I’ll admit that I was motivated to write this up because of my disappointment with the current Star Trek franchise, which is of course a reboot—however “soft” or alternate-universe-based—of
Star Trek: The Original Series. (It’s not the actors who I am disappointed with, though.) I do not doubt that
The Next Generation will eventually be rebooted, but I do not expect that to happen for quite a while, until the current setting and characters are creatively and/or logistically exhausted. But for the sake of being able to pick actors who are “in the zone” right now, I’m pretending that this is happening in the present.
Anyway, just as William Shatner’s James Kirk and the rest of the original crew of the starship Enterprise NCC-1701 were icons of futuristic optimism in the 1960s, so Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701-D personified a somewhat heavier tone, a measured approach to the very different climate of the 1980s. If any group of Star Trek characters collectively present an opportunity to tell serious, complex stories, it is the
Next Generation group.
My approach here is to attempt to capture the essence of each character, matching appearances if possible, but not being limited by that. Switching ethnicities of Star Trek characters is not something that bothers me, as long as the overall diversity is at least maintained, as that is an important part of the concept of Star Trek from the ground up.
I imagine that were these roles to actually be cast, that the studio would err younger this time around, so as to show the “backstory” and also to appeal to a younger demographic. Also, the idea is for these actors to sign on to star in a series of films, not a television show, thus rationalizing the casting of visible, “A-List” or otherwise known personalities.
So, here goes…
Captain Jean-Luc Picard ....... Sean Bean (
007: Goldeneye, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones)
So, here it is. It is actually really hard to think of a replacement for Patrick Stewart. And no, I did not seriously consider James McAvoy,
X-Men notwithstanding. Sean Bean is a reliable draw and genre icon, although mostly in fantasy. Moreover, he has the speaking voice of a British thespian and would not look bad bald. Finally, Bean’s inclusion would automatically add an element of suspense to episodes in which Picard is in peril…because, how sure are we that he won’t just die?
Alternate Choice
Ken Watanabe (
Batman Begins, Inception, Godzilla) – As I went through these characters, I decided to supplement my “safe” main choices with some relatively out-of-the-box selections. Watanabe has the presence to play a Starfleet captain, can speak English well enough I believe, and it would be welcome to see an Asian character in a role such as this.
***As a general note, The Next Generation did not play quite as well on the front of diversity as it might have, and many of my alternate choices are designed to address that very point, since my primary choices do mostly boil down to mimmicry, well meaning though it may be.***
Commander William Riker ....... Matt Bomer (
White Collar, Magic Mike)
After losing the role of Superman to his own doppelganger Henry Cavill, Matt Bomer was in a dark place. And then he was evicted from that dark place by Ben Affleck. With the DC universe rapidly filling up and Doctor Strange likely spoken for, Bomer needs a genre role ASAP. Enter William Riker, a statuesque, sometimes bearded guy with charm to burn. The fictional Riker is from Alaska, and native Texan Bomer brings some outdoorsy credibility to the role, alongside his otherworldly handsomeness.
Alternate Choices
Richard Madden (
Game of Thrones) – Like Bomer, Madden has a Frakesian look about him, and was in fact my first choice, but if in theory Sean Bean is playing the captain, how weird would it be for his
Game of Thrones son to play the first officer? Kind of distracting, perhaps.
Gina Torres (
Firefly) – This would be a fun science fiction pick, as Torres already played the second-in-command on a beloved sci-fi television show, that of Zoe Washburn in Joss Whedon’s
Firefly/Serenity ‘Verse. Torres absolutely has the requisite presence, and it would be nice to have a woman in this role.
Doctor Beverly Crusher ....... Bryce Dallas Howard (
Spider-Man 3,
Terminator: Salvation)
Beverly Crusher is my favorite
TNG character. Howard obviously bears physical resemblance to Gates McFadden, and I think that she could act the role credibly, based on the variety of roles that I have seen her in thus far, even if not all of those films were themselves great.
