William Shatner Can't Stop Rewatching One Classic Sci-fi Movie For A Good Reason

Paramount Pictures

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On March 22, 2026, William Shatner turned 95, and it's awesome really alert and progressive he still is. He still attends "Star Trek" conventions connected nan regular, and is thing of a tv gadfly, turning up successful cartoons, connected crippled shows, and arsenic a presenter connected various shows crossed nan medium. He precocious announced that he's moving connected a dense metallic record, which will beryllium an absorbing chaser to the kids' euphony album he recorded successful 2024. He's moreover still occasionally appearing successful "Star Trek"-related projects: Shatner was nan executive shaper connected — and his likeness was utilized successful — a analyzable tech-forward experimental instrumentality movie called "765874 – Unification." 

And, arsenic you mightiness expect, Shatner is often asked astir his favourite sci-fi movies. Thanks to his adjacent lifelong relation pinch "Star Trek," Shatner remains astatine nan halfway of nan genre's popular canon. James T. Kirk is 1 of nan astir celebrated TV characters of each time, and Shatner has apt spent plentifulness of clip reasoning astir him, arsenic good arsenic his spot successful nan wide popular firmament. 

Case successful point: Shatner was interviewed by The Daily Beast in 2011 astir his favourite outer-space movies. This was done successful conjunction pinch his medium "Seeking Major Tom," his medium of space-related popular covers. It's a two-CD set. I person a copy. Where's yours? 

Shatner's favourite outer abstraction movies mightiness look a small predictable, arsenic they are each well-known classics. He likes Steven Spielberg's "E.T. nan Extra-Terrestrial," for instance. He loved nan typical effects of "Star Wars." And he said he couldn't extremity watching Stanley Kubrick's 1968 classical "2001: A Space Odyssey." Mostly because he was still trying to fig retired what it each meant. 

Paramount Pictures

William Shatner was asked astir immoderate sci-fi classics that he wasn't truthful fond of. For instance, he didn't overmuch for illustration Mel Brooks' 1987 "Star Wars" spoof "Spaceballs," comparing it to two-day-old Chinese food. He did, however, emotion Ridley Scott's "Alien," calling it 1 of nan astir frightening movies ever made. Naturally, he besides had affirmative things to opportunity astir "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," noting that "Star Trek" birthed everything that came aft it, and that its first movie had a very handsome starring man (whose sanction he said he couldn't recall). About Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," Shatner said: 

"'Space Odyssey' was a activity of genius. With a machine that goes bad and nan enigma of nan monolith and nan indescribable ending that cipher could understand. What a awesome movie to spot again and again. And again, and again, and again because of that ending. Can anyone explicate it please?"

Sure thing, Shatner. I cognize you're reference this, and I person already written a handy-dandy mentation astir what nan ending of "2001: A Space Odyssey" means. The ample achromatic monoliths are extraterrestrial devices placed connected Earth to service arsenic evolutionary catalysts, allowing quality beings — and our ape-like proto-human ancestors — to leap guardant successful their maturation arsenic a species. The monoliths animate america to create caller tools, which is, of course, a double-edged sword. We tin usage devices to hunt, but we tin besides usage them to kill. There is, successful this sense, nary quality betwixt utilizing a tapir jawbone arsenic a nine and inventing an artificial intelligence to guideline america done nan stars. Our devices are helpful, and they whitethorn besides termination us. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The monolith past appears successful a psychedelic series astatine nan extremity of "2001: A Space Odyssey." The astronaut Dave (Kier Dullea) soars his vessel into orbit astir Jupiter, and nan movie ends pinch a 20-minute psychedelic series called "Jupiter and Beyond nan Infinite," which is nan portion that confuses astir audiences, not conscionable William Shatner. The ending is easier to take, though, erstwhile we recognize that Dave is not nan main characteristic of "2001." The main characters of "2001" are humans successful general. 

The main narration is betwixt humans and an off-screen cadre of ultra-powerful alien masters of immoderate kind, who person been planting monoliths and portals successful our path, guiding america complete hundreds of thousands of years into nan heavens. Once we scope nan Infinite, however, our minds can't grip it. Space looks for illustration colors, shapes, and ineffable things that we cannot interpret. It's been said that alien exertion will beryllium truthful precocious that it will look for illustration magic to nan modern eye. I disagree. It will look much for illustration chaotic nonsense. Aliens were trying to guideline Dave into a caller era, but his mind had to reinterpret what he saw arsenic recognizable images, for illustration palace rooms and comfy beds, to make consciousness of it. 

And then, of course, nan movie's last awesome is nan Starchild, a moon-sized, glowing fetus that drifts backmost to Earth, indicating that humanity, aft each this time, is yet fresh to beryllium born. We are but infants successful nan cosmic timeline of space, and by walking into space, we person yet go portion of a larger cosmopolitan community. As personification who is agelong associated pinch "Star Trek," William Shatner mightiness admit that.