Brent Spiner is best known for playing the android Data in the show Star Trek: The Next Generation. Starring alongside actors like Patrick Stewart and William Riker, Spinner’s character was one of the most beloved roles in the franchise and he even returned for Star Trek: Picard.
While the TNG cast got a fitting end with Picard, the previous finale, the original film Star Trek: Nemesis was a box-office bomb and was not received well by critics. However, Spiner’s idea for a sequel would have probably saved the Tom Hardy starrer from being a fizzled-out finale and would have brought in multiple Star Trek captains.
Brent Spiner Had An Idea For A Crossover Between Patrick Stewart And William Shatner
Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the intergalactic sci-fi franchise to a whole new generation. The fan-favorite show lasted seven seasons and then made its big-screen debut with Generations. The latter also saw appearances from the original series cast including William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk.
While the TNG cast’s big-screen endeavor received varying degrees of success, the franchise had a less-than-stellar ending with Star Trek: Nemesis. The film, which saw Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Tom Hardy play the villain Praetor Shinzon, was the lowest-grossing Star Trek film and received negative reviews from critics.
While the film served as the ending for the series, actor Brent Spiner, who played Data in TNG reportedly had an idea that would bring together multiple Starfleet Captains in a Justice League-esque crossover. The actor said to Star Trek Magazine (via Screen Rant),
John [Logan] and I had a great story that would bring together all the captains, crews, and villains together at the same time. It was the Justice League of Star Trek, but Paramount decided it was too expensive a movie to make.
The actor mentioned that the idea would have also brought together multiple villains from different timelines such as Khan and Tom Hardy’s Shinzon, which would motivate Patrick Steart’s Picard to travel through time and bring together other Captains, including William Shatner and Avery Brooks.
Patrick Stewart Called Star Trek: Nemesis A Weak Ending To TNG
Patrick Stewart’s breakthrough role in Star Trek: The Next Generation as Captain Picard made him a global star and the franchise extremely profitable. While the original series only had a cult following, TNG became extremely successful and mainstreamed the franchise. It also gave rise to three spinoff shows Voyager, Deep Space Nine, and Picard.
While Sir Patrick Stewart was not keen on reprising his role in Picard, the actor’s experiences while working on Logan and the ending of TNG with Nemesis being underwhelming led him to consider it. He said to Variety,
Hugh [Jackman] and I were so thrilled when the last thing we did for ‘X-Men’ was ‘Logan’. It was the best ‘X-Men’ experience we both had because we were the same characters but their world had been blown apart. ‘Next Generation’ didn’t end like that. In fact, our last movie, ‘Nemesis,’ was pretty weak.
However, most of the TNG cast received better endings with Picard as the three-season spinoff had an ending that mirrored TNG’s last episode.
Star Trek: Nemesis is available to stream on Paramount+.
