Star Trek Officially Reveals Captain Kirk’s New Look for November 13 Release

Star Trek is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year: “The Man Trap,” the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series (which is not the series’ original pilot, or even its second pilot), premiered on September 8, 1966, on NBC. To celebrate, the ever-popular Magic: The Gathering collectible trading card game is releasing a special set of Star Trek cards. And now, the man depicted on a number of those cards is weighing in.

William Shatner, who commanded the USS Enterprise as Captain James T. Kirk for three seasons of live-action TV, two seasons of The Animated Series, and six big-screen movies, has sometimes had a complicated relationship with the franchise. His feuds with his co-stars are legendary, as is the misfire of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which he wrote and directed; famously, he also commanded Trekkies to “Get a life!” in a Saturday Night Live sketch. However, Shatner and Star Trek are inextricably linked, especially as Shatner is now one of two surviving Original Series cast members (alongside George Takei) after the passing of Walter Koenig.

In a new video released by Magic: The Gathering producer Wizards of the Coast, Shatner gives a brief rundown of the 60-year Star Trek phenomenon, which started with a TV series he describes as “moderately successful” with Kirk, a “classical hero” at the helm. However, thanks to the power of fandom and syndicated reruns, it became “this unique thing, a show biz phenomenon.” It’s that phenomenon that’s resulted in the new Magic: The Gathering set; Shatner seems pleased with his heroic depiction in the Magic style, describing one card as a “really romantic depiction of me.” You’ll be able to see for yourself when the new Star Trek cards hit shelves on November 13.

Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.

You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.

• You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
• You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
• Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
• That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.

You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.

• You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
• Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
• Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
• That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.

You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.

• You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
• You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
• Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
• That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.

You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.

• You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
• Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
• You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
• When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.

You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.

• You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
• Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
• Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
• That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.

What Do We Know About Magic: The Gathering’s Star Trek Set?

The new Magic: The Gathering set unites every generation of Star Trek: everything in the galaxy is represented, from The Original Series to The Next Generation to Voyager, from Discovery to Lower Decks to Starfleet Academy. The standard Trek set features 81 common, 110 uncommon, 80 rare, and 25 mythic rare cards, while each Commander deck features 31 rare and 2 mythic rare cards. Plus, there are seven special Headliner cards, each signed by an iconic Star Trek actor; there are fewer than 250 of each signed card in existence.

The new Star Trek Magic: The Gathering set will be released on November 13. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Star Trek: The Original Series