Star Trek: The Next Generation brought the franchise to a new wave of fans and is still one of the best installments in the space opera’s 60-year history. It holds up remarkably well, and a big reason for that is the quality of the cast. While it’s almost sacrilegious to think about alternative actors playing these iconic roles, it’s also a fascinating thought experiment.
If Star Trek: The Next Generation were being made today, then the call sheet would obviously be very different. A new crop of actors would be required to bring the characters to life. Thankfully, there is no shortage of those who could do the roles justice. That said, I did agonize a little about some of the recastings more than others. Some were very easy, though.
Honorable Mentions
- Lt. Tasha Yar – Denise Crosby asked to be written out of TNG in Season 1, citing her issues with the character as the main driving force for her request. Her exit didn’t impact the show all that much, so I would be tempted to omit her entirely from any remake. However, I think someone like Jodie Comer would do Tasha justice.
- Dr. Katherine Pulaski – Diane Muldaur only appears in TNG Season 2, temporarily replacing Dr. Crusher. Like Tasha, I think streamlining the cast by omitting Pulaski from a remake makes the most sense. If Pulaski did appear, Grey’s Anatomy‘s Ellen Pompeo would be a deliciously coy casting.
James McAvoy as Captain Jean-Luc Picard
He Has Inherited a Role From Patrick Stewart Before
Ik Aldama/DPA/Cover Images
This is one of the easiest casting decisions on this list. The late, great Sir Patrick Stewart helped make Captain Picard into a household name, so he’d have some big shoes to fill if Paramount decided to remake The Next Generation. Thankfully, McAvoy has already proven himself worthy of replacing Patrick Stewart.
After three X-Men movies as Professor Charles Xavier, Stewart’s version of the character was shelved while McAvoy fleshed out an earlier point in the mutant’s timeline. McAvoy has become almost as associated with Professor X as Stewart has, and honored his predecessor’s performances while putting his own spin on the character. I’d love to see him do it again with Picard.
As an added bonus, McAvoy, 47, is currently the exact same age that Stewart was when The Next Generation premiered in 1987. Furthermore, McAvoy himself has revealed he once pitched a TNG prequel to Paramount with himself as Captain Picard, and that it actually almost happened. It feels like this is destined to come true at some point.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Commander William T. Riker
The Enterprise’s First Officer Needs a Certain Level of Gravitas
Jonathan Frakes immediately made Riker feel charismatic and someone who would hold Picard accountable. Aaron Taylor-Johnson has played several characters who display a similar level of charisma. He’d make for a great First Officer of the USS Enterprise-D. While he’s never appeared in a production alongside McAvoy, something tells me their chemistry would be off the charts when sitting next to each other on the bridge.
Depending on how closely a TNG remake would follow the original, there are numerous Riker storylines where it’s very easy to imagine Taylor-Johnson in the role. One that jumps to mind is Season 6’s “Second Chances,” which would call upon Taylor-Johnson to play not only William Riker, but also his transporter clone, Thomas. Even outside the more gimmicky offerings, I think he’d shine as Frakes’ successor.
Ella Purnell as Counselor Deanna Troi
The Half-Betazoid Would Feel Safe in the ‘Fallout’ Star’s Hands
Ella Purnell isn’t just one of the biggest and best on TV right now; she also knows what it takes to step into the Star Trek universe. Voicing Gwyndala in two seasons of Prodigy, Purnell demonstrated how perfect she is for the long-running sci-fi franchise. Plus, because Prodigy is animated and relatively obscure, there’d be no risk of confusing her version of Troi for Purnell’s other Star Trek character.
Perhaps best known for her role as Lucy MacLean in Fallout, there are other projects that better support the argument for her replacing Marina Sirtis as the woman to sit next to Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise. Shows like Yellowjackets and even Sweetpea show flashes of the tools she could use to build a new version of Counselor Troi without ignoring the foundations laid down by Sirtis decades ago.
Alexander Skarsgård as Lt. Commander Data
‘Murderbot’ Proves Only 1 Man Can Play Data in 2026
I was caught between Alexander Skarsgård and Alan Tudyk to play Data in this speculative TNG remake, but the former just about won out. His unofficial audition for the Enterprise’s Second Officer already exists in the form of Apple TV’s Murderbot. The severely underrated sci-fi series is built around Skarsgård’s ability to make a machine seem cold, and yet oddly human.
Maybe the biggest challenge in this respect could be balancing his filming schedule with Murderbot. That said, the seasons are short, as are the episodes. Similarly, I can’t imagine a new version of The Next Generation boasting the same 20+ episode format that the original had. So, Skarsgård could, in theory, continue to lead Murderbot while replacing Brent Spiner as Data.
John Boyega as Lt. Geordi La Forge
That Abandoned Star Wars Arc Needs Forgetting
Star Wars set up John Boyega’s Finn to be one of the most compelling characters in franchise history. However, after initially teasing a Stormtrooper-turned-Jedi arc, the sequel trilogy just sort of abandoned it and didn’t seem to know what to do with him. Star Trek can finally give Boyega a better spot in an equally iconic space opera. Boyega’s Geordi could even have an edge over LeVar Burton’s.
