Star Trek: Picard is bringing back several familiar faces, including Will Riker and his wife Deanna, along with Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager. But perhaps the most enticing return belongs to the fan favorite android, Data. While speaking at a recent Destination Star Trek Birmingham event, Brent Spiner noted that he truly believed his time as Data was done with 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis.
“I’ll tell you what. I thought it made a lot of sense and because I was also part of the team that wrote the story, I knew that was going to happen,” said Spiner, according to the official Star Trek website. “We had been told in almost no uncertain terms by Paramount Pictures that this was going to be our last film, so I thought it made a lot of sense to leave the audience with a really big, dramatic, emotional moment at the end of the film.”
In Nemesis, Data ends up sacrificing himself in order to save Picard.
“If that’s the last time you were going to see the character then that’s the way it should be, you know…at the time I thought it was the right way to go,” explained Spiner.
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But apparently that’s not the end of the story. Spiner went on to tell the audience about how he was approached to return for Picard.
“I assumed they wanted me to play Picard because I can,” joked Spiner. “I’ve gotten younger, I’ll last longer. So they said, ‘Well, would you have any interest in playing Data again?’ And I said, ‘Make me an offer I can’t refuse.’”
Apparently they did, as Spiner is back in some capacity for the series.
Star Trek: Picard premieres on January 23, 2020 on CBS All-Access.
What do you think about Spiner’s Data comeback? Let us know in the comments below!
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