Summary

• James T. Kirk was the youngest Captain in Starfleet, rising fast in both timelines.
• Kirk went from Cadet to Lieutenant to full Captain in Star Trek 2009's Kelvin Timeline.
• Chris Pine's Kirk became Captain of the Enterprise at just 25 years old.

Star Trek's James T. Kirk was a young man when he became Captain of the USS Enterprise, but in the Kelvin Timeline of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, Kirk gets his promotion a lot faster than he does in Star Trek's Prime Timeline. Introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966, William Shatner portrayed the original Captain James T. Kirk, who was the hero of Star Trek: TOS for 3 seasons before he starred in 7 Star Trek movies from 1979-1994. Chris Pine took over the role of Captain Kirk in Abrams' reboot films, which resulted in a successful Star Trek trilogy from 2009-2016.

In the annals of Starfleet, the five-year mission of Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise is legendary. Along with Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Kirk's Enterprise boldly explored the final frontier, initiated numerous First Contacts with new species, and saved the galaxy on several occasions. At the end of his five-year mission, Kirk was promoted to Admiral and became Chief of Starfleet Operations. However, Admiral Kirk yearned to be on the bridge of his beloved Enterprise. Star Trek: The Original Series' movies chronicle Kirk's journey to stay in the center seat. This resulted in his demotion back to Captain, the rank James Kirk preferred and would retain until his death in Star Trek Generations. But how old was James T. Kirk when he became Captain of the Enterprise in both Star Trek timelines?

How Old William Shatner's Kirk Was When He Became Enterprise Captain

Kirk was the youngest starship Captain in Starfleet

In Star Trek's Prime Universe's canon, James T. Kirk was born on March 22, 2233, in Iowa, and he joined Starfleet Academy in 2252. Cadet Kirk entered the Command Training Program (where he infamously cheated to beat the Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario), and he served aboard the USS Republic, where Ensign Kirk was promoted to Lieutenant. Kirk became an instructor at Starfleet Academy before he joined the crew of the USS Farragut, where Kirk became the youngest First Officer in Starfleet in 2259. In 2265, Kirk was promoted to Captain and assumed command of the USS Enterprise at the remarkable age of 32.

Lt. James T. Kirk becoming Starfleet's youngest First Officer at 26 years old beat the record set by his own father, Lt. George Kirk.

How Old Chris Pine's Kirk Was When He Became Enterprise Captain

Kirk went from Cadet to Captain in one mission

William Shatner's Kirk had nothing on the improbably meteoric rise of his Kelvin timeline doppelgänger because Chris Pine's Kirk became Captain of the Enterprise at 25! As seen in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009), Kirk was born in outer space when his father, Lieutenant George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), was killed during the USS Kelvin's encounter with the time-traveling Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana). Kirk grew up in Iowa, but it was a chance encounter with Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) in a bar in 2255 that led Jim to enlist in Starfleet. 3 years later, Cadet Kirk stowed away aboard the USS Enterprise and earned his Captaincy by saving Earth from Nero.

Chris Pine's James T. Kirk was born on January 4, 2233, in the Kelvin Timeline - 3 months before William Shatner's Kirk's birth.

It may seem like Kirk jumped directly from Cadet to Captain in Star Trek 2009, but James actually rose through the ranks throughout the film. Before Pike beamed over to Nero's ship, he shocked the crew by promoting Kirk to Acting First Officer to serve alongside Acting Captain Spock. This meant Kirk received an instant field promotion to the temporary rank of Lieutenant. Kirk later tricked Spock into stepping down from command due to being emotionally compromised from the destruction of Vulcan.

Kirk then promoted himself to Acting Captain and teamed with Spock to lead the Enterprise. After the successful defeat of Nero, Starfleet formally promoted Kirk to full Captain, and James assumed command of the Enterprise relieving the injured Captain Pike. But considering the events of Star Trek (2009)'s main story only lasted the span of a few days, Kirk was still just 25 when he went from Cadet to Lieutenant to Captain at warp speed.

When William Shatner & Chris Pine's Kirks Became Captain Of The USS Enterprise-A

There's an even greater age gap

In Star Trek Beyond, which took place in 2363 in the Kelvin Timeline, the Starship Enterprise was destroyed and Chris Pine's Captain Kirk assumed command of the USS Enterprise-A at the age of 30. In comparison, William Shatner's Captain Kirk was 53 in 2286 when he got the Enterprise-A at the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. So, it seems nearly everything about J.J. Abrams' version of James T. Kirk was designed to consistently beat Shatner's version to the punch.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Can Show How Kirk Becomes Enterprise Captain

Kirk's promotion in the Prime Timeline hasn't been depicted

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds introduced Lieutenant James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley), the younger version of William Shatner's Kirk in the Prime Timeline. Lt. Kirk is about 26 years old in Strange New Worlds' era (2259 onward), and James was promoted to First Officer of the USS Farragut in Strange New Worlds season 2. It's possible that Strange New Worlds could eventually end by depicting James T. Kirk's promotion to Captain and his inheriting the USS Enterprise from Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has already shown Kirk's first meeting with Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and the Prime Timeline's Lt. Kirk becoming Captain Kirk could be a pivotal Star Trek event audiences will finally see.

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Original Series movies are streaming on Max.