Star Trek's Jeri Ryan "panicked" when she first read the Picard script
Star Trek: Picard star Jeri Ryan has admitted that she "panicked" when she read the first script for the new spin-off series.
The new CBS series, which picks up with Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) some 20 years after the events of 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, will see Jeri reprise her Star Trek: Voyager role of former Borg drone Seven of Nine.
But a lot has changed in 20 years, and Jeri has revealed that she initially had a difficult time getting her head around the changes that her character has gone through since we last saw her.
Related: How to watch Star Trek: Picard in the UK and elsewhere
"I had a hard time initially," Jeri told Digital Spy and other press recently.
"I was panicked about finding her voice when the first script came out because she's so different. I was worried about how to make her the same character, not just a completely different character who happens to have the same prosthetics.
"But once I figured that out, and that was just an acting thing, I love who she's become," Jeri continued.
"I love what they've written for her. I love her back story. I love what she's had to go through in the last 20 years and what she's survived. And what a badass she is!"
Speaking about her return to the Star Trek franchise at an event last year, Jeri explained that revisiting the character was "freaking terrifying".
"When I got the initial script, and from I knew from the original pitch with James [Duff] a year and a half ago, she is not the same Seven," she reflected.
"She is much more human. She been on Earth for a long time, she has been through a lot. So, when I saw that initial script, and as you saw, 'What the hell are you doing out here?', it's a very, very different voice. And that is what was freaking me out."
Related: How Star Trek's new Short Trek could set up Picard
Meanwhile, show star Sir Patrick Stewart recently weighed in on a fan theory doing the rounds about Data's appearance in the series, and also broached the topic of the Next Generation cameos.
Unfortunately, it looks like appearances from Data, Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Hugh the Borg (Jonathan Del Arco) will be the limit at first, but they're not ruling anything out for season 2 (and beyond).
"I am confident that we will be seeing them at some point in the future," Stewart teased.
Star Trek: Picard has a premiere date of January 23, 2020. It will air on CBS All Access in the US and Amazon Prime internationally, including the UK.
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Source: www.digitalspy.com