The Next Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek has been and will always be a cultural phenomenon. The new set of movies has brought a whole new generation of viewers into the fandom and has sparked the imaginations of those who dream of “the final frontier.” While we at Quirk are incredibly excited about the next film, Star Trek: Beyond, we must still think to the future when all of the stars of the will no longer be able to take time out of their busy schedules for a massive ensemble piece. That leaves us with the question of what takes place next. How about a new younger cast for a Next Generation film.
Captain Jean Luc Picard- Daniel Radcliff
Captain Picard is a calm and collected leader. He very rarely falls victim to his emotions when the pressure is on. While best known for Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliff has a considerable amount of range as an actor. He met with acclaim for his work in the play Equus and has had several well received films since the Potter series ended. Radcliff is also excellent at accents as seen in his film Horns in which he plays an American. No doubt Picard’s Scottish brogue will come easily to a man of Radcliff’s talents. To top it off, if anyone can hold down a franchise, it is the boy wizard himself.
Will Riker- RJ Mitte
Will Riker is one of the most stalwart characters ever in science fiction. He is hard working and trustworthy. When Picard is not able to be in charge, Riker is next in line. In Breaking Bad, there was not a single character with more heart than Walt Jr. played by the magnificent RJ Mitte. His ability to make people take their attention away from Bryan Cranston’s megalomaniacal lead was fascinating. He would bring a strength to Will Riker that would be hard to look away from.
Worf- Henry Simmons
What isn’t to love about Worf? He is the muscle on the crew but he is so much more. Not only can crew members depend on some serious Klingon bloodlust to get them out of tight scrapes, Worf is in many ways the most gentle soul on the ship. This may sound a bit of a stretch considering that he comes from a warrior society, and yet Data trusts Worf to take care of his cat, Spot. Henry Simmons has proven time and time again on Agents of Shield that he is the exact kind of gentle giant with a hint of rage needed to play the enterprises resident Klingon.
Data- Domhnall Gleeson
Data can be a bit of a conundrum at times. Brent Spiner gave the android the perfect level of humanity while still retaining the demeanor of a robot. Domhnall Gleeson has just the range to play this android to heartbreaking levels. Not only is he a great actor, Gleeson has acted against one of the best android performances ever committed to screen in Alicia Vikander’s character Ava, from their film Ex Machina. He would blow playing Data out of the park, in a very subdued and robot like manner of course.
Geordi La Forge- Eka Darville
Every crew needs a chief engineer, for the next generation gang, that guy is Geordi. Whenever a scientific breakthrough was needed, Mr. LA Forge was right on top of it. Eka Darvill has proven himself in multiple types of rolls. From Empire and Jessica Jones to Power Rangers, Darvill seems to be able to do almost anything. He would be totally believable as the smartest non-android crew member on the the Starship Enterprise.
Deanna Troi- Olivia Thirlby
The half Human half Betazoid counselor on the crew, Troi has the ability to sense the emotions of others. Eventually Deanna took the bridge officers examination and earned the rank of commander. Thirlby did a fantastic job playing the psychic Judge Anderson in the film Dredd. She actually made the Judge Dredd seem unimportant. It is easy to see that she would play a great Deanna Troi.
Dr. Beverly Crusher- Rose Leslie
Somebody call the doctor. Beverly Crusher has been keeping the crew alive for years and with much less complaining than Leonard “Bones” McCoy did when he was chief medical officer on the Enterprise. Leslie is known best for her work as Ygritt on Game of Thrones and would likely bring a considerable amount of strength to the recently widowed Dr. Crusher. Just throw a five year old Wesley Crusher in tow and she is set.
