Star Trek: Picard - Every Character Who's Confirmed to Return

Next year, Star Trek: Picard will boldly go deep into a future where the iconic sci-fi franchise has never gone before, but that doesn't mean it won't include some familiar faces along the way. In the upcoming CBS All Access streaming series, Patrick Stewart will reprise his role as Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard and return to the Final Frontier for one last mission.

Although the series will find Stewart's Star Trek: The Next Generation character in a dramatically different place and working with a brand new crew, several Star Trek veterans are also set to appear in Picard. While many of these characters traveled alongside Picard for years during TNG, some returning Trek actors only made a handful of appearances in fan-favorite episodes or existed in another quadrant of Star Trek's vast universe. Now, CBR is breaking down every Trek veteran who's returning for Picard, looking at where they last appeared in canon and what we know about their roles in the new series.

Jean-Luc Picard

In the live-action Star Trek universe, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's last appearance was in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. In the film, Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise fought Shinzon, a defective Romulan clone of Picard who took over the Romulan Empire. While Picard and the crew saved Earth from Shinzon, Picard watched his tight-knit crew begin to go their separate ways over the course of the film.

At the beginning of 2009's Star Trek, Romulus, the Romulan homeworld, was destroyed. As the first teaser for Picard revealed, Picard led the "greatest rescue armada in history" in response to that event and was eventually promoted to admiral.

The series will seemingly pick up with Picard 15 years later. Now retired from Starfleet, Picard has seemingly taken over his family's wine vineyard on Earth. However, the first full trailer for the series has revealed that an encounter with a mysterious young woman will set Picard on a path back to the stars.

Data

As Lt. Commander Data, Brent Spiner portrayed the second officer on the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. As Starfleet's first android officer, Data's ongoing quest to understand humanity was the emotional core of TNG. In 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, Data sacrificed himself to save Picard in the final canonical TNG story.

Shortly before his death, Data copied all of his memories into B-4, a slightly less advanced android that was otherwise identical to him. While B-4 could provide a natural way to continue Data's story, Spiner has confirmed that he will be playing Data in Picard. In an interview with TV Line, Spiner also suggested that B-4 was the android who could be seen disassembled and in storage in the trailer.

The trailer also showed Picard playing a game of cards with Data, who appears to be wearing a Starfleet uniform. While it's not clear if this Data real or a hologram, Spiner said that Data wasn't in every episode but was certainly part of the show.

Seven of Nine

Portrayed by Jeri Ryan, Seven of Nine was one of the breakout stars of Star Trek: Voyager. After being assimilated into the alien hive mind of the Borg collective, Seven is freed from the Borg by the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager, who take her in as one of their own as she rediscovers her individuality. After Voyager had been lost in deep space for years, Seven was last seen heading to Earth with the rest of the Voyager crew in the Voyager finale, "Endgame."

Even though they're two of Star Trek's more iconic characters, Seven and Picard have never met on-screen. However, she and Picard will finally meet on the upcoming series. In the show's first full trailer, Seven seems more human than ever, but she still has a piece of alien Borg tech around her left eye.

Will Riker

On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Jonathan Frakes portrayed Commander Will Riker, Picard's Number One and the Enterprise's daring second-in-command. Like the rest of the TNG crew, Riker's most recent chronological appearance was in 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis. In that film, Riker married his longtime romantic partner, Deanna Troi, and accepted a commission to take charge of the U.S.S. Titan as its new captain.

While that period of his Starfleet career has been explored thoroughly in non-canonical novels, Frakes told IGN that Riker would be "non-military" in Picard. Frakes, who primarily works as a director on shows like Star Trek: Discovery today, will also direct a few episodes of Picard.

Deanna Troi

Marina Sirtis will also be returning as Commander Deanna Troi, TNG's half-Betazoid counselor with empathic abilities. While Troi and Riker both appeared in the 2005 finale of the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise, Troi's most recent chronological appearance is also in Star Trek: Nemesis. After her wedding to Riker, Troi left the Enterprise to join him on the U.S.S. Titan as its counselor and chief diplomatic officer.

Outside of confirming her return on Twitter, Sirtis has not discussed her role in Picard. However, Frakes confirmed that Troi and Riker were still together, and that she was also in a non-military role in his IGN interview.

Hugh

Even though he only appeared in three episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Jonathan Del Arco's Hugh was one of the series' more memorable minor characters. After the Borg drone was rescued from a crash, he began to rediscover his individuality after being separated from the rest of the Borg collective and its hive mind, in a precursor to Seven's character arc.

When Hugh returned to the Borg to protect his friends on the Enterprise, his ideas about individuality began to "corrupt" other members of the Borg. After Hugh's ship was cut off from the rest of the Borg, its crew was briefly taken over by Lore, who’s essentially Data's evil older brother. After Lore was defeated, Hugh seemingly took a leadership role in the group, which was last seen on a planet, still isolated from the rest of the Borg. While Del Arco will return as Hugh in Picard, no further details about his return have been revealed.

Debuting in 2020 on CBS All Access, Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera and Harry Treadaway.

Source: www.cbr.com