The long-awaited return of Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard to Star Trek is going to be huge. Once a complete mystery, we’ve gradually learned more and more details as they’ve moved through pre-production. Now, Variety’s reporting that Alison Pill, Isa Briones and Harry Treadaway have joined the cast in advance of filming beginning later this month.
You’ll recognize Pill from Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom or Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Briones from Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story and Harry Treadaway from his performance as Victor Frankenstein in Penny Dreadful. They’ll be joining the already announced cast members Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Santiago Cabrera and, of course, Patrick Stewart.
Given that we’ve had detailed character breakdowns for the series, it’s just about possible to theorize who they’ve been cast as. My bet is that Pill will be playing Connie, described as “a mercenary pilot who’s fleeing a death sentence on her home planet.” Harry Treadaway, meanwhile, sounds like a good fit for Lawrence, who’s apparently “a handsome man .. who has a dodgy moral compass. Being a capable and enthusiastic thief, his loyalties are questionable.” And, purely on looks alone, I’m betting that Isa Briones is going to be playing teenage Romulan K’Bar, who’s devoted to Picard and possesses lethal martial arts skills.
I (and many other fans) are also hoping that the show can find time to bring back a couple of classic Star Trek: The Next Generation characters. Sadly, right now, the only returning cast member that’s confirmed is Jonathan Frakes, and he’s going to be directing rather than starring. But given that he’ll at least be on set, we might get a look-in to see what Commander Riker is up to. Though if I had to choose one crew member to return, it’s got to be Worf. Who wouldn’t want more Worf in their lives?