While I’m still extremely hyped for the return of Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard, I’m saddened to hear that Michael Dorn doesn’t sound particularly interested in reprising his role as everyone’s favorite Klingon, Lieutenant Worf. Ever since The Next Generation crew (minus Jonathan Frakes) got together for dinner a few months back, fans have been wondering whether the upcoming Star Trek show might explore the fates of the rest of the Enterprise-D gang other than Picard.
But sadly, Dorn doesn’t really sound up for it. At the Destination Star Trek convention in Birmingham, the actor said he wouldn’t take the job if he were expected to just turn up for a cameo. After all, Klingon make-up takes time to put on and he’s got too much respect for his character to waste him on a scene that consists of, as he puts it, Picard saying, “Mr. Worf, what are you doing here?” and then leaving.
But that doesn’t preclude the Picard show from having Worf around for more of a cameo. While it’d be a bit lame for the series to simply ‘get the band back together’ and reunite the old TNG team in their former crew positions – and Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis and Dorn have all explained the show isn’t going to be the return of The Next Generation – I could easily imagine a now older and more experienced Worf being someone who could play a meaty role in the new series. After all, Picard’s going to be substantially older here and if any physical stuff goes down, I know a certain Klingon who’s a dab hand with a bat’leth.
Then again, perhaps Dorn’s holding out for the Worf Chronicles project he’s been pitching? With CBS apparently eager to greenlight new Star Trek shows, why not let us explore exactly where the TNG and Deep Space Nine veteran eventually ended up?
