Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk almost became Star Trek‘s youngest Admiral, which would have been a complete disaster for all involved. The third movie in J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin Timeline series, Star Trek Beyond depicted the conclusion of the Enterprise’s five-year mission. Star Trek: The Original Series never reached this point due to its cancelation in 1969. A decade later, Star Trek: The Motion Picture revealed that William Shatner’s Captain Kirk had been promoted to Admiral, and was no longer commanding the USS Enterprise. Kirk later reflected that this was one of his greatest mistakes, and it’s one that Chris Pine’s version avoided at the end of Star Trek Beyond.
By the end of Star Trek Beyond, Captain Kirk was offered a promotion to Admiral, but he declined it because “Admirals don’t get to fly.” What’s interesting about Kirk’s Kelvin Timeline promotion is that it was offered in 2263, two years before his Prime Timeline counterpart even took command of the USS Enterprise. This would have made James T. Kirk the youngest Starfleet Admiral, and if his older self’s reckless actions in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock were anything to go by, the youthful Admiral Kirk could have caused even more chaos.
Chris Pine’s Admiral Kirk In Star Trek Beyond Would’ve Been A Disaster
If he’d accepted the promotion, Chris Pine’s Admiral Kirk would have been 30 when he assumed command of Starbase Yorktown. That’s a very young age to take responsibility for a Starbase, especially given how sedentary and administrative the role would be. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Kirk was promoted to Admiral at the age of 37. Although a 37-year-old Kirk is more mature than a 30-year-old one, even Shatner’s Prime Universe version was utterly bored by his role as Chief of Starfleet Operations. Previous J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies demonstrated how Chris Pine’s Kirk could act out if he didn’t get his way.
Overseeing shipping manifests and organizing starship repairs would have bored Chris Pine’s Kirk senseless, so it would only be a matter of time before he acted out. The older Kirk in Star Trek‘s Prime Universe jumped at the chance to take command of the USS Enterprise during the V’Ger Crisis. Chris Pine’s Kirk would have likely done the same if such a crisis presented itself. Without a massive galactic crisis to stimulate him, Chris Pine’s younger Admiral Kirk may have sabotaged his career in pursuit of a demotion like his Prime counterpart. However, without Prime Kirk’s seven extra years of experience, Kelvin Kirk may have been treated more harshly by Starfleet Command.
Will Chris Pine’s Kirk Be Admiral In Star Trek 4?
It’s unclear what Paramount’s plans for Star Trek 4 actually are, but it’s still hoped that Chris Pine and the Kelvin Timeline crew will return. If so, the cast will be more than eight years older, meaning that they’ll have caught up with the ages of Star Trek: TOS characters during the movies. This means that Star Trek 4 could open with an older Chris Pine as Admiral James T. Kirk overseeing a team of new recruits. This was where audiences found William Shatner’s Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which is the definitive Trek story about aging and mortality.
The previously brash, young James T. Kirk mentoring a younger, brash Starfleet Academy Cadet would provide a neat conclusion to Chris Pine’s Star Trek character arc. Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) took the brash Kirk under his wing as a father figure and nurtured him into a great Starfleet officer. In doing the same for another up-and-coming Starfleet recruit, Admiral Kirk could honor the legacy of Pike and confront his own lingering father issues.
