Michael Dorn says Star Trek: The Next Generation's cast was financially well-compensated to reunite in Star Trek: Picard season 3, which hints at why Picard season 1's actors didn't return for the final season. Dorn reprised his iconic Klingon warrior, Captain Worf, for the first time in 21 years in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Worf's return revealed that the Klingon had become a self-styled 'pacifist,' and he worked for Starfleet Intelligence to uncover the Changeling plot to attack the United Federation of Planets alongside Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd).
Star Trek: Picard was originally designed not to retread Star Trek: The Next Generation, according to Patrick Stewart's decree. Instead of being surrounded by his TNG friends, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard found a new 'motley crew' created for Star Trek: Picard. However, as more and more elements of TNG were woven into Picard, Star Trek fans clamored to see more beloved familiar faces from the USS Enterprise-D. Star Trek: Picard season 3 delivered by bringing back the main cast of Star Trek; The Next Generation for one more galaxy-saving adventure alongside Picard's Raffi Musiker and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).
Michael Dorn Says Star Trek: TNG's Cast Was Well-Paid To Return For Picard
Dorn wanted more than just money to reprise Worf
Michael Dorn was a guest on Inside of You podcast and host Michael Rosenbaum asked him why he decided to return as Worf in Star Trek: Picard season 3. After Dorn revealed that Star Trek: Discovery asked him to appear in that series, Michael gives two reasons that ultimately made him want to come back as Worf. Dorn says he and his fellow Star Trek: The Next Generation actors were paid well enough "so we couldn't say no." Read Dorn and Rosenbaum's quoted exchange below:
Michael Dorn: They called all of us, and they said, ‘We want you all to come back.’ At the same time. We were all like, what? Huh? Uh, sure.
Michael Rosembaum: Why? Was it Patrick? Was it that it was a final goodbye? It just seemed intriguing? What was it that brought you back?
Michael Dorn: They paid us so that we couldn’t say no. We could not say no. No, it’s not astronomical by no means.
Michael Rosenbaum: But it was enough money to say I’m coming back.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 may not have paid "astronomical" fees to the actors, but they brought back Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner from Star Trek: The Generation, as well as Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd from previous seasons of Picard, and introduced new characters like Todd Stashwick's Captain Liam Shaw and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut's Ensign Sidney La Forge. Picard also scored a coup by casting Amanda Plummer as the villainous Vadic. Given all those actors, this explains why Picard's season 1 cast was dropped to make room for this huge ensemble.
Star Trek: Picard Cut Season 1 & 2 Actors For The TNG Cast To Return
There was only so much budget to go around
In order to bring back Star Trek: The Next Generation's cast, Star Trek: Picard season 3 had to cut actors and characters who were central to seasons 1 and 2. This meant not bringing back Isa Briones as Soji, Santiago Cabrera as Captain Cristobal Rios, Evan Evagora as Elnor, and Allison Pill as Dr. Agnes Jurati. They were not invited back for Picard season 3, although some could return if Star Trek: Picard's proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, happens. Michelle Hurd found losing her fellow actors "heartbreaking," as Raffi Musiker was the only original character created for Star Trek: Picard that continued in season 3.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 was a feature film-quality production, and the final two episodes even screened in IMAX theaters. However, with so many actors to pay, some of Picard showrunner Terry Matalas' ambitions had to be curbed. Picard didn't have the budget to realize some of Matalas' wishes, like bringing back even more Star Trek legacy actors like Garrett Wang's Harry Kim from Star Trek: Voyager. Still, given how many fans feel Star Trek: Picard season 3 is the best Star Trek of the modern era, it's hard to complain when Picard season 3 made TNG fans' dreams come true.
