William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy set to return as Kirk and Spock in Star Trek 3

WILLIAM Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are set to return as Kirk and Spock in the next Star Trek film ... but not as you have ever seen them before.

William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock in Star Trek.

RUMOURS about William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy reprising their roles in the next Star Trek film continue to build — but latest reports suggest they will appear in a way that audiences have never seen before.

Shatner and Nimoy appeared as Captain James T Kirk and Spock in the original Star Trek series (1966-1969) and then in six spin-off films, starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 and ending with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991.

Nimoy donned the pointy ears once again for JJ Abrams’ Star Trek in 2009, a film that rebooted the franchise and forever changed the timelines of the characters of the Starship Enterprise.

The new guys ... Zachary Qunito and Chris Pine as ‘new timeline’ Spock and Kirk in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013.

That film, and its follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) featured the older Spock from the original timeline (now referred to as Spock Prime), as well as a younger Spock from the new timeline (played by Zachary Quinto).

But now things are about to get even more complicated.

The movie gossip website Badass Digest reports that Shatner and Nimoy are set to reprise their Kirk and Spock personas for the next film in the rebooted franchise, due to screen in 2016, but as older versions of their “new timeline” personas, rather than as older versions of their “original timeline” personas.

The originals ... William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock in Star Trek.

The site states that the scene in the new movie, to be directed by Roberto Orci, will feature Quinto and Chris Pine (playing the new timeline’s younger Spock) will meet the older versions of themselves.

Shatner, now aged 83, revealed that Star Trek producer JJ Abrams (who is also directing the rebooted Star Wars film) had contacted him to discuss a role in the next film at this year’s Comic Con event in San Diego.

On that occasion, Shatner said he was interested — providing the script was strong enough.

“All I can say is that I’m very excited about the film,” he said at the time.