Patrick Stewart in Paramount+'s 'Star Trek: Picard'

Patrick Stewart in Paramount+'s 'Star Trek: Picard'

‘Star Trek: Picard’ might be about the future of Patrick Stewart’s iconic ‘Star Trek’ captain, but the new trailer for the series is very much about the past.

For this latest footage from the show brings us the first look at Whoopi Goldberg’s long-lived alien Guinan, along with John de Lancie’s troublesome Q, who has appeared in previous teasers.

This season of ‘Picard’ finds Jean-Luc plunged into an alternative timeline by Q, the omnipotent alien being who has been a thorn in his side since the very first episode of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ way back in 1987.

Originally, Q showed up during the first mission of Picard’s USS Enterprise to put humanity on trial for what he saw as their crimes. The crew survived that encounter at Farpoint (or else there might not have been a show), yet Q kept showing up from time to time, usually causing trouble for Picard.

As for Guinan, Goldberg was a recurring part of the show from the second season as the mysterious, friendly barkeeper of the Ten Forward lounge on the Enterprise. Across the remaining seasons, we learn more about her powers, her incredibly long-lived species and the fact that she’s no friend of Q. It makes little surprise then that Picard would seek out his old friend for help.

That mirrors how Goldberg came to appear on the show – Patrick Stewart appeared on talk show ‘The View’ on which she is one of the co-hosts and invited her to return to the ‘Star Trek’ universe in an emotional moment.

Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

With Q testing Picard yet again by meddling with reality and switching Earth and the Federation to a totalitarian regime, it’s up to our hero to round up some old friends and new to sort it out.

That’ll include a trip to 2024 Earth, encounters with various alien species and perhaps the biggest conundrum of all… driving cars. And the references to classic ‘Next Generation’ just keep coming – to facilitate traveling in time, Picard must utilize one of his other great rivals, the Borg Queen.

Though we didn’t meet the Queen until 1996’s ‘Star Trek: First Contact’, (there played by Alice Krige), her cybernetic species were introduced (coincidentally thanks to Q’s meddling) in the episode ‘Q Who.' The characters hit their peak in the Season 3 finale/Season 4 opener ‘The Best Of Both Worlds’. Yet like Q, the Borg would go on to appear in several more episodes of both ‘The Next Generation’ and other ‘Star Trek’ series.

Here, the Queen is played by Annie Wersching, who might be best known for her roles on '24' and 'Bosch.' Given Picard’s history with the Borg (he was turned into one for a while), the reunion is sure to provoke some strong reactions.

The likes of Alison Pill, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Orla Brady, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera, and Stewart’s fellow ‘Next Generation’ veteran, Brent Spiner, all return for this new season, which already looks like a lot of fun.

‘Star Trek: Picard’ season two premieres Thursday, March 3, on Paramount+. New episodes of the 10-episode season will drop weekly.