Things We Saw Today: Is John de Lancie’s Q Coming Back to Star Trek?

Today in things I’ve been desperate to see and long been rallying for: it looks like there’s a possibility we’ll be seeing John de Lancie’s iconic character, Q, showing up again on Star Trek where he belongs.

The Star Trek Universe podcast was the first to point out that de Lancie made a Christmas Cameo.com message for a fan where he mentions more Trek. As Trekmovie reported:

[T]he actor starts out “Q here, AKA John de Lancie,” and he begins to talk about the family’s shared love for Star Trek: The Next Generation. De Lancie then tells a story about how he got his Star Trek start in the ’80s on TNG, where he also drops a tantalizing “stocking stuffer” of a possible future for Q:

A voice behind my shoulder said, “You have no idea what you have got yourself into.” It was Gene Roddenberry and I said, “What are you talking about?” He goes, “Oh, you’ll find out.” And here it is, 34 years later, I am finding out. Oh and by the way, here is a little stocking stuffer… You are going to be seeing more of me. Cheers. Merry Christmas. And let’s just cross our fingers that 2021 is going to be better. It just has to be better than 2020.

Now, since we’re not entirely sure when de Lancie recorded the Cameo message, it’s possible he was discussing Q’s appearance on the animated Lower Decks, which happened in September, or that he could be alluding to more upcoming voice work as Q on Lower Decks. But while we’re happy to get our Q in any way we can, I hope this is a hint at de Lancie returning in-person to one of the live-action Trek shows.

The great thing is that Q could show up anywhere without it stretching any canonical boundaries. As an incredibly powerful being with godlike powers, Q could pop into existence in the far-flung future of Discovery, or on its planned spin-off Strange New Worlds. But the place we’d really love to see de Lancie guest star is, of course, alongside Patrick Stewart on Picard.

Considering how many Next Generation folks appeared on Picard‘s first season, I was surprised that de Lancie wasn’t one of them. His Q is not only a fan favorite for decades, but Q is singularly obsessed with Jean-Luc Picard. Jean-Luc, of course, has more reservations, declaring of the chaotic Q, “He’s devious and amoral and unreliable and irresponsible and … and definitely not to be trusted.” In short: they’re amazing to watch together on screen.

With rumors that we’ll be seeing more actors from TNG on Picard (LeVar Burton confirmed he was in talks back in April!!), I don’t think it’s a stretch to speculate that de Lancie’s Q might be getting some quality time with Jean-Luc again. And Picard could certainly benefit from some of Q’s mischievous meddling.

Stewart has already teased that season 2 of Picard will have a different flavor:

There are startling events predicted in season two. I am so excited about them, because it is taking season one on from where we were. We are not going to be covering the same ground. It is going to be extraordinary. I am very excited about it.

The fans—and by the fans I mean me—demand more Q in our Trek lives. Here’s hoping that de Lancie’s “little stocking stuffer” turns out to be a real gift. After all, Q did promise that if we’re very lucky, he’ll drop in to say hello from time to time.

(via Trekmovie, images: Paramount)

Here are some other things we saw today:

• “The year of Karen: how a meme changed the way Americans talked about racism” (via The Guardian)
• Tessa Thompson has confirmed that Creed 3 will be directed by none other than Michael B. Jordan! (via SR)

• DUDE CORNER: This Film Isn’t Sexist, It’s Historically Accurate to a Time Before Women Had Interiority: https://t.co/RJWAglz3hc pic.twitter.com/H7hTpgr5FK

  — Reductress (@Reductress) December 29, 2020

• For the third year in a row, Michelle Obama is the most admired woman in America. (via The Hill)
• Welsh actor and our favorite angel Michael Sheen gave back his OBE a few years ago to protest the title “Prince of Wales” and its historical implications. (via The Guardian)
• Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong could become the first female dictator in modern history. (via The Daily Beast)
• Nostradamus had some pretty dour predictions for 2021, but after this year, bring on the asteroids. (via Newsweek)

What did you see today?

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—