Ben Stiller to host William Shatner at NYCC for 60 years of 'Star Trek'

Ben Stiller will moderate a conversation with William Shatner at the Star Trek panel at New York Comic Con this Saturday.

Variety learned that the 95-year-old actor, who played Captain James T. Kirk, will appear as the franchise marks its 60th anniversary.

The hour-long panel takes place on 10 October from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. ET on the Empire Stage at the Javits Center. 

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Stiller is a lifelong Star Trek fan who has often spoken about the influence the original series had on him and his career. 

He is a well-known collector, and his memorabilia includes the Gorn's head from the original series episode Arena. 

He and Shatner have worked together before. 

Stiller appeared in The Truth Is in the Stars, the documentary Shatner hosted, and Shatner had a cameo alongside Stiller in the comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

The second half of the panel will focus on the second season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, moderated by Collider's Perri Nemiroff rather than Stiller. 

Series stars Holly Hunter, Sandro Rosta, Bella Shepard, Karim Diané and Robert Picardo are due to attend, along with co-showrunners and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. 

The season will get a sneak preview. 

It is the show's last, after Paramount+ announced earlier this year that the series would end after two seasons.

Shatner's appearance carries added weight because he missed the franchise's 60th anniversary panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July, which was reported to be due to a prior engagement. 

He played Kirk across three seasons of the original series and two of the animated series, then in six films with the original cast, and appeared opposite Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Generations.

The future of the franchise beyond Starfleet Academy and the upcoming fifth and final season of Strange New Worlds is unclear. No new shows have been announced, though Paramount is said to be keen on developing a new Star Trek film.

New York Comic Con runs at the Javits Center from Thursday, 8 October, to Sunday, 11 October.

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