Goodbye to 'the Negotiator': Priceline Killing Off William Shatner

Prepare yourselves: Priceline is killing off longtime pitchman William Shatner.

The method? Death by fiery bus crash.

Starting Monday, the travel deal company will run a 30-second TV spot in which the Negotiator rescues panicked vacationers from a bus teetering over a bridge.

"Save yourselves — some money," Shatner says, handing his cellphone to a passenger. Then, he and the bus plummet over the edge, followed by a fiery explosion.

"I'm in grief mode," Shatner jokingly told the Associated Press. "It's not the first time I've had an iconic character die off."

Shatner's been the face of Priceline for 14 years, five of those as the Negotiator, "preaching the gospel of travel bargains," according to the AP.

But Christopher Soder, CEO of Priceline.com North America, said it was time for a change.

"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," Soder told the AP. The new ad will be online and Soder hinted may be shown during the Super Bowl.

Still, don't necessarily count Shatner out for good.

"We only killed off the Negotiator," company spokesman Brian Ek told CNN Money. "William Shatner is still under contract."

Watch the spot below: