The producers’ decision not to cast actor William Shatner, who gained fame for playing Captain Kirk in the original “Star Trek” series, in the 11th installment of the franchise left fans, as well as Shatner himself, very disappointed.

“I couldn't believe it. I'm not in the movie at all. Leonard [Nimoy], God bless his heart, is in, but not me,” the 76-year-old actor was quoted by the Associated Press on Thursday as saying.

It was initially rumored that Shatner, who played Kirk on the television show from 1966 to 1969 and six of the subsequent movies, would be playing a cameo role in the movie which is scheduled to start shooting soon, but apparently, the film’s director J.J. Abrams, who will also co-produce the flick, yet without a title, couldn’t reach an agreement with Shatner regarding a part.

“I thought, what a decision to make, since it obviously is a decision not to make use of the popularity I have to ensure the movie has good box office. It didn't seem to be a wise business decision.”

As the upcoming “Trek” movie, set for a Christmas 2008 release, will reportedly take the Enterprise crew back to their early days at Starfleet Academy, 76-year-old Leonard Nimoy will be reprising his role as Vulcan Spock while younger actors will take the lead.

Nimoy will be joining a younger Spock, played by the “Heroes” star actor Zachary Quinto. The actor resembles a lot to Nimoy and both of them have seemed to be perfect for playing the roles of the strange Vulcan characters.

Simon Pegg, who starred in “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” will be playing Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, who was previously played by the late James Doohan, while Chris Pine, known for playing alongside Lindsay Lohan in “Just My Luck,” has been selected to play Captain Kirk.

Other cast members include Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, John Cho as helmsman Sulu, Zoe Saldana as communications officer Uhura and Anton Yelchin as navigator Chekov, roles respectively originated by DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig.

"Having been in on the creation of it, I was hoping to be in on the re-creation," added Shatner, whose career expands way beyond the “Trek” movies, including successful parts in award-winning TV dramas “The Practice” and “Boston Legal.”