It would appear we have seen the last of Brent Spiner as Data in theStar Trekuniverse. After playing the role across multiple television show iterations and severalStar Trekmovies, Spiner established Data as one of the most beloved characters among all fans of the series. Speaking about the role in a new interview, Spiner makes it clear he’s never going to play the character again, but that doesn’t mean the actor is finished with the franchise. Because we’ll be discussing the events ofStar Trek: Picardbelow, know that majorSPOILERSlie ahead for those who have yet to catch up on the series.
Longtime Trekkies will know Spiner first beganplaying the android DatainStar Trek: The Next Generation, which ran for seven seasons between 1987 and 1994. He would continue playing the role for theTNG-based movies, culminating with Data’s “death” scene in 2002’sStar Trek: Nemesis. At the time, many fans expressed their displeasure with the way the scene had been handled, feeling Data deserved a much better sendoff than the one given to him by the movie. Acknowledging the criticism, Spiner admits he was surprised by the reception from the fans, as his perception of the scene was different.
“When he blew up inNemesis, I never expected to get the backlash [the show got] from so many fans over that. I thought, ‘Well, that’s a great, big emotional ending, and he’s sacrificing himself for his friends’ and that was just. But it didn’t seem to sit that well with too many people.”
Brent Spinerreprised the role of Data for a handful of guest appearances on theStar Trekprequel seriesEnterprise, but following the show’s cancellation, it appeared we’d never see him play the android again. Fortunately,Star Trek: Picardallowed for Spiner to give us one last performance as Data, as Picard was able to reunite with Data when his consciousness was transferred into quantum simulation. Having returned to theStar Trekuniverse as Data one more time to give the character - and the fans - a proper goodbye, Spiner now appears content to leave the scene be as Data’s swan song.
“I mean, there was just afinite amount of timethat I can actually play Data, no matter what anyone says. So many people were like, ‘Oh, you may do it. You’re not too old,’ and then I do it and they go, ‘You’re too old. Why’d you do it?’ I think we did it in such brief sequences that it was fine to do it, and I felt good about it. But I wouldn’t really entertain the idea of doing it again because I just don’t think it would be realistic. So it seemed right to me to give him this more gentle sendoff, and it seemed right to me in the context of the entire season ofPicardand what Picard himself had been experiencing because of the loss of Data. I think it allows him to feel okay about it too. So it seemed like the right thing to do.”
Other fan favoriteStar Trekcharacters from the past have also appeared onPicard, which includes Jonathan Frakes asThe Next Generation’s William Riker and Jeri Ryan asVoyager’s Seven of Nine. Because the show is moving forward with a second season, there’s always the possibility we’ll be seeing otherStar Trekfan favorites showing up as well. There’s a good chance others fromThe Next Generationwill be having special appearances onPicard, but it looks like we shouldn’t get our hopes up on seeing Spiner back as Data once again.
Though Spiner won’t be playing Data again, it’s still possible we haven’t seen the last of the actor in theStar Trekuniverse. OnPicard, Spiner also plays Alton Soong, a descendant of the man who built Data, and Spiner is open to reprising the role if asked for season two. “Now there’s a character that could conceivably go on and continue, so of course I’d love to [reprise the role],” Spiner states in the interview. You can read the full interview with Spiner atTV Guide.
