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The war over which series is superior -- Star Trekor Star Wars-- is older than the internet itself, but Lucasfilm's stories from a galaxy far, far away just found an unlikely ally: William Shatner.

He dropped the truth bomb on attendees in typically dramatic fashion during his talk at the 15th annual official Star Trekconvention in Las Vegas on Saturday.

SEE ALSO:How 'Star Trek Beyond' reveals the final frontier for the old version of the franchise

"First of all," the Captain Kirk actor began (via CNN), "Star Warscreated Star Trek.You know that?"

Star Trekactually came first chronologically, with the TV series that Shatner starred in having aired from 1966 to 1969. But inconvenient timeslots and a small -- if passionate -- audience led to its eventual cancellation.

Shatner's point is that Star Trek's later return -- the film series kicked off in 1979 -- was made possible by Star Wars. The George Lucas space fantasy grossed more than $500 million worldwide in its first year.

As Shatner told the crowd, "At Paramount Studios they were running around bumping into each other: 'What do we got?! What do we got to equal Star Wars? This is a big thing!"

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"There was this thing that we canceled, under another management, it was called Star... Trek? Let's resurrect that!"

Star Trek: The Motion Picturedidn't fare nearly as well when it was released two years after Star Wars: A New Hope. But space adventures were in the public consciousness by then, and more Trekfollowed -- on TV and at the movies.

"It was Star Warsthat thrust Star Trekinto the people of Paramount's consciousness," Shatner said.

In truth, this is something most longtime fans already recognize. It's not a "better" or "worse" value judgment to say the success of one thing helped to revive another, at-the-time-less-popular thing that was vaguely similar.

It's just jarring to hear this kind of talk coming from Shatner, one of the most widely recognized Trekfaces out there. He concluded his point with a description -- that fans on both sides of the debate know well -- of what sets the two universes apart.

"Star Trekat its best tells human stories. It's philosophical. There's humanity. There's a principle involved. And it's well done. It's about people," Shatner said.

"Star Warswas grand, like opera. It was huge with great special effects. It was a marvelously entertaining film, but it wasn't specifically about people the way those Star Treks were."

TopicsStar TrekStar Wars

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