Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showrunner Akiva Goldsman lends some insight as to why Star Trek: Picard season 3 featured the body of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) as an Easter egg. Kirk died in the 1994 feature film Star Trek Generations, and he was buried on the planet Veridian III at the end of the film. Therefore, it was a shock when Picard season 3 revealed the Captain's corpse is stored in Section 31's top-secret Daystrom Station facility.

In an interview with SFX Magazine as reported by SlashFilm, Akiva Goldsman was asked about whether the Star Trek franchise has plans to use digital technology to deep fake legacy characters the way franchises like Star Wars have. Goldsman indicated he's not against the idea, but Star Trek has "no plans" in place to do so. He then mentioned that if Star Trek does digitally resurrect legacy characters, it might be to retcon events Star Trek's current creative teams aren't satisfied with, like Kirk's death in Generations. Read his quote below:

"My friend Terry Matalas is not alone in feeling frustrated with Kirk's death in canon. It's why he put his body at Daystrom Station, right?"

What Does Kirk's Body In Picard Season 3 Mean For Star Trek?

Evidently, Captain Kirk's body in Star Trek: Picard season 3 is just one of numerous Easter eggs for longtime fans. Picard's showrunner Terry Matalas and his creative team stocked Daystrom Station's secret vaults with tons of shout-outs to Star Trek history like the Genesis Device from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and genetically modified Tribbles. Kirk's corpse is stored in Daystrom Station just like Admiral Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) remains after he received a new synthetic body. But there is the possibility Kirk's body could also be a seed planted for the future.

If the idea of using digital technology to resurrect William Shatner's Captain Kirk happens, Kirk's body in Daystrom Station might be the first step toward retconning his death. Kirk's corpse is apparently being stored by Section 31 under a program called 'Project Phoenix,' and in the future, Star Trek may indeed use deep fake technology to resurrect the legendary Captain. Whether it's the older Kirk or the younger Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series who digitally springs back to life remains to be seen, but Star Trek's eventual application of advanced digital technology may mean the original Captain Kirk may not stay dead forever.

Source: SFX, SlashFilm