How Old Was Kirk When He Died (All 4 Times)
Kirk is a Star Trek legend and the fact that he died 4 times in 3 different timelines, with two deaths being permanent, fits the Captain's legacy.
Summary
- Captain James T. Kirk died four times in three different Star Trek universes, with the original Kirk played by William Shatner and introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series.
- In the Prime Timeline, Kirk was born on March 22, 2233, commanded the USS Enterprise, and had his final mission in Star Trek Generations.
- In the Kelvin timeline, Chris Pine's Kirk was born on January 4, 2033, became Captain of the Enterprise at 25, and "died" at 26 in Star Trek Into Darkness but was resurrected.
Captain James T. Kirk died four times in three different Star Trek universes and here's how old the Captain of the Enterprise was each time Kirk's death happened. The original version of Captain Kirk was portrayed by William Shatner and was introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series. Shatner played Captain Kirk from 1966-1994 in 3 seasons of Star Trek: TOS, one season of Star Trek: The Animated Series, and 7 Star Trek movies. Chris Pine took over the role of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie trilogy, and he played the alternate Kelvin timeline's Kirk from 2009-2016. Paul Wesley became the newest Captain Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and he plays 3 different versions of the Starfleet hero.
In Star Trek's Prime Timeline, James T. Kirk was born on March 22, 2233. Captain Kirk commanded the USS Enterprise on its original 5-year mission of exploration from 2265-2270. Afterward, Kirk was promoted to Rear Admiral, but he yearned to command his beloved starship once more. Kirk continued his adventures in 6 Star Trek: The Original Series movies aboard the USS Enterprise, the stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey HMS Bounty, and the USS Enterprise-A. Kirk's final mission was in Star Trek Generations. In Star Trek's Kelvin timeline, Chris Pine's Jim Kirk was actually born 2 months before Shatner's, on January 4, 2033. At age 22, Jim joined Starfleet on a dare, but he rapidly rose to become Captain of the Enterprise at just 25 years old when he led the starship's defeat of Nero in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek 2009.
How Old Was Kirk In His 2 Star Trek Prime Timeline Deaths
William Shatner's Captain Kirk was 60 years old both times he "died," although it was Kirk's second death that proved to be permanent. Kirk's first "death" happened in the opening flashbacks of Star Trek Generations. In 2293, Kirk vanished and was presumed dead after he saved the USS Enterprise-B from the energy ribbon called the Nexus. But Kirk didn't die; Jim was actually transported inside the Nexus' extra-dimensional reality. But as far as Starfleet knew for the next 78 years, Kirk was dead.
William Shatner's Captain Kirk was 60 years old both times he 'died,' although it was Kirk's second death that proved to be permanent.
Captain Kirk's actual death happened in 2371 at the end of Star Trek Generations' main story. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) also entered the Nexus and discovered Kirk was alive. The two Captains of the Enterprise then left the Nexus together and teamed up to stop Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying Veridian III. However, Kirk was mortally wounded in the fight against Soran and, this time, Captain Kirk's death was permanent. Shatner's Captain Kirk was chronologically 138 years old when he passed away for good.
How Old Was Kirk In His Star Trek Movie Kelvin Timeline Death
Chris Pine's Captain Kirk's death and resurrection in Star Trek Into Darkness happened when he was just 26 years old. Since almost everything in Kirk's life in the Kelvin timeline occurred faster than it did to Shatner's Kirk, the Captain's death (and resurrection) was no different. In Star Trek Into Darkness, Captain Kirk died from warp core radiation poisoning while trying to save theEnterprise from Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). However, Kirk was immediately resurrected at the end of Star Trek Into Darkness thanks to a serum Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) synthesized from Khan's genetically-engineered "super blood."
Star Trek: Picard Revealed What Happened To Kirk's Body
Star Trek: Picard season 3 delivered a surprising update to what happened to Captain Kirk's body. Upon Kirk's death at the end of Star Trek Generations, Captain Picard buried him on a rocky Veridian III mountaintop. After Starfleet rescued the crew of the destroyed USS Enterprise-D and retrieved its crashed saucer section, Kirk's corpse was also recovered. The rationale was that Veridian III was a pre-warp civilization, and any remains left behind by Starfleet, including Kirk's body, would violate the Prime Directive.
As Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), and Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) discovered, James T. Kirk's body is warehoused in a secret vault in Daystrom Station by Section 31. Kirk is not alone as Section 31 also stored the corpse of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard before it was stolen by Changelings. Curiously, Kirk's body is held under the auspices of 'Project Phoenix', ominously hinting that Star Trek's original Captain Kirk may someday live again.
How Old Was Strange New Worlds' Alternate Reality Kirk When He Died
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" introduced another alternate reality Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley). Thanks to a Romulan operative named Sera (Adelaide Kane) changing the timeline in 21st century Toronto, this version of Kirk was born in space on the USS Iowa and became Captain of the Enterprise in the United Earth Fleet. Sera shot and killed Captain Kirk just a few days after he and Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) were sent back to set the timeline on its proper course. Assuming James was born in 2233 in his alternate timeline, then this Captain Kirk was 26 when he died in 2259 (although he technically died 200 years in the past). This version of James is perhaps Star Trek's most tragic version of Captain Kirk.
