Michael Dorn saysStar Trek: The Next Generation’s cast was financially well-compensated to reunite inStar Trek: Picardseason 3, which hints at whyPicardseason 1’s actors didn’t return for the final season.Dorn reprised his iconic Klingon warrior, Captain Worf, for the first time in 21 yearsinStar Trek: Picardseason 3. Worf’s return revealed that the Klingon had become a self-styled ‘pacifist,’ and he worked for Starfleet Intelligence to uncover the Changeling plot to attack the United Federation of Planets alongside Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd).
Star Trek: Picardwas originally designed not to retreadStar Trek: The Next Generation, according to Patrick Stewart’s decree. Instead of being surrounded by hisTNGfriends, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard found a new ‘motley crew’ created forStar Trek: Picard.However, as more and more elements ofTNGwere woven intoPicard,Star Trekfans clamored to see more beloved familiar faces from the USS Enterprise-D.Star Trek: Picardseason 3 delivered by bringing back the maincast ofStar Trek; The Next Generationfor one more galaxy-saving adventure alongside Picard’s Raffi Musiker and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).
Michael Dorn Says Star Trek: TNG’s Cast Was Well-Paid To Return For Picard
Dorn wanted more than just money to reprise Worf
Michael Dorn was a guest onInside of Youpodcast and host Michael Rosenbaum asked him why he decided to return as Worf inStar Trek: Picardseason 3. AfterDorn revealed thatStar Trek: Discoveryasked him to appear in that series, Michael givestwo reasons that ultimately made him want to come back as Worf. Dorn says he and his fellowStar Trek: The Next Generationactors were paid well enough"so we couldn’t say no.“Read Dorn and Rosenbaum’s quoted exchange below:
Michael Dorn: They called all of us, and they said, ‘We want you all to come back.’ At the same time. We were all like, what? Huh? Uh, sure.
Michael Rosembaum: Why? Was it Patrick? Was it that it was a final goodbye? It just seemed intriguing? What was it that brought you back?
Michael Dorn: They paid us so that we couldn’t say no. We could not say no. No, it’s not astronomical by no means.
Michael Rosenbaum: But it was enough money to say I’m coming back.
Star Trek: Picardseason 3 may not have paid “astronomical” fees to the actors, but they brought back Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner fromStar Trek: The Generation,as well as Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd from previous seasons ofPicard,and introduced new characters likeTodd Stashwick’s Captain Liam Shawand Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut’s Ensign Sidney La Forge.Picardalso scored a coup by casting Amanda Plummer as the villainous Vadic. Given all those actors,this explains whyPicard’s season 1 cast was dropped to make room for this huge ensemble.
Star Trek: Picard Cut Season 1 & 2 Actors For The TNG Cast To Return
There was only so much budget to go around
to bring backStar Trek: The Next Generation’s cast,Star Trek: Picardseason 3 had to cut actors and characters who were central to seasons 1 and 2. This meant not bringing back Isa Briones as Soji, Santiago Cabrera as Captain Cristobal Rios, Evan Evagora as Elnor, and Allison Pill as Dr. Agnes Jurati. They were not invited back forPicardseason 3, although some could return ifStar Trek: Picard’s proposed spinoff,Star Trek: Legacy,happens.Michelle Hurd found losing her fellow actors"heartbreaking,“as Raffi Musiker was the only original character created forStar Trek: Picardthat continued in season 3.
Star Trek Picard Cast & Character Guide: All 3 Seasons
Star Trek: Picard season 3’s cast includes several new characters and the return of some of the biggest names and iconic characters in Star Trek.
Star Trek: Picardseason 3 was a feature film-quality production, and the final two episodes even screened in IMAX theaters. However, with so many actors to pay, some ofPicardshowrunner Terry Matalas' ambitions had to be curbed.Picarddidn’t have the budget to realize some of Matalas' wishes, like bringing back even moreStar Treklegacy actors likeGarrett Wang’s Harry Kim fromStar Trek: Voyager.Still, given how many fans feelStar Trek: Picardseason 3 is the bestStar Trekof the modern era, it’s hard to complain whenPicardseason 3 madeTNGfans' dreams come true.
