The Star Trek franchise is more active than it has ever been (at least on the television side) and, for veterans of the franchise, that could mean getting a call about reprising their roles for Star Trek: Picard or any of the upcoming shows on the horizon. It looks like one actor is already getting out ahead of any calls that could come his way, however, as Colm Meaney doesn't see himself returning to the franchise anytime soon.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine star recently spoke to CBR.com about his movie Pixie and, of course, the subject of Star Trek came up. When asked straight up if he's ever considered a return to the franchise, Meaney was pretty blunt in his response:
No, I've always kind of felt like seven years in space was long enough. I had a great time doing it. And sometimes, you're always a bit loathe to go back, especially with something that you enjoyed and was successful because going back, sometimes things end up being ruined. But, you never say never. I know there's a lot of intrigue and that Patrick [Stewart] is doing his new series [Star Trek: Picard] now, and so, who knows? But it's not something that's ever been sort of in the forefront of my mind to go back and reprise [the character] O'Brien.
When it comes to the list of reasons actors refuse to return to the franchise they're best known for, Colm Meaney just mentioned one of the top answers. New stories for a beloved character are another opportunity for fans to enjoy an adventure with the character but also another opportunity to tarnish that character's legacy. Meaney gave Star Trek fans seven great years of Miles O'Brien, so I understand why he's content with leaving things at that.
Colm Meaney's recent comments on Star Trek have to be a bit discouraging for the Star Trek: Lower Decks crew, who paid homage to Miles O'Brien in Season 1. O'Brien was referred to as "one of the most important" people in Starfleet history. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the show will have an easy time convincing Meaney to lend his voice, but the actor did say, "never say never."
And in the spirit of that, Star Trek fans should remember it wasn't that long ago that it seemed unlikely Patrick Stewart would ever return to the franchise to play Picard or that a new series starring Captain Pike and Spock would even exist. Colm Meaney may not be up for returning to Trek for now but, should the right offer come along, that may change.
In the meantime, fans can only cross their fingers and hope to see him again as well as binge all the best Star Trek new and old on Paramount+. CinemaBlend has the scoop on the latest stuff happening in the franchise, including the latest on a movie that's being considered by Paramount.
