Brent Spiner believes that it’s just a matter of time before Paramount Pictures rebootsStar Trek: The Next Generationas a new movie with a younger cast. From the start of the series until its end in 1994, Spiner portrayed the android crew member Lieutenant Commander Data. He reprised the role in a series ofNext Generationmovies and made one more surprise appearance as Data last year in the CBS All Access seriesStar Trek: Picard.
WhilePicardmay serve as a sequel toThe Next Generation,Brent Spinerthinks the nextStar Trekmovie could reimagine Data and the others with an all-new cast. Between 2009 and 2016, Chris Pine played a new version of Captain Kirk in a trilogy ofStar Trekreboot movies based on the original series. As Spiner explains in a recent Syfy Wire interview, it’s easy for him to imagine Paramount trying to replicate the success of theStar Trekmovies with a new reboot reimagining Captain Picard and hisTNGcrew.
“I’ve loved the recent movies. I think that sooner or later, they’re going to do a reboot, a motion picture version ofNext Generation, and cast some young guys in our parts.”
When asked if he has any issues withDatapotentially being recast, Spiner jokes.
“Well, of course, I do! But, no, I look forward to seeing it. I think it would be cool if they spun our show off.”
Thefuture of the Star Trek franchiseis not entirely clear at this time. Word of an R-ratedStar Trekmovie directed by Quentin Tarantino has been reported, and though Tarantino ultimately passed on the project, the studio may still adapt the script with another director.Legioncreator Noah Hawley had also reportedly signed on with Paramount in 2019 to write and direct aStar Trekmovie, but no major updates have been announced since. There have also been rumors of a newStar Trekmovie with Pine and his “Kelvin Timeline” co-stars, but even the cast isn’t quite sure if it’s actually going to happen.
After his cameo as Data onPicardin 2020, Spiner said he is officially finished with playing that character. Still, otherNext Generationcharacters are likely to appear in the second season ofPicardfollowing Data’s exit. In the first season, Spiner was joined by other fan favorites like Jonathan Frakes as William Riker, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, andStar Trek: Voyagerstar Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine.Whoopi Goldberg has teased her returnas Guinan in the upcoming second season and chances are, we’ll be seeing several other familiar faces.
CBS All Accesswill soon be rebranded as Paramount+. The first season ofPicardis currently available on the streaming service. It’s not yet clear when season 2 will start streaming. Meanwhile, if you want to revisit Spiner’s first run as Data in the original version ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, the series is currently streaming on Netflix. For more from Spiner, you can pick up his new book,Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events, on Oct. 5. This news comes to us fromSyfy Wire.
