Given that he was last seen being flung through the view screen as the USS Kelvin exploded around him in J.J. Abrams' first Star Trek film, the idea that George Kirk (played by a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth) might be back for another of the movies seemed unlikely at best. Abrams, however, seems to have other ideas, as he told Access Hollywood's Scott Mantz.
Of course, Star Trek's science fiction setting means there are any number of ways for Chris Pine's James T. Kirk to meet his father, and indeed the latest movie, Star Trek Beyond finds Kirk musing on the legacy of the man who died the day his son was born. And Abrams, who remains as a producer on the film series despite handing over the directorial reins to Justin Lin for this new one, is in a position to know what might be on tap for potential future instalments. But is it something that needs to be explored so directly? After all, having Kirk with his weight on his soul feels more effective than him getting to shake hands with George.
And as of right now, there is no fourth Star Trek film, though given the positive buzz on Beyond and the way of such franchises, brainstorming is likely to be in progress already. Still, we'll leave this one floating in the rumour neutral zone for now. Watch out for gravitic mines.
You can find our Star Trek Beyond review here and there is loads more Trek content (including a 60-page supplement on the subject) in the latest Empire, which is in shops now.