Earlier this year, Paramount+ confirmed that Brent Spiner was returning for the second season of Star Trek: Picard. However, what role he is playing has not been confirmed and now the actor himself is dropping some clues.
Not Data
In the first season of Star Trek: Picard Brent Spiner reprised his Star Trek: The Next Generation role of Data, playing the android character both in dream sequences of Jean-Luc Picard and in the form of a simulation created from Data’s memories stored in his brother B-4 (also played by Spiner in Star Trek: Nemesis). At his request, Picard shut down the simulation, giving final closure after the character’s death in Nemesis. So while initially it wasn’t expected that Spiner would play Data again, with season two of Picard involving time travel and an alternative timeline, it seemed at least possible. But Spiner has now closed down that possibility. In a new interview with Inverse, the actor confirmed the Picard season two character he is playing is “not Data.”
Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and Brent Spiner as Data in “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2”
Another Soong
One might then assume that Spiner is back to play scientist Dr. Altan Inigo Soong, a new character in Picard season one who was the human son of Dr. Noonian Soong, Data’s creator (who was also played by Spiner on TNG). Last year, co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman had stated Altan Soong was developed to “create a platform for which there could be more Brent in ensuing seasons.” However, Spiner told Inverse:
I can tell you I’m a member of the Soong family. And, that I’m not playing a character I’ve ever played before.
Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, Brent Spiner as Altan Soong, and Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati in “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1”
Spiner has already played quite a few members of the Soong family, both human and Android. To date, in addition to Data, Spiner has played two other Soong-type androids (Lore and B-4) and three human members of the Soong family (Noonian, Altan, and 22nd-century ancestor Arik Soong on Enterprise).
Scott Bakula as Capt. Jonathan Archer and Brent Spiner as Arik Soong in “Borderland”
But who?
With much of season two set in an alternate fascist universe, it’s possible that Spiner is playing an alternate version of one of his previous human or android characters. This would be an alternate version of a character from the fascist version of 2399/2400 seen in the season two trailer.
Picard in the alternate timeline in Picard season two Star Trek Day trailer
Spiner’s comment about playing a character he has never played before sounds like we could be meeting an entirely new member of the Soong family. This could be someone from the alternate late 24th century or even an earlier ancestor from the 21st century after the team travels to contemporary Los Angeles.
Seven (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) in contemporary Los Angeles in Picard season two Star Trek Day trailer
One thing we do know about Spiner is that his character will interact with Q. John de Lancie confirmed he had scenes with Spiner, some of which were directed by Jonathan Frakes. For his part, Frakes also talked about working with Spiner on Picard season two, saying, “Brent Spiner, who played Data, is back in another role.” While we have seen de Lancie’s Q in two trailers, we have yet to see Spiner, indicating that Paramount+ is keeping this new character under wraps.
John de Lancie as Q in Picard season two Star Trek Day trailer
Season two of Star Trek: Picard arrives in February 2022. It will be on Paramount+ in the United States, and in Canada, it will air on CTV Sci-Fi and stream on Crave. Outside North America, Picard is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Keep up with the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com.
ANOTHER Soong family member played by Brent Spiner! It’s getting a bit cheesy (or maybe we’re past that point with it). I love Spiner though, so I am happy he will be back.
Not if they make the Soong character a WOMAN!! That would be awesome! Mrs Doubtfire in space!
Well, Spiner already played a woman in A Fistful of Datas, so we know he can do it.
Are you suggesting brother number four “D4ced” wants to desperately get back with his niece Soji, so he takes a job on La Sirena?
I met her in a club down of Rigel 4
Where they prune juice and it tastes just like raktajino
Rak rak rak ta jino
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a pale yellow voice she said Darla
D- A – R – L – A
Da Da Da Da Darla
That was my first reaction when reading this, too. Enough with the Soong family, imo they weren’t that interesting. I just feel the Data character has gone as far it it can go.
Yes. The Data character journey was complete after Nemesis. Complete agreement.
Agreed.
It was already cheesy when he played Data’s evil twin. Like it was TNG meets Young and the Restless.
Only now it’s getting cheesy? It got cheesy in S1. And even B4 was a bit much TBH
I’m guessing he’ll be a 21st century Soong, possibly involved with this Europa project.
Seems most likely. I dig it.
Since this seems to have a look of a future/alternate that shows the Terran Empire or more closely the planet Ekcos in TOS- “Patterns of Force” (or so is my guess) that Spiner may be playing a version of Lore that survived to take over. Hard to say from the little we have seen in the teasers at this point. I know that there has been subspace chatter that is going around about “another season of a show where they have to save the galaxy once again!” Which is backed up by what we have seen of S4 of Disco where only that ship can save the day. I only care that what they show is done well and has a creative edge (story line) to it that we never seen before. Saving the galaxy is what Starfleet does!
Lore is a character that he’s played before though.
I think it’s safe to say it’s neither Ekos nor the Terran Empire.
Here’s what I think they’ll have difficulty explaining, Q being in it and looking older! He isn’t supposed to age like Picard, Riker etc…unless he’s been kicked out of the continuum again and is now a mortal, ageing human?!
He looked old briefly in All Good Things. If Q wants to be an old man, he can be an old man.
He is probably being old just to mess up with Picard. It’s not hard to explain for an omnipotent, sci-fi being. I can’t understand why people have such a hard time with this concept.
I hope they don’t even acknowledge it. If they do however they deal with it will just be stupid. Just have DeLancie show up looking like he does and ignore the 30 year age difference. Better to not touch it.
I think it would be fine if Q just commented on how old Picard looked, and then appeared as an old man.
