The outlook for upcoming Star Trek shows on the 2025 TV schedule and beyond is bright unless you're someone hoping for more adventures starring the Next Generation cast. Picard Season 3 (which is still available with a Paramount+ subscription) was well regarded but, still, no firm plans have been announced for a follow-up series that would feature those franchise veterans as their respective characters. Michael Dorn recently spoke to the struggles of returning to play Worf again at some point but, on the other hand, there are still some vital ways for him to return.
The 71-year-old actor spoke to Star Trek Explorer (via TrekMovie.com) about playing Worf and noted that the process for his return is not as simple as one may think. He talked about how Hollywood has changed over the years and why a reprisal would come down to more than just him being ready to don the prosthetics again:
Again, I would never say never, I would never say, ‘Oh, this is it’ at all. But, many things have to happen for Worf to come back. It takes twenty things falling into place, and ,in this business, you just don’t have that sort of a system anymore, where there’s that one creative guy who goes, ‘You know what? We need this. Make it happen,’ or ‘Oh, that’s not a bad idea. Let me hear it.’ It’s a different world, and I don’t know what it means anymore. And I actually am slowly but surely retiring.
When Michael Dorn was tapped to appear on Star Trek: Picard, it was a situation in which he couldn't say no due to the money and the story. Though he didn't mention those as factors for a future return, Dorn did note that there are a lot of moving parts now that could make it quite a process for him to return as Worf. Additionally, he's trying to retire and doesn't want to wait around forever for the powers that be to make up their minds.
I totally get where he's coming from, but I know that fans want to see Worf. Considering that Michael Dorn is not okay with the role being recast while he's living, I thought of some quicker ways for him to return as Worf on Star Trek in the short term while still allowing him to enjoy retirement once the fans are satisfied.
Michael Dorn Could Play A Hologram Worf In Starfleet Academy
Bringing Robert Picardo to Starfleet Academy as the EMH opens up a lot of doors for the upcoming series. The character's link to the Next Generation era means that he can organically reference events from that time to the Starfleet hopefuls he's teaching nearly a thousand years into the future. I would love to see him call up a holodeck program of Worf to serve as a combat instructor. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the show's writing staff has already thought of tapping other TNG-era characters by using holodeck tech for an episode or two.
Worf Could Pop Up In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Via Time Travel
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has already toyed with time travel a couple of times and even changed the origins of Khan in doing so. It wouldn't be wild at all to think the show would feature an episode in which the main crew crosses paths with the TNG cast, which includes Worf, especially considering how well the Lower Decks crossover went. I would love to see two crews of the Enterprise team up for a super adventure, especially since we were robbed of that possibility in Generations.
We don't know what the future holds for Michael Dorn or Worf, but there's no shortage of past performances of his across the Star Trek franchise on Paramount+. I would recommend re-watching his performance from Picard Season 3, because he was absolutely fantastic throughout those episodes.
