William Shatner appears in 765874 – Unification: a quietly moving tribute to 1994’s Star Trek: Generations and the late Leonard Nimoy.
You know that late sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey where Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) sees different versions of himself at varying stages of his life? There’s a touch of that cosmic eeriness to 765874 – Unification, a short film released to mark the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Generations.
That 1994 film was, of course, the last big-screen appearance from William Shatner’s James T Kirk, and the new short is a tribute to both his work throughout the franchise and those who co-starred with him, not least the great, dearly-missed Leonard Nimoy. This is an official film, too, not a fan-made piece – meaning Shatner himself appears, albeit digitally de-aged, as well as the likeness of Nimoy, with permission from his family’s estate. You’ll also find Robin Kurtis as Saavik, Gary Lockwood as Mitchell, and John Daltorio as Crusher among the cast.
765874 – Unification is the work of computer graphics firm OTOY, and was made in partnership with Apple. It forms part of an ‘experiential app’ for the latter tech giant’s Apple Vision Pro headset, which also provides an interactive museum, of sorts, full of props and sets from the Star Trek franchise.
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An awful lot of work has clearly gone into the short, directed by Carlos Baena and featuring some characteristically tender music from Michael Giacchino. Taking in clips from earlier films and shows, new footage of actors and some almost seamless CGI varnish to tie it all together, it’s both technically impressive and quietly moving.
Take a look for yourself below, and if you’re interested, there’s lots more on its making over on OTOY’s website.
What’s that? Oh, it’s just something in my eye. A bit of space dust or something.
