The Subtext Junkie: Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Reboot

Good News Everyone! Hollywood's out of ideas! Remember how there was a super-successful relaunch of Star Trek a few years ago? Well, aside from reinvigorating the whole franchise, it was actually pretty fun too.

I, however, was always more of a fan of The Next Generation, so I'm really looking forward to the inevitable series of reboots about Picard and his crew. What with the canonical changes to the timeline that took place in 2009’s Star Trek and 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, the makers of the TNG series essentially have carte blanche on the state of the galaxy 100 years later.

We could speculate on the plot all day, but what about the cast? It would take a pretty amazing bunch of actors to step into the iconic roles of the Enterprise crew, and if I were calling the shots here's who I would pick.

Bryan Cranston as Captain Jean-Luc Picard

I have no doubt that due to his consummate acting abilities and subtle sense of humor, Cranston would be just the anchor to keep this franchise centered. While Captain Kirk's cocksure attitude translates more easily to the action genre, Picard is more of a diplomat and tactician than his predecessor. In Breaking Bad, Cranston showed audiences that just because a man conducts himself with deliberation and composure, it doesn't mean he can't be a badass. Plus, we already know what he looks like bald, so...

Tom Hiddleston as Lieutenant Commander Data

Hiddleston's resemblance to Data in Thor: The Dark World actually inspired me to write this list. While Loki is devious and ruled by ego and emotions, Data is loyal, objective and methodical. He's also one of the only Androids in known existence, which begs the question, why would Starfleet send him to the intergalactic frontline? They might see him as a weapon, but Data’s personal quest to learn how to be human and essentially acquire a soul, was and always will be one of the most important facets of the TNG canon. Oh, and please, PLEASE bring on Lohr.

Idris Elba as Lieutenant Worf

The glimpse of the Klingons we saw in “Into Darkness” brought a whole new aesthetic to the alien race that's one of the Federation’s biggest pains in the ass. With a potential war in the mix, I’d like to see Worf’s experience as Starfleet’s first Klingon officer be a main through-line of the new films. Perhaps he could even start the series off as a Starfleet spy, trying to come to terms with going up against his ancestral people. That being said, we need someone with serious acting chops, but who’s also tough as nails. If there's another actor who better fits that criteria, then may god help us all.

Michael Fassbender as Commander William Riker

Picard’s first in command is a charming swashbuckler who's a lot more willing to get his hands dirty, all the while maintaining a certain slick charm. I don't know of another actor that more of my male friends would want to grab a beer with than Michael Fassbender, and the ladies? Forget it. I actually think it would be entertaining to see Riker as a product of a society so far past the conventions of "untraditional" sexuality that he'll get with anybody: women, men, aliens or sentient vapor clouds. Fassbender will have to grow a beard though, so as long as y'all don’t mind it being bright orange.

Chadwick Boseman as Chief Engineering Officer Geordi LaForge

In the movie 42, Chadwick Boseman played the legendary Jackie Robinson, a normal guy who found himself in a remarkable situation. He managed to remain stoic in the face of adversity, cool under pressure and good-humored among his friends. These are all essential traits for fan-favourite Geordi LaForge. Besides being an energetic and gifted actor, I think Boseman has an "everyman" quality that a lot of viewers would find relatable. Or at least as relatable as a blind spaceship engineer who wears magic sunglasses is ever going to get.

Liv Tyler as Counsellor Deanna Troi

Yes she’s devastatingly beautiful, yes she has a certain softness that pulling off a feelings-sensitive “Empath” would require, but more importantly, Liv Tyler wouldn’t play Deanna merely as “Riker’s girlfriend”. She held her own in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as an Elfin Warrior, so I’d like to see Counsellor Troi in this world more than just a expositional sounding board for the unending parade of existential crises that plague the Enterprise crew.

Diane Lane as Chief Medical Officer Beverley Crusher

While being a gorgeous redhead in an appropriate age range to be the inevitable love interest to Bryan Cranston’s Jean-Luc Picard, Diane Lane is also an amazing actor who brings an intense energy to every role she plays. Having Lane’s no-nonsense Dr. Crusher on board the Enterprise would give viewers the feeling that there’s a lot more on the line than simple consular squabbles between made-up planets. It’s a matter of life and death up there, and no one knows better than Beverley.

Dane DeHaan as Wesley Crusher

Then there’s the other Crusher… Wil Weaton’s whiny Wesley is one of television’s most unpopular characters of all time. I say we play that up in the new films and cast an actor who often plays characters you just want to throttle. Dane Dehaan is actually one of Hollywood’s most promising young talents, but man if he doesn’t have a face you just want to punch.

A few more picks:

Octavia Spencer as Guinan

Octavia has a nice balance of poise, attitude and charisma, and it would take an Oscar-winner to play a believeable 700-year-old sage who operates a bar on an intergalactic spacecraft.