Star Trek Picard is truly shaping up to be every Trek fans dream.
Prior to the “Enter The Star Trek Universe Panel”, Star Trek head man, Alex Kurtzman teased us that we were in store for some big surprises and boy did he not disappoint.
Along with the cast of Picard we already knew about, reprising their roles in the new series are Jeri Ryan (7 of 9), Brent Spiner (Data), Jonathan Frakes (William Riker), Marina Sirtis (Dianna Troi) and Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh).
Ryan, Spiner and Del Arco made special appearances during the panel, and they shared how they surprisingly made their way back to their iconic Star Trek roles many years later.
When asked about returning to their roles, Jeri Ryan shared:
“To be honest, over a year ago, I was at the Hollywood Bowl with one of the producers and he, after about four glasses of champagne, [brought up the possibility],” Ryan shared, admitting that she wasn’t planning on a return. “I kept hearing it from other creators of the show over the course of the year. But I never thought it was going to happen. And here we are!”
Del Arco added:
“Getting to work with Patrick again, that was worth the life mask,”
Spiner who has always said he would not return to play Data as he said he was too old now, was quick to joke:
“When I heard they were doing Star Trek: Picard, I said, Do you have anybody for the role of Picard yet? And they hung up on me but I spoke to Patrick and he said there’s a possibility [for a part] and would you think about appearing on the show? I said, ‘I don’t think I can do that.’ And then he started crying and I just couldn’t take it!” Spiner joked.
He then went on to express his love for his former captain adding:
“The possibility of standing next to Patrick on a set again was more than I could say no to. And I had to consider the fans as well. To think that this was going to happen and that there was a possibility that I might be there. There was no way I could refuse that. Of course, I had to be there.”
Also during the panel it was mentioned that the cameos would not stop with these three, both Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis are also set to reprise their roles as William Riker and Dianna Troi, unlike Ryan, Spiner and Del Arco, Picards former No1 and Counsellor did not make an appearance.
One bit of surprising news was, unlike previously hinted, Star Trek: Picard will not debut in 2019, the release date has now been pushed back until early 2020.
Although it means a longer wait for this iconic return, we are sure fans of Picard can wait.
Watch the Comic-Con trailer for Star Trek Picard
