William Shatner did have a part in the new Star Trek as it turns out. It wasn’t a major role like Leonard Nimoy’s, but rather a recording that Nimoy’s Spock would give to the younger Spock at the end of the film. It obviously never made the film but I somewhat wish it had.
Head over to TrekMovie.com to read the script excerpt from the removed scene. Just make sure to include dramatic pauses like Shatner to complete the effect. The scene is very nostalgic but yet logical to the story line. At the same time though, it’s also a classic Hollywood voice over scene and really doesn’t fit with the tone of the whole movie. But I would still like to see it.