William Shatner’s ‘Priceline Negotiator’ to meet untimely end

William Shatner has been the ‘Priceline Negotiator’ for 14 years but the role is coming to an end…a fiery end that is.

Shatner is vacating his role as the pitchman/spokesperson for the online travel site, priceline.com, but he’s not going away quietly. He’ll be falling off a cliff and dying!

In the ad, according to People.com, Shatner’s ‘Priceline Negotiator’ first rescues a bus that’s about to fall. His final words to the bus’ passengers, “Save yourselves…some money.”

The commercial is set to air on Monday but online travel site is saying that doesn’t mean Shatner’s ties to the company have died as well as per CNNMoney.com.

"We only killed off the negotiator," company spokesman Brian Ek said Friday. "William Shatner is still under contract."

Ek added that Priceline chose to give the character such a grand exit as a means to bring more attention to the company’s published price offering, which isn’t as well-known as the company’s name-your-own price option.

Christopher Soder, CEO of Priceline.com North America, told the AP. "The challenge is harder to get people's attention than it used to be. … So we decided to do something really over the top to get the message across," he said -- like killing off their 80-year-old spokesman. Soder also hinted that the ad may be shown during the Super Bowl, reports FoxNews,com.

As for Priceline’s plans, Shatner as in the dark as the rest of us.

“They're leaving me on the same cliffhanger you're on," he said. "They're careful to mention that I still have a contract." He said there is about a year left on his current deal.