Although the debate will continue forever about which iteration can be definitively labeled as the best, the overwhelming majority of Star Trek fans are in agreement that The Original Series and The Next Generation are the two finest small screen efforts in the franchise’s long and distinguished history.
Whether you prefer Kirk or Picard, both shows have gone down as two undisputed sci-fi classics that perfectly cast each member of the crew from the captain down. Of course, LeVar Burton’s Geordi La Forge is one of the biggest fan favorite characters in Star Trek canon, with the Reading Rainbow legend lending the Enterprise’s chief engineer the same heart and warmth that first launched him to fame.
However, things could have turned out very differently, as it’s been revealed that a young Wesley Snipes also auditioned for the part. When the first episode of The Next Generation aired in September 1987, he was a 25 year-old unknown with just three minor movie credits to his name, and the most famous role of his career at that point was as the star of Michael Jackson’s Bad music video.
Of course, over the next few years, Snipes slowly rose up the Hollywood ranks by proving himself more than capable at handling drama, comedy and action, before eventually becoming a major star in his own right during the 1990s. And given his extensive martial arts training and the sheer volume of blockbusters we’ve seen him star in over the last three decades, it takes quite a stretch of the imagination to picture Wesley Snipes donning the visor to play the kind-hearted and relatable Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
