The new Star Trek: Picard teaser trailer and follow-up First Contact Day panel confirmed that John de Lancie will be back in season two, reprising his role as Q. Now the actor is talking more about what it is like to play the enigmatic again.
de Lancie on Q in Picard
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, John de Lancie says when he was first approached around six months ago, he was a bit hesitant about returning to the role after two decades:
I was obviously a little concerned — very concerned — about the issues having to do with, well, excuse me, this is 20 years later. I’m supposed to be immortal and I certainly look very mortal. There were issues about all of that. I was flattered. Of course, I said yes. I didn’t have to think about that part. And then I wondered, where are they going to go with this?
de Lancie also revealed how he felt about fan reaction to the announcement of his return:
Well, as you were saying that just now, what I felt was mostly was, Oh shit. [Laughs] The pressure is on! That’s how I feel about it. I find that to be a challenge. I hope that I can match it. I hope that we all can match it, and more to the point, exceed it. [Laughs] This is one of the reasons I stay away from all this stuff. I kind of just have to stay in the world of what can be done, and what cannot be done, and not to get too pressurized in all this.
The actor confirmed he has already begun on production for season two, revealing what it has been like to work with Sir Patrick Stewart again:
It was fun. My own issues have always been the same. I have to put in a lot of homework because I’m very dyslexic and I just have to work really hard to get all of that into RAM, as it were. And then once that’s done, I’m there to play. And so it was just fun. That type of preparation has paid off and you’re just ready to rock and roll.
John de Lancie as part of First Contact Day panel
More Q in season two
Word of the return of Q first came late last year when de Lancie indicated he was coming back to Star Trek in a Cameo video. And this week he dropped another hint on Cameo. In a birthday video one fan got for his brother, de Lancie indicated he would be appearing in multiple episodes:
I can tell you know something I hadn’t been able to tell anyone, which is I am coming back to Star Trek… I have got some stints on Star Trek, so be sure to watch
Showrunner hints something cool happened on set this week
During the First Contact Day panels which were released this week but previously recorded, Stewart and de Lancie spoke as if he had yet to start work on the show, which began production in February. So it’s likely that Q shows up around the fourth episode of season two. de Lancie may have started this week. One clue is a tweet sent out yesterday by executive producer and showrunner Terry Matalas saying Thursday was “the coolest day ever” on the set of Picard.
Today is maaaaybe the coolest day ever on the set of #StarTrekPicard. Vague… but oh so true. 🖖🏼 pic.twitter.com/U7n4Jwu5Gx
— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) April 8, 2021
ICYMI – Season two teaser
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I hope Whoopi Goldberg is still on the cast list as well. Q and Guinan have a history that was never alluded to again after “Q-Who.”
It was briefly alluded to in the one where Q was turned into a human. Deja Q, maybe? Guinan stabbed him in the hand with a fork or something, anyway.
I’d love to see Guinan whup Q’s butt! :-)
I wouldn’t be surprised if the “shattering” event Stewart mentioned has to do with Guinan, and if we got flashbacks (well, time travel jumps) to their (subjectively) first meeting during Picard’s time on the Stargazer. We’ve never gotten the full story on Guinan and how she forged this apparently transcendentally profound relationship with Picard. Maybe this time we will (and Q’s antipathy for her will be explained as well).
I could also see the Stargazer flashbacks being a sort of backdoor pilot for a “Young Picard” series exploring Starfleet in the earlier 24th century, that might — once more time has passed, and the TNG cast has become firmly retired — eventually segue into a TNG reboot.
She was the only person that Q actually seemed afraid of. I’d love to finally find out why…
Q may be an immortal being, but he can appear any form or age he wants. He did after all appear as an old man in All Good Things, so it would be easy for him to reappear to Picard (CGI:ed to look young, snap his fingers, and appear old to make Jean-Luc “more at ease”)
Don’t worry, in a year’s time there will be so many videos CGI’ing young de Lance onto the Picard scenes than we’ll be able to count. There are already tons of youtube videos that did a good job putting the young TOS stars over scenes in the Kelvin movies.
I wonder if they are going to address the issue that Q2 (Q’s son) was Icheb’s best friend, and that Seven had to kill Icheb? I doubt it, but what a dramatic conflict!
I doubt that Q will show up. We’ll probably just see Q.
First of all, I never said Q2 would should up. I said, “address the issue”. Secondly I think Keegan de Lancie is retired from acting. May still work for the State Dept.
Did Q ever actually meet Itchy? I’m not sure that he would have particularly strong feelings about his death.
I wonder if he also met Scratchy. ;-)
I would imagine a Q’s concept of mortality and time renders that conflict irrelevant. Q2 probably understands what all Q understand, that mortals die and that humans experience time differently than Q do – after all, Q2 can visit Icheb in any time.
I’ve a feeling Q will be bringing some much needed light to the show. DeLancie was great at comedy in the right moments and also serious when need be, so it should hopefully be a really fun watch.
Love his comment on he didn’t need to think hard on saying Yes. Of course he would say yes. He gets a nice pay cheque and gets to have a great time as well.
Not that many get to work and play.
So happy De Lancie is back as Q! It just made season 2 go from ‘eh’ to ‘YES’ for me! ;)
But they can still screw it up royally! I’m just staying positive for now.
I’ve always wished he would’ve featured in one of their films. It would have been so cool to have followed First Contact with a big central Q story-line. Hopefully this will make up for that.
And De Lancie has aged well, so it doesn’t bother me at all that he is an older Q.
Is it too much to ask for that these new batch of episodes can match up to the awesomeness of All Good things? Fingers crossed.
Never a fan of Q, and dissapointed with Picard, but I hope they can put together a good story.
Putting money on it, Guinan is somehow connected to the Q Continuum, possibly a former Q
I’m excited as heck about Q showing up in Picard. I hope we see alot, of him, and I mean ALOT!