Whoopi Goldberg Reportedly to Have A More Substantial Role on Star Trek: Picard

In January 2020, after Sir Patrick Stewart who plays Jean-Luc Picard, appeared on The View to promote the first season of Star Trek: Picard, he formally invited Whoopi Goldberg to return to Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 in the role of Guinan. An SFX Magazine interview with the host revealed how excited she was to play the role which Stewart invited her to try out.

The latest issue for the SFX Magazine included a brief interview with Goldberg as she was promoting the CBS All Access mini-series The Stand. The View host stated that Star Trek was her first dive into the genre fiction. She was very thrilled to have the opportunity to join Star Trek: The Next Generation as Guinan.

In a follow-up question asking if she was watching Star Trek: Discover, Goldberg brought up Picard in her response. The SFX interview was conducted in 2020, which means that Goldberg's comment about ‘next year' would mean 2021. The production for Star Trek: Picard season 2 is reportedly beginning on February 1, 2021. Goldberg had been talking about joining the cast for a little while. The fact that she stated for a little while was quite intriguing as it can mean that she will not just be in one episode but rather have a more substantial role in the series.

Credit: CBS

Guinan's role in Star Trek: Picard can be due to various things. It can be her history with Jean-Luc Picard. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was established that Guinan and Picard are close. Another possibility is that her involvement can be something related to her race as the mysterious El-Aurians. Goldberg's character also has some special abilities that can detect changes in timelines. She also has abilities with some kind of defense against the god-like Q. After all, Q and Guinan had some adversarial history. John de Lancie hinted that he may return to Star Trek, which means that seeing Q and Guinan is a possibility.

Star Trek: Picard is expected to air on CBS All Access with 10 episodes. There is no confirmed release date for the series as of writing this article.

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