We all know William Shatner makes a great captain of a starship, and if his impression of King Charles is anything to go by, he should probably stick to Star Trek. During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, he went into a performance of the monarch during a diatribe on global warming.
In Star Trek, Shatner portrayed the first Star Trek captain, James T Kirk of the starship USS Enterprise. His exploits across Star Trek movies and Star Trek series grant him a particular perspective on humanity’s grander hopes and dreams, so it’s not surprising he has a particularly hard take on climate change.
During a segment on Good Morning Britain, he expresses that he hopes King Charles highlights this plight during an opening speech he’ll be giving at an upcoming UN summit. “He’s got to say, ‘We’re all going to die’, that’s what he should say to open up with,” Shatner starts. “‘Very quickly we’re going to die, much sooner than we expected, we’re going to die’.”
To say he doesn’t quite have the accent would be an understatement. You can feel the passion, but Shatner definitely wouldn’t be my pick for any King Charles biopic that might happen.
“What a glorious thing,” Shatner continues, on having King Charles speak about the ongoing damage to the environment. “England is one of the foremost countries in the world, and it has to lead.” Spoken like a true high ranking officer of the Federation of Planets.
As the segment notes, Shatner himself has been to space. He’s been open about how much that emboldened him to speak up for protecting our planet and everything that lives on it. If you’re a Star Trek fan, you’ll know one particular science fiction movie in the franchise carries this message – Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home.
In that film, Kirk and his crew are transported back in time in order to save the Humpback Whale, who are needed to stop an apocalyptic disaster. Next time you’re staring out into the ocean, think about the multitude of ways that ecosystem could directly save us in the future.
Have a look at our guides to the Strange New Worlds season 3 release date and the Section 31 release date to see what gifts the near future holds. They promise a better world if we combat climate change, just like Captain James T Kirk tells us. For another franchise focused on environmental concerns, here’s what we know about Avatar 3.