Kirstie Alley’s brilliant performance as a young Vulcan Starfleet officer, Lieutenant Saavik, in the iconic film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, stands out in the franchise. However, despite being an integral part of the Star Trek Universe, the actress didn’t reprise her role in the subsequent release of the franchise, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, where Robin Curtis took over her character.
Recently, Brian Volk-Weiss, the director of Icons Unearthed, disclosed that the actress who passed away in December 2022, alleged in an interview that William Shatner, who played James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, prevented her return to Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Brian Volk-Weiss says Kirstie Alley had an elaborate wardrobe on the set of ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’
Brian revealed that during an interview he had with Kirstie, she shared her experience on the movie set, her wardrobe choice, and her rumored romantic involvement with the movie’s director, Nicholas Meyer. “She’s like, ‘Yeah, I was this beautiful young girl. I had just gotten to LA, I was like 20 years old, and I was playing this character that, like, all you can see are her hands and from her neck up.’ And she was like, ‘I had this great body, and I was a model,” Brian explained.
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“So every day I was trying to push the line further.’ And I’m like, ‘Kirstie, I am blown away. I never noticed that.’ She’s like, ‘You never noticed the scene where I’m in the bath, where I’m in a bathrobe in the elevator?’ And I’m like, ‘I gotta be honest with you, Kirstie, I’ve never thought of that before. That blows my mind,” Brian added. “You’re absolutely right. Why were you in a bathrobe?’ She basically said she had been charming hair and makeup, charming the wardrobe department, kind of implied there was something going on [director] Nicholas Meyer; which I asked him about, and he denied completely.”
Why did Williams Shatner prevent Kirstie’s return to the franchise
Brian further explained that the late actress was of the opinion that Shatner was not happy about the freedom she wanted with her wardrobe, and the displeasure ultimately led him to act to block her from reprising her role as Lieutenant Saavik.
“So I’m interviewing Kirstie Alley, and we’re going back and forth, and she was like, ‘Yeah, you know … if you watch the film carefully, you’ll notice in the opening shot I’m like, hair’s back, you know, very, very serious, you know, Vulcan,” Brian recalled. “And by, you know, the end of the movie, I’m like wearing an eyeshadow and my hair’s down,’ and I’m like, ‘You know, I gotta be honest with you, I never noticed that before.’”
“But basically, that’s the reason why she’s not in Star Trek III because William Shatner was so mad about the whole thing, the bathrobe, everything, that he made such a to-do about hiring her again, that they gave her an absolutely ludicrous financial offer designed to get her to say no,” he added.
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