John De Lancie is very excited about returning to the Star Trek fold. His iconic character Q originated on Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequently showed up on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. This time around he’s returning on Star Trek: Picard. Trek News has been monitoring De Lancie’s comments on Cameo, where he offered some insight into the kind of Q that will show up in season 2.
“It’s been like 25 years, but I kind of found myself getting into the saddle really easily,” De Lancie said. “It wasn’t difficult at all. But I must say it’s not the sort of Puck-ish, Mercutio of old. It’s a different Q this time. It’s what they wanted and I think that it makes sense. But Patrick and I have had nice opening scenes and scenes with Brent and working with Jonathan Frakes. It’s been really interesting and I am delighted. Who would have thought?”
John De Lancie says “it’s a different Q” in Star Trek: Picard
Q has always been the foil to Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, dating back to the first episode of the series. He was playful and coy, charming everyone around him even though he was the most dangerous person the Federation had ever encountered.
With the snap of his fingers, Q catapulted the Enterprise deep into uncharted space, introducing them to the villainous Borg. Q called it a warning, but after our heroes suffered staggering losses as a result of the encounter, it felt more like a threat.
De Lancie notes that he’s not using Romeo and Juliet’s Mercutio or Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream as inspiration this time around. He’s drawing on something else, perhaps reflecting that Q, too, has aged over the years and has changed his ways.
Of course, the Jean-Luc Picard that Q will encounter is much different than the man Q met in the TNG pilot episode. Picard has lived through a lot over the years and he won’t suffer Q’s meddling without a fight.
The most intriguing aspect of Q’s return lies in Q’s powers; Q has the ability to transport people to the far reaches of the galaxy, move them through time and perhaps even alter the timeline. His presence will shake things up in Picard season 2, and possibly season 3 as well.
Star Trek: Picard season 2 premieres on Paramount+ sometime in 2022.
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