YouTube "Star Trek: Picard" season two teaser
The first season of “Star Trek: Picard” gave fans a look at what some of their favorite “Star Trek: The Next Generation” characters have been doing in the thirty years since they were last seen. The new show brought back Captain Jean-Luc Picard as the central character and gave a brief update on William Riker and his wife, Deanna Troi-Riker.
The second season of “Picard” will bring back a few more fan favorites from the TNG era. However, multiple characters that fans desperately want to see in the new show have confirmed that they’re not coming back… yet.
So, who’s coming back and who’s not? Here’s everything we know right now.
Confirmed: Guinan & Q
YouTube
Only two TNG veterans have been confirmed for “Picard’s” second season. Whoopi Goldberg will return as Guinan, the El-Aurian who served as the Enterprise’s bartender and unofficial counselor. Additionally, John de Lancie will return as Q, the god-like being that frequently brought chaos and mischief to the crew of the Enterprise.
In some recent Cameo videos, de Lancie revealed that he would be in at least six episodes of the second and third seasons of “Picard.” According to de Lancie, the cast and crew are filming for both seasons two and three right now. In another Cameo video, de Lancie revealed that Q would, in fact, encounter Guinan in “Picard.”
Guinan and Q have history, which was only hinted at in TNG. For literally decades, fans have wondered about the connection between the two characters. Many fans hope that “Picard” will finally provide some answers.
Definitely Not: Worf, LaForge, Crusher & O’Brien
Four TNG actors have confirmed that they definitely won’t be in the second season of “Picard.” However, two of them have hinted that they might be in upcoming seasons.
Michael Dorn, who played Worf in TNG and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” was one of the first TNG actors to confirm that he would not be in “Picard” season two. During a podcast appearance in January, Dorn revealed that no one from the “Picard” cast or crew had contacted him about being on the show. He also said that he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to come back. Dorn told the hosts it would be fun to reunite with his old cast members and friends. However, he also said that would be his only reason to do the show.
Colm Meaney, who played Engineer Miles O’Brien in TNG, has been incredibly busy with projects in England and Ireland for the past several years. In a recent interview, Meaney revealed that he wasn’t particularly interested in returning to the Trekverse. He said that he felt he’d done enough with “Star Trek” and that going back to the franchise might ruin the experience. Meaney did admit that anything could happen but confirmed that nothing was in the works.
LeVar Burton, who played Geordi LaForge on TNG, has been hinting that he might appear in “Picard” for several months. However, during an appearance on The View in April, he finally confirmed that he would not be in the second season of the show. Burton did say that he thinks there’s a good chance he could still be in the show at some point. However, he clarified that no plans for a return have been made yet.
Gates McFadden, who played Dr. Beverly Crusher in TNG, recently spoke to Heavy’s Eric Pesola and revealed that there aren’t any “concrete” plans for her to reprise Crusher in “Picard.” She said that she was delighted fans want her to come back. McFadden also told Pesola that if Patrick Stewart asked her to return, she would.
Maybe: The Rikers
CBS All Access
Riker and Troi-Riker are the only TNG characters that have appeared in “Picard” so far. In the episode “Nepenthe,” Picard and Soji sought refuge with the Rikers on their home planet of Nepenthe. The couple lived there with their daughter, Kestra.
The Rikers have also made an appearance in the first season of “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” The trailer for the second season of the show revealed that Riker will be in season two as well.
The Rikers have become a fixture of the newest shows in the “Star Trek” franchise. However, there’s currently no official confirmation that they’ll be in the second season of “Picard.” Jonathan Frakes, who plays Captain Riker and is a frequent director for both “Picard” and “Star Trek: Discovery,” has hinted that the Rikers could return in upcoming seasons of “Picard.” However, neither he nor Marina Sirtis, who plays Troi-Riker, have said they will be reprising their roles. In fact, Sirtis moved back to her home country, England, before production began on season two, saying that she was focusing on projects there.
So, two fan-favorite characters will definitely be back, four will not, and two are possibilities. Hopefully, de Lancie will drop some more clues in his Cameo videos, which have been a treasure trove of info about the upcoming seasons.
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