In addition to the previously announced Star Trek The Next Generation main characters that will reunite for Star Trek Picard season 3, showrunner Terry Matalas has revealed that a less prominent Star Trek TNG character that made a mark on him several years back will also appear in the final season of Picard.
During his guest appearance in last Friday’s episode of the Inglorious Treksperts, Matalas shared that the shock of getting to work with all the iconic actors from Star Trek TNG is only dawning on him as he works on the post-production of Picard season 3.
“You had them all the time… there was one moment in particular… it’s a legendary moment, let’s just say,” Matalas said (via TrekMovie.com). “I will say they’re all reunited. And there’s some things going on and I remember turning to my assistant, and saying, ‘Right now, I should be in tears, but I’m too fucking stressed to get this right.’ Because I don’t want to fuck it up. That’s the key.”
Matalas continued: “The moments really hit in post [production], when now I can watch that moment… And the music is up. One of the things I’ve been spending a lot of time on right now is the music. It is very much in the spirit of [Jerry] Goldsmith and [James] Horner… And so when you see those moments with the score, then that hits. You’re like, ‘Oh, my God, we did this!’”
Right after this, Matalas mentioned that there’s another Star Trek TNG character aside from the main players that will be part of Picard season 3. Though the showrunner didn’t name who this is, he did say that the comeback of this mystery character hit him even harder in a weird way.
“Funny enough, there are moments that are – because there are some people who come back from Star Trek in this season that aren’t just the Next Gen cast,” Matalas said. “There’s one character who is in Next Gen who I was like, ‘I really want this character to come back.’ And when they did, that was weirdly more thrilling than everything else in totality.”
Which Star Trek TNG characters are appearing in Picard season 3?
While Trekkies have to wait for Matalas to reveal who that mystery Star Trek TNG character is, Paramount+ officially announced last April that Star Trek TNG alums LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Worf), Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), and Brent Spiner (Data) will star alongside Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) in Picard season 3.
Frakes, Sirtis, and Spiner have already appeared alongside Stewart in previous seasons of Picard, but it will be the first time that they will be joined by Burton, Dorn, and McFadden.
Aside from Stewart, the two other original Picard cast members who will return for the show’s season 3 are Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) and Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker). Original Picard stars Santiago Cabrera (Chris Rios), Alison Pill (Agnes Jurati), Evan Evagora (Elnor), and Isa Briones (Dahj/Sutra/Kore Soong) all confirmed revealed that they are not coming back for the show’s final batch of episodes.
When will Picard season 3 come out?
Picard season 3 doesn’t have a release date yet, but it is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2023.