In the wake of the new "Star Trek" film release this past summer, there was so much grumbling coming from William Shatner, who was dissatisfied with his omission from J.J. Abrams's franchise reboot, that Trekkies termed the fallout Shatnergate. Abrams was noticeably unresponsive in the face of Shatner's criticism, and for good reason: Love him or hate him, Shatner is, arguably, the most iconic figure in the "Star Trek" universe, so it's better to evade the issue than fan the flames of controversy. The official version is that Shatner was offered a cameo in the film. Shatner denied that there was ever any offer but said, either way, he wouldn't have accepted a cameo. If they could work an old Spock into the plot, why not an old Kirk?

In a recent interview with Australian media, J.J. Abrams explains, "The problem was his character died on screen in one of his 'Trek' films, and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to 'Trek' canon as best we could...the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with...It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting."

It's nice to have Abrams's take on the situation now, and it makes sense; Abrams prides himself as a logic-driven filmmaker who, though he was not a fan of "Star Trek" before helming the prequel, has attempted to honor the Trek mythology -- as he describes in his own words, in the video above. Asked about the possibility of Shatner appearing in the next movie, Abrams is vague, but seemingly open to the idea: "In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything...I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there's less of a burden and there's going to be more opportunity to work with [Shatner]." Well, that's a whole lot of maybe, but at least he's responding to the issue. Abrams also went on to say that he and Shatner are scheduled to have lunch....

Most curious of all is the inclusion, in the "Star Trek" DVD, of a bonus feature segment, "The Shatner Conundrum," breaking down the "Trek" mythology issues that prevented, in Abrams's mind, the old Kirk from appearing in the lastest film. Will lunch and a bonus feature be enough to placate the roaring beast that is Bill Shatner? Don't bet on it.