Alternate Choices
Jessica Chastain (
Zero Dark Thirty, Interstellar) – Obviously, if she were interested.
Karen Gillan (
Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy) – A great geek pick, athough I’m not sure if she could convey the requisite combination of seriousness and maturity.
Kirsten Dunst (
Spider-Man Trilogy) – Dunst actually guest-starred on
TNG as a child, and could potentially do well as Beverly Crusher, in a “full circle” casting move.
Lt. Commander Data ....... Vincent Kartheiser (
Mad Men)
Data, being an android, needs a certain type of actor, one who can execute facial expression while still conveying the thought process of an emotionless machine. That sounds like a backhanded compliment, but I mean it well. Katheiser could, I believe, do a good job of playing this role, and as Mad Men winds down, he might be looking for just such an assignment.
Alternate Choices
Lee Pace (
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Guardians of the Galaxy) – Pace actually bears great resemblance to original Data actor Brent Spiner, and his acting on
Halt and Catch Fire suggests fitness for this role.
Britt Marling (
Another Earth, Sound of My Voice) – Marling is one of my favorite younger actors, and it would be very interesting to see Data as a female android. Certainly, organic life forms such as humans tend to relate differently to females than to males, and that might serve as the basis for new explorations of “what it means to be human,” that being the Data character's prime utility.
Lt./Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge ....... Chadwick Boseman (
42, Get On Up)
Boseman is one of those obvious choices--like Hansel in the film
Zoolander, he’s “so hot right now”—but he seems like a good fit for La Forge, the Enterprise’s chief engineer. How a rebooted version would handle the original character’s blindness is an interesting question.
Alternate Choices
Jeffrey Wright (
Casino Royale, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) – Wright was actually my first pick, but I feel that he may be a bit old for the role, at this point.
Steven Yeun (
The Walking Dead) – If we are switching things up and rotating/reinterpreting the entire cast, then Yeun could work well as “La Forge.”
Lt. Tasha Yar ....... Mackenzie Davis (
Halt and Catch Fire)
Natasha Yar, the original chief of security (the position subsequently filled by Worf) before being killed during season one, is one of the odd pieces of the
Next Generation puzzle. Originally played by Denise Crosby, I’m not sure how she might fit into a reboot, but Mackenzie Davis can play edgy and looks great with short, blonde hair.
Lt. Worf ....... Jeremy Sisto (
Six Feet Under, Law & Order, Justice League: The New Frontier)
This was a hard one. Because Worf is a “heavy makeup” role and I’m not sure that I would recognize original actor Michael Dorn on the street, I tried to think of someone tall-ish with a deep voice. Sisto, who voiced Batman in the animated
Justice League: The New Frontier, fits those qualifications reasonably well. That being said, I’m sure that I’m overlooking other candidates, in particular someone a bit younger (Sisto is 39).
Counselor Deanna Troi ....... Nicole Beharie (
Sleepy Hollow)
My first thought when re-casting Troi was that since Marina Sirtis is of Greek ancestry, I should search for Greek actresses. That didn’t pull up anyone with whom I was familiar, and who also fit the character. Thinking more broadly, then, the first person who came to mind was Nicole Beharie. She is a star on the rise, for sure, and could certainly play the role of an emotionally-sensitive Betazoid empath such as Troi.
Alternate Choice
Tatiana Maslany (
Orphan Black) – I don’t necessarily know if Maslany would be right for Troi, but I would love to see her in anything, and she has arguably the best sci-fi cred in television, right now.
Wesley Crusher .......
Asa Butterfield (
Hugo, Ender’s Game) or
Ty Simpkins (
Iron Man 3) or
Freddie Highmore (
August Rush, Bates Hotel)
Ah, Wesley Crusher, the quintessential sub-adult Star Trek cast member. Granted, he’s no
Rappin Jake Sisko (really, who is?) but thanks to original actor Wil Wheaton’s relatively newfound,
Big Bang Theory-fueled status as a post-modern geek icon, young Wesley possesses a certain provenance these days. Beverly Crusher’s adolescent son could be obnoxious at times, and Q knows that he made Picard squirm on occasion, but having a younger cast member does open up certain avenues of storytelling potential.
