Indiana Jones. Connery's death in October of 2020 at the age of 90 produced an outpouring of appreciation and remembrance from fans and friends alike.
Connery was arguably at the height of his career when, in 1988, he was approached about being involved with the fifth film in the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was released in 1989, and the plot dealt with Captain Kirk and the crew of William Shatner had high hopes for the film. One of these hopes was obtaining Sean Connery to portray Sybok.
Connery was Shatner's first choice for the role. Besides being a fan, Shatner thought that Connery's presence in the film would drum up a higher box office overseas, mainly because of the actor's Scottish heritage and his worldwide fame as Bond. Unfortunately, fans of Indiana Jones will be aware that around the same time Connery was asked to be in Star Trek, he was also approached for the role of Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Connery chose to accept that role over the role in Star Trek, and Shatner and the producers were forced back to the drawing board when it came to Sybok. Shatner was extremely disappointed not to have snagged Connery for The Final Frontier, but Connery never expressed any regret about turning down Star Trek, and it is hard to imagine the Indiana Jones franchise without him involved.
Without Connery, the creative team for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was forced to try and find another actor who might bring a similar level of interest to the film. They eventually settled on Laurence Luckinbill, whom William Shatner had seen portraying Lyndon B. Johnson in a one-man show about Johnson's life. While not a big name like Connery, Luckinbill delivered a dynamic performance as Sybok. Still, it is interesting to speculate on whether The Final Frontier might have had a less dismal box office performance if Sean Connery hadn't turned it down. It's unlikely that Connery could have saved the film entirely, as numerous other story and production issues contributed to its ultimate failure, but he might have provided an extra boost to keep it from flagging as much as it did.
If Sean Connery had been involved with Star Trek V, he would have ed a distinguished list of Star Trek guest actors that has included names like Ricardo Montalban, Christopher Plummer, and even Stephen Hawking. As it was, there was still a subtle nod to Connery in the movie. The planet at the center of the galaxy where Sybok takes the Enterprise-A in search of "God" is named Sha Ka Ree which is supposedly an homage to the actor's name. This means that, while Sean Connery was never directly involved with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, he will always be at least a small part of Star Trek history.