John De Lancie Teases Star Trek: Picard Season 2 May Be Q’s Swansong

After bringing back various Next Generation heroes, like Brent Spiner’s Data, Jonathan Frakes’ Riker and Marina Sirtis’ Troi in season 1, Star Trek: Picard season 2 will see Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc reunite with an old enemy instead since John de Lancie is back as Q. The teaser trailer revealed the first moment Picard is visited by the extradimensional being at his vineyard home, but beyond that we’re not sure what to expect from Q’s comeback – except that it might be his last.

De Lancie has appeared to confirm that Picard will be his final time playing the role and certainly his final go-around opposite Stewart. The actor has talked a lot about Q’s return in Cameo videos shot for fans, which have given us some additional insight into how the villain will fit into the season. For instance, he revealed he’s worked with both Spiner and Frakes on the show. As spotted by TrekMovie.com, his latest Cameo vid sees de Lancie drop a potentially major bombshell:

“You are going to be seeing me soon on Picard. I come back – not in a walker, but close to it. It’s my final carryings on with Jean-Luc Picard.”

Season 2 is still in production now and, from de Lancie’s other Cameos, we know he’s set to appear as Q for six episodes. However, the star has given the impression that seasons 2 and 3 could be about to shoot back to back, which may mean those six episodes will be spread across both seasons. But the more likely option is that season 2 will be Q-focused, just as season 1 was Borg/Romulan-focused, while season 3 takes off in a different direction.

The Picard season 2 trailer unveiled Q’s new look, with de Lancie not being de-aged for the show – like how Spiner’s Data was last time – and sporting white hair and beard. The reason for the ageless entity maturing in this way has yet to be explained, though. A similar question will no doubt be raised when Whoopi Goldberg likewise appears this season as the immortal Guinan.

Star Trek: Picard season 2 won’t arrive on Paramount Plus until sometime in 2022.