In The Next Generation, Burton’s character spends Season 1 on the bridge before the writers altered course to make him Chief Engineer. That suited his character far better, so if Boyega were to step into the role, it makes sense that his Geordi would be Chief Engineer from day 1. Similarly, a remake could do away with Geordi’s VISOR, which, by all accounts, was difficult to act in. It looks dated, too. He can still have artificial eyes, only more advanced ones like in the TNG movies.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Lt. Worf
Who Needs ‘Wonder Man’ Season 2?
Both standing over six feet tall, Michael Dorn and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are both great at playing physically imposing characters whose edges are softened by an embedded sense of approachability. Dorn did it most famously as Worf, and Abdul-Mateen has proven he can pull it off too in roles such as Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen and Simon Williams in Wonder Man.
Also appearing in other huge properties like Aquaman and The Matrix, Abdul-Mateen has more than earned the right to embody the Enterprise’s resident Klingon. Of all the theoretical recastings in this list, the thought of Abdul-Mateen as Worf is the one that excites me the most.
Deborah Ann Woll as Dr. Beverly Crusher
The Beating Heart of ‘Daredevil’ Would Make a Great Chief Medical Officer
Gates McFadden made Dr. Crusher gentle and kind-hearted, but the Enterprise’s Chief Medical Officer also had an edge to her when the occasion called for one. When I think of actors who could do the character justice, only a couple of options come to mind. Karen Gillan was my first instinct, but then Deborah Ann Woll seemed like an even better casting.
Most known for her role in the MCU as Karen Page, appearing in shows like Daredevil and The Punisher, Woll has proven time and again that she too is at her best when playing characters who are rarely brash or cruel. Whenever they resort to those traits, it’s always an occasion of note in the best possible way. If TNG were to be remade, Woll’s Crusher could also remain aboard the Enterprise throughout, rather than being temporarily replaced by Diana Muldaur’s Dr. Pulaski due to behind-the-scenes reasons.
Owen Cooper as Wesley Crusher
The ‘Adolescence’ Star Is More Than Capable
Cooper took the world by storm in 2025 when he starred in Adolescence, winning a string of awards for his performance in the 3-episode miniseries. Although a couple of years older than when Wil Wheaton was when he made his Wesley Crusher debut, Cooper can easily play younger than late teens. This would bring him in line with Wesley’s in-universe age of 15 years old in TNG Season 1.
What’s perhaps uncertain at the moment is whether Cooper can act with an American accent. His admittedly limited body of work so far hasn’t required him to do so yet, but he would be far from the only Brit in Hollywood to add that skill to his arsenal. Given the talent he’s already displayed, I think he’d pick it up in no time.
Ito Aghayere as Guinan
Bringing Her Back Is Worth the Mild Fourth-Wall Break
Things could get pretty meta here, but I think it works. The thing is, Aghayere hasn’t just appeared in Star Trek before, but she’s even played Guinan. Appearing opposite Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Picard, Aghayere was cast as a younger stand-in to account for Whoopi Goldberg’s absence from the cast, but was then dropped when Goldberg reprised her role.
She played the part so well that it seems a shame to ignore her as an option just because of the canonical issues it arguably causes. The TNG remake would presumably not be part of the same continuity as the original, which would make Aghayere’s return somewhat confusing at a glance. That said, Guinan’s El-Auran background always made her an ultra-mysterious character. Having Aghayere play her in both timelines while everyone around her is recast deepens the enigma in a very special way that never needs to be directly addressed.
David Tennant as Q
He’s the Only Option for the Quirky Demigod
Although he went on to reprise the role in other Star Trek shows, John de Lancie’s Q only appeared in 8 episodes of The Next Generation. Still, with such limited screen time in the grand scheme of things, he made Q instantly forgettable. David Tennant is a similar breed of actor who commands the same level of attention as de Lancie when he’s present.
Furthermore, the Doctor Who star has plenty of experience playing off-beat, eccentric, non-human characters. He boasts the same chaotic energy as Q’s original actor, and his busy schedule means he could occasionally guest star like de Lancie did rather than committing years of his life to a single project. As the character who kick-starts Star Trek: The Next Generation in the pilot episode, Q must be present – and Tennant is the perfect man for the job in 2026.
- Release Date
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1987 – 1994-00-00
- Network
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Syndication
- Directors
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Cliff Bole, Les Landau, Winrich Kolbe, Rob Bowman, Robert Scheerer, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Wiemer, Gabrielle Beaumont, Alexander Singer, David Carson, Paul Lynch, Corey Allen, Patrick Stewart, Chip Chalmers, Joseph L. Scanlan, James L. Conway, Robert Lederman, Tom Benko, Timothy Bond, Robert Legato, Adam Nimoy, Robert Becker, David Livingston, LeVar Burton
- Writers
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René Echevarria, Maurice Hurley, Richard Manning, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Tracy Tormé, Hannah Louise Shearer, Stuart Charno, Ira Steven Behr, Sara B. Cooper, Peter Allan Fields, Herbert Wright, Frank Abatemarco, Burton Armus, Hilary Bader, Morgan Gendel, David Kemper, Michael I. Wagner, Philip LaZebnik, Robert McCullough, Susan Sackett, Nick Sagan, Fred Bronson, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Sam Rolfe
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