During it’s premiere season, Star Trek Picard dipped a toe into the titular characters past as we caught up with the disconnected Borg Hugh and dropped in on former Captain Riker and his wife, Deanna Troi in a sries that ended with saying a final farewell to what was left of Data. For Season 2, we’ll have another familiar face from the Next Generation join the adventure, though maybe not one Picard would be eager to meet again…
During it’s premiere season, Star Trek Picard dipped a toe into the titular characters past as we caught up with the disconnected Borg Hugh and dropped in on former Captain Riker and his wife, Deanna Troi in a series that ended with saying a final farewell to what was left of Data. For Season 2, we’ll have another familiar face from the Next Generation join the adventure, though maybe not one Picard would be eager to meet again…
Kicking off First Contact day, hosted by StarTrek.com and Paramount+, Sir Patrick Stewart offered a teaser of Picard’s office and a voiceover from a familiar foe, Q. Later in the day John de Lancie jumped into an interview with Stewart to confirm that he’s coming back for Season 2!
“Q’s arrival is, as it often was, utterly unexpected, but also comes at a shattering moment in the episode.” Stewart explained to host Wil Wheaton, “And I do mean a shattering moment. Whether it is connected to Q or not, I am not actually quite sure, but there is significant trauma. And in fact at the moment I am working on working on how the trauma of this moment hangs around Picard for quite a substantial part of the episode. And then, there he is.”
You can watch the interview with the Star Trek stars below.
Introduced in the pilot episode of Next Generation, Encounter at Farpoint, Q has become one of the franchises’ most iconic recurring characters. Introduced as a villain withihn that first season, Q’s eight overall appearances in Next Generation allowed us to see more sides of him, from being ejected from the Continuum and forced into human form to his mission to push the boundaries of Picard’s mind and trying to teach him more about the universe in the series finale All Good Things.
De Lancie also made a one off appearance in Deep Space Nine, infamously getting punched by Sisko in contrast to Picard’s politeness, and continued to appear in three episodes of Voyager.
Aside from a brief voice cameo in Lower Decks’ first season and lending his voice to external media, de Lancie hasn’t been seen on screen as Q in twenty years; his last live action appearance being in Voyager episode Q2 in 2001. How he’ll fit into the darker world of Picard remains to be seen, but it’ll be interesting finding out!
De Lancie isn’t the only Next Generation star to return. Brent Spiner will again feature in the next season reprising his role as the lost son of Soong, Altan, while Whoopie Goldberg is also set to return for a one off appearance as Guinan.
With 12 Monkeys creator Terry Matalas at the helm for this season, replacing former showrunner Michael Chabon, Picard is set for a 2022 release following Lower Decks Season 2, Prodigy’s debut and Discovery Season 4. Picard Season 1 can be streamed now on Amazon Prime Video.
Our latest issue of Comms takes a look at the bluray release of Picard Season 1 and talks in depth – and we mean in depth! – about Discovery’s Third Season with episodic reviews, an overall season analysis and special featuring including a look at the 32nd century tech, the Crossfield Class, Tilly’s Journey, Georgiou’s exit and more! Comms is available as part of SFCQ2’s free membership! To find out more visit our Comms preview or Enlist Today!
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