Star Trek’s Brent Spiner addresses his possible return to the franchise as Data, afterPicardseason 3 resurrected the character. TheTrekworld was rocked when the feature filmNemesisseemingly killed off Lt. Commander Data, but the franchise found a way to bring him back, at least partially, whenPicardseason 1 showed him living as a consciousness uploaded to a computer.Picardseason 3 then took Data’s revival a step further,giving him a new android body, and seemingly opening the door for the character toreturn in moreStar Trekspinoffs.
It’s yet to be seen what’s next for theStar Trekuniverse, butSpiner says he’s game to come back as a newly-embodied Data, providedTrekproducers present him with a worthy script. Speaking toScreenRantfor his appearance onNight Court, season 3, episode 13, Spiner addressed hisTrekfuture, revealing that he’s always ready to play Data again:
I’m always available if the writing is good and the ideas are good. I mean, I have this one idea. I don’t know if it’s any good or not, but it’s just a title, and the title is Star Trek: Data. I don’t know. How does that sound to you? (Laughs) Yeah, I’m always up for doing more.
Spiner then talked aboutPicardseason 3’s emotional full-onTNGreunion, and how it felt to be back among his old co-stars again:
I thought that they captured something really wonderful in the third season. Terry Matalas brought us all back, and I felt like everybody was pretty much at the top of their game. It was a wonderful achievement on Terry’s part because I was dubious, myself… But it worked!
What Spiner’s Remarks Mean For Star Trek
He Previously Indicated He Was Done Playing Data
Playing Data again inPicardseason 3 must have softened Spiner’s attitude toward his most famous character, as he previously indicated ambivalent feelings about continuing to play the android over three decades after debutinghim inStar Trek: The Next Generation. Speaking toTVGuideback in 2020,Spiner indicated that Data’s non-embodied return to Trek inPicardseason 1 would be his last go-around as the character:
I mean, there was just a finite amount of time that I can actually play Data, no matter what anyone says. So many people were like, “Oh, you can do it. You’re not too old,” and then I do it and they go, “You’re too old. Why’d you do it?” I think we did it in such brief sequences that it was fine to do it, and I felt good about it. But I wouldn’t really entertain the idea of doing it again because I just don’t think it would be realistic.
Getting old may not be a reality for androids, but it is for humans. An aging Spiner’s concerns about plausibly playing a non-aging character were seemingly put to rest, however, asPicardseason 3 explained that Data’s new body was created to mimic the process of becoming older.
Spiner has appeared in 194Star Trekuniverse episodes, playing seven different characters.
The famous “tech the tech” approach may have put to rest questions about how and why an android might look older, but Spiner still seems on-the-fence about coming back. The “only if the script is good” caveat is indeed a familiar one. Spiner is joking around when he suggests a full Data spinoff, but it’s very possible that such a thing has been considered.
Our Take On Spiner’s Possible Star Trek Return
What Else Is There To Do With Data?
Data is one of the fewStar Trek: TNGcharacters complex and interesting enough to warrant being the main focus of a spinoff. A possible story for such a spinoff might see the character, who has always longed to be fully human, striving toward that goal, meeting many an obstacle along the way.Seeing Data achieve full humanity would give the character a fitting end, especially compared to the conclusion he was given by the malignedStar Trek: Nemesis.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Review - The Epic Finale Is The Best Trek Since DS9
Star Trek: Picard season 3 takes the series out in style as the epic farewell story the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation always deserved.
Even if Data doesn’t get a spinoff return, the character was at least allowed to go out on a good note, along with the rest of theTNGcrew. Data may not have aStar Trekfuture, but if someone comes up with the right story, that state of affairs could be reversed, given Spiner’s expressions of interest.
