William Shatner Starring in Aliens Ate My Homework Film Adaptation

William Shatner is set to star in a film adaptation of Aliens Ate My Homework. While he’ll always be best known for playing Capt. James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series – and its follow-up films – the now 86-year-old Shatner is a true Hollywood legend. The actor has appeared in over 240 films and TV shows, and despite his advanced age, the former Denny Crane doesn’t seem likely to slow down anytime soon.

Shatner’s latest project is an adaptation of Aliens Ate My Homework, the first in a series of young adult novels published by prolific author Bruce Coville. Anyone who grew up in the 80s or 90s with a love for genre stories is likely familiar with Coville’s work; he’s written more than 100 books, which usually fall into the sci-fi, fantasy, or horror genres. Aliens Ate My Homework was originally published in 1993.

The news of Shatner’s involvement with Aliens Ate My Homework was revealed by Shatner himself in a video recently posted by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, which can be seen above. He’ll play Phil, a talking alien plant that travels to Earth and teams up with a 12-year-old boy in order to prevent the destruction of the planet. As Shatner says above, Phil is set to go where no talking plant has gone before.

Aliens Ate My Homework will arrive on home video in 2018, although an exact release date has yet to be revealed. In addition to Shatner, other cast members include Dan Payne (Star Trek Beyond), Kirsten Robek (Hell on Wheels), Tristan Risk (American Mary), and Alex Zahara (The Man in the High Castle). Young actor Jayden Grieg (The Strain) plays Rod Albright, the aforementioned 12-year-old boy and central human character of the book series.

If Aliens Ate My Homework proves a success for Universal, one wonders if sequel books I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, The Search for Snout, and Aliens Stole My Body will be adapted into further films. If they are, it seems like a good bet that the perpetually busy Shatner will opt to return.