Casting a “child” role is difficult for me, because I’m not as up on all the newfangled teen shows as I could be. Thus, I primarily considered actors with relatively high-visibility film resumes. Butterfield may be an overly-obvious choice, but at seventeen, he fits the original-version age bracket quite well. Highmore is a bit older at twenty-two, but he could still play a teenaged Wesley and looks as though he could be related to any of my choices for Beverly Crusher. Simpkins is perhaps too young yet, but I liked his performance in Iron Man 3 and feel that he could do a good job in this role, as well.
Guinan ....... Danielle Brooks (
Orange is the New Black)
The role of Guinan—the rather mystical bartender in the Ten Forward lounge—was to a large degree written to suit Whoopi Goldberg. I’m not so sure how well the as-is character would translate without Goldberg, so I would probably reimagine Guinan as a less-overtly “out there” entity, focusing the character into more of a relatable, yet still mysterious, civilian foil to the Starfleet personnel. Brooks is a dynamic performer and has displayed versatility in her
OITNB role. I would love to see her branch out in many directions, sci-fi being just one of them.
Alternate Choice
Edward James Olmos (
Battlestar Galactica) – This is a just-for-the-heck-of-it suggestion. It might be interesting to see Ten Forward play as more of a pub, with an amusing, rambling older fellow such as Olmos dispensing wisdom along with beverages. And the
BSG connection doesn't hurt.
Q ....... Alan Tudyk (
Firefly, Suburgatory)
Truth be told, I’ve never much cared for the Q character. A seemingly omnipotent member of a continuum of supreme beings, who has a fetish for annoying Starfleet captains, his dismissive sense of humor could be a welcome respite from TNG’s seriousness, but as a plot device he was somewhat overused in my opinion. That being said, with Q the possibilities are endless. Alan Tudyk may be a bit too comedic a choice in some ways, but he could certainly play the character to the effect of great audience amusement.
Alternate Choice
Kate McKinnon (
Saturday Night Live) – McKinnon is extremely funny and terrifically versatile. The idea of her playing a female Q appeals to me quite a bit, and it would be very interesting to see where the writers might take stories involving such a character. I envision her appearing to Picard as an "angel of light," complete with a white dress and crazy wings. Or something like that...it could be very striking, and not in an exclusively humorous way.
Chief Miles O’Brien ....... Ben Foster (
X-Men: The Last Stand, 3:10 to Yuma)
O’Brien, originally played by Colm Meaney, was gradually phased-in as a supporting character on
TNG, before joining the original main cast of the spin-off series
Deep Space Nine. Ben Foster seems to bring something substantial to his roles, and has the “Irish look” to play a recognizable take on the Transporter Chief.
Alternate Choice
Danny Pudi (
Community) – This is out of left field, but Pudi is such a talented guy that it couldn’t possibly hurt, could it? His cameo in
Captain America: The Winter Soldier certainly didn’t.
Ensign Ro Laren ....... Eva Mendes (The Place Beyond the Pines)
Volatile Bajoran Ro Laren was played by the queen of brief-but memorable sci-fi roles, Michelle Forbes. The character was intended to be a part of
Deep Space Nine, but Forbes’ disinterest lead to the creation of Kira Nerys as a replacement. Eva Mendes has a look compatible with Ro’s intense complexity and in the interest of diversity, I thought that it would be nice to see someone Latina in the cast, as that has been a rarity in Star Trek.
Alternate Choices
Britt Marling (
Another Earth, Sound of My Voice) – Again, as with Data, I think that Marling could do very well as Ro.
Allison Williams (
Girls) – I’ve never seen Williams in anything, but she does bear resemblance to Michelle Forbes. However, her involvement in the upcoming
Peter Pan looks as though it could be sketchy.
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Does anyone have any other suggestions, ideas, disagreements?