Even if you’re not into Star Trek, you’re probably aware of the legendary friendship (or more, depending on who you ask) shared between Captain James T. Kirk and Spock. It’s part of what made their separate deaths—Kirk’s being in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations and Spock’s only being a thing mentioned in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond—so bittersweet for many fans.
But now, grieving trekkies can finally get some closure, thanks to a fan film that’s not only an epic, Easter egg-filled crossover spanning the vast canon of Star Trek, but a tearjerking love letter to the two characters who first made the show so special in the first place.
In 765874 – Unification, created by the VFX studio OTOY (Westworld, American Gods), we first see a well known Kirk quote written on the screen:
“How we deal with death is as least as important as how we deal with life”
Then Kirk (William Shatner’s face, but body doubled by actor Sam Witwer) appears, and travels through the afterlife running into a TON familiar faces (including Saavik, Sorak and Yor, to name a few) all leading to Spock (Leonard Nimoy, Lawerence Selleck) on his deathbed. Thirty years later, these two friends finally get the goodbye they deserved before departing the mortal plane forever.
Unification not only achieved amazing technical feats, blending CGI, AI, and practical effects, but also had William Shatner and Susan Bay Nimoy (Nimoy’s widow) serve as executive producers to help ensure accuracy. According to Screenrant, both Witwer and Selleck studied and mimicked Shatner/Nimoy’s exact movements for Kirk/Spock, a physical performance enhance by a combination of physical and digital prosthetics.
The result? A ton of happy tears from fans.
“71 years old, I’m sitting watching with tears streaming down my face. Thank you.”
“The long overdue farewell we have waited far too long for. It’s so nice to see that there are still people out there who understand Star Trek and are keeping it alive.”
“Who knew 9 minutes of Star Trek with no dialogue would be some of the most powerful!!”
Aside from the fan service of it all, people found the short film to be very a cathartic mediation on death.
“My mother died just after this past New Year’s Eve, and the last thing she said to me was , “Oh , hello “! This is so special to me thank you so much!”
“I am 71 and terminal. I pray that when my time comes, I can have my world’s version of this experience. THANK YOU!!!!!”
“My father passed away a few weeks ago and I’ve been struggling to let my emotions out. This well and truly did it. Been sobbing away.”
Truly, there’s something here for hardcore fans and newbie trekkies alike. Kudos to all the makers of Unification, who boldly helped the legacy of Stark Trek live on in the coolest way possible.
