Did somebody say they wanted more Borg and androids in their new Star Trek? Because if you did, get ready for this: the new series Star Trek: Picard will feature not only the return of Jean-Luc Picard but also Mr. Data and…Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager and Jonathan del Arco, you know the guy who played Hugh, the nice Borg drone in The Next Generation. This is not a fan-fiction fever dream. This is happening.
On Saturday at the Star Trek Universe Panel at San Diego Comic-Con it was revealed that the following actors are returning for the Picard series: Jeri Ryan, Brent Spiner, and Jonathan Del Arco, playing Seven of Nine, Data and Hugh (Third of Five), respectively.
UPDATE: We have a trailer!
@JeriLRyan and @BrentSpiner appeared in the trailer to HUGE cheers! #StarTrekPicard #StarTrekSDCC
— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) July 20, 2019
All the actors involved said they couldn’t believe they were returning to the roles, particularly Del Arco, who hasn’t been in Star Trek since the Next Generation episode “Descent Part 2” in 1993. But, he referred to Jeri Ryan as “Mama borg.”
Jonathan Del Arco said he could not believe he’s back again, he couldn’t think of putting the life mask back on. But Jeri was there al the time with him, “like a mama Borg”. pic.twitter.com/HyeCRjh1f9
— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) July 20, 2019
Unsurprisingly, Brent Spiner joked about the returning as the android Data, saying he asked CBS if they’d found “anyone for the role of Picard yet.”
"When I first heard about #StarTrekPicard, I called the producers and asked 'Do you have anyone for the role of Picard yet?'" – @BrentSpiner #StarTrekSDCC
— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) July 20, 2019
At this point, it’s unclear if Data is playing Data (who died in Star Trek Nemesis) or if he’s playing a new version of Data born in the body of his duplicate, B-4. It’s also unclear how big Jeri Ryan’s role as Seven is in the show, and whether or not the show really is, or is not, about the Borg.
Either way, well played Star Trek. Not only did you keep Brent Spiner’s return as Data totally under wraps, but nobody (and we mean to even us) could have predicted Jeri Ryan would return as Seven of Nine. Now, all we have to do is get Kate Mulgrew back as Admiral Janeway, have Picard take a trip to see Sisko’s (Avery Brooks) ghost in the wormhole, and this whole thing will be perfect.
Update: Turns out writer and showrunner Michael Chabon quickly confirmed that Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes are both returning at some point in the show, even though they’re not in the trailer. Ah…Imzadi!
Here’s Marina Sirtis herself confirming the good news!
https://twitter.com/Marina_Sirtis/status/1152889561359572992
Star Trek: Picard debuts sometime in 2020, which, is sadly later than CBS originally announced.