Perhaps since Q had a kid, ( A.k.a. Q-Ball, as Icheb would call him), maybe the Q continuum has since become mortal somehow and while they still have power, they aren’t omnipotent anymore. Or they have become mortal because of the example of that Q who committed suicide in Star Trek : Voyager
No… that’s…. no.
“hey’ll have difficulty explaining, Q being in it and looking older”
You’re kidding… right? He’s a god who can take any form he wants. The version of Q we’ve seen isn’t even his real face–they’re a noncorporeal species. They’re not humans–they just look that way to humans because it’s our frame of reference. He’s appeared as other species in the past, and he changes his outfit at the snap of his fingers. So he can appear old if he wants to, and he likely WOULD in order to mock Picard’s aging. This is something there’d be NO difficulty explaining. In fact, to be honest, I have trouble understanding why anyone would think this would be a problem when he’s playing a noncorporeal, shape-changing omnipotent being.
Exactly could not agree more.
Exactly. Truth be told, it doesn’t even have to be DeLancie (although it would suck if it weren’t)
When I watch a terminator movie I want to see schwarzenegger as the terminator. I don’t want to see him as another character but just I have more schwarzenegger in there. I also don’t want more spiner in star trek just to get more of Spiner in star trek, I want to see Data!
Didn’t Schwarzenegger play a different role in every Terminator movie?
Come on, its always fun for the actors to play variations on their characters. It makes them less stale and more productive as actors.
Schwarzenegger played a different character in every Terminator in which he appeared, and not all of them were T-800s.
Possibly, (thanks to Q), a human version of Data?
The Gollum is very close to a human. And Picard is already one of them. I have a feeling we will see a very dark version of Data.
I think Spiner should play eight members of the Soong family in a murder mystery at the family home.
Now you have said that, I don’t know how it’s done but we need a deepfake of him in that Daniel Craig murder mystery
Honestly, I really wish they would give the Soong family a rest. It’s beyond time to move on. I mean, I’m a TOS guy and I’m fully on board with no more Kirk or Spock, too. Their time is done.
Spock’s time is evidently not done, since he is starring in a new show.
The point was that I still think TOS was the best Trek there ever was and I would be fine putting them to bed and doing new things with new people.
I feel the same way about TOS, and couldn’t agree with you more. Move on. Kind of like when they invented a half-sister for Spock a couple of years ago. Unnecessary, imo. Be a little more creative and make the universe bigger.
Me as well. I’m very excited for SNW but if they did something with completely new characters it wouldn’t have bothered me since they done if multiple times in the past and loved all of them.
But my guess is this is how it’s going to be going forward and we’ll have returning legacy characters in some fashion to lead the shows like Picard, SNW and Prodigy unless the show takes place in later centuries.
I’m really curious what the Noah Hawley movie project was going to be, as apparently all-new characters in a new setting is what he was doing with it.
Yep. I was curious as well.
I was also curious about the Orci Trek 3 script.
Things we may never know…
Ultron! Oh, wait, wrong franchise…
All the Soong boys are clones is my thought.
I’ve been re-watching TNG lately. Every time Data or someone else says he’ll live forever, it brings a tear to me eye…
Like everyone else here, the idea of playing yet another Soong seems pretty ridiculous IF he is playing one. But knowing this is a time travel/alternate timeline story then it makes me curious what they will do with him. I completely forgot Spiner was even coming back until I saw this article.
There is a possibility a lot of people haven’t mentioned re: Spiner playing a “character he’s never played before.”
He could be being cagey and using the other meaning of, “never played before” as in “Same character name, same general appearance, different personification in the performance/subtext of the role with slightly different backstory.”
Gee I hope we’re not treated to another Brent Spiner screaming poor old man make up design like in TNG.
Or maybe he’ll play Picard’s fish in the orb tank?
It won’t need to be make-up now.
Going to the well a little too often with that “21st Century Los Angeles” gambit. Been done, again and again… Star Trek 4 9ok San Francisco), Voyager, probably leaving some out. Seems like a convenient excuse to shoot in LA or even on the Paramount backlot without too much set-building.
If it is good who cares where it is set? Trek IV was set in 1980s, so that’s 40 years ago now as you know. If this is a mix of mission: impossible and Star Trek then if done well, it could be exciting.
At this point they should bring in a storyline about Soong’s being all clones of one man, who continued to improve on himself and his cybernetic creations. Or all the Soong’s married cousins and therefore look identical.
Maybe Starfleet makes an army of Soong clones that look like Data to fight in a big war. Ala Star Wars?
“At this point they should bring in a storyline about Soong’s being all clones of one man, who continued to improve on himself and his cybernetic creations. Or all the Soong’s married cousins and therefore look identical.”
Arik Soong was the “father” of the Augments, who mentioned Khan Noonien Singh and the Botany Bay. Maybe Arik was inspired by the name “Noonien” and made it a Soong family name, thereby explaining why Data’s father had the same name as Khan. Except Arik Soong probably isn’t having children, being in prison and all. Evidently he already had kids, as he’s supposed to be a direct (?) ancestor of Noonien Soong.
Could be another evil data clone or The Borg Queen needs him by her side again. Maybe Orkus and Data has done some crossover where Codex can meet her foxy trek friend with Data.
I was kinda hoping he’d be playing Wesley.
Haha, yeah……the Soong family is becoming an Eddie Murphy and the Klumps level of silly.
Mirror Universe Data would be fun, except…wouldn’t that just be Lore? Or the Lore-manipulated Data from Descent? The Soong family is starting to be the Skywalker/Palpatines of the Star Trek universe. Turn over a rock and you’ll find one
Certainly a present-day Soong character. Maybe someone befriendinga present-day Singh character. :-)