Here's the connection between the two, how the panel is structured, and what to watch for.
Captain's log, stardate 103931.0. Every fan has imagined the scene: you sit across from the man who sat in the center seat, and you get to ask whatever you want. On Saturday, someone gets to do it in front of a live audience.
Ben Stiller will moderate a conversation with William Shatner at the Star Trek panel at New York Comic Con on October 10, per Variety's exclusive, published October 7 and picked up by Cosmic Book News and Geo News. The panel runs 3:15 to 4:15 PM ET on the Empire Stage at the Javits Center, and it is part of the franchise's 60th-anniversary celebration.
Why Stiller
Variety describes Stiller as a lifelong Star Trek fan who has often talked about how the original series shaped his career. The two have history, too: Stiller appeared in the documentary The Truth Is in the Stars, which Shatner hosted, and Shatner had a cameo in Stiller's comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
Geo News adds that Stiller keeps an impressive collection of Trek memorabilia, including the Gorn's head from Arena (TOS S1E18). I have only seen that detail in one outlet, so take it as reported.
How the hour is built
Variety reports that the panel also covers the Starfleet Academy second and final season, with that portion moderated separately by Collider's Perri Nemiroff. Panelists are Holly Hunter, Sandro Rosta, Bella Shepard, Karim Diané and Robert Picardo, with co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. We covered that lineup when it was announced; the new piece of news is who will be asking Shatner the questions. The coverage I found doesn't say how the hour is split between the two halves, so I won't guess.
Why this pairing works
Interviews with Shatner can go in many directions. He is 95, he has been telling the Kirk story for sixty years, and he is famously willing to go off-script. A moderator who knows the show well enough to talk about Arena and can also hold his own in a comedy conversation is a smart choice.
It also says something about Trek. The franchise has always been passed along by fans who grew up to do something with it, whether they became engineers, writers, actors or filmmakers. Having one of them sit down with the original captain feels like the right way to mark sixty years: not a tribute reel, but a conversation between two people who obviously love the same thing.
What to watch for
- Saturday, October 10, 3:15 PM ET: the panel itself. Reveals are not guaranteed, and I'm not predicting any.
- Early 2027: TrekCore's guide expects Starfleet Academy's final season around then. That is expectation, not a confirmed date, so keep an ear out for anything official.
Make it so, and enjoy the show.
Live long and prosper.
Sources: Variety (via Yahoo), Cosmic Book News, Geo News.
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