Exclusive: Tom Hardy Returning To Star Trek Along With Other Franchise Villains
Tom Hardy will be back as a memorable Star Trek villain.
This article is more than 2 years old
Tom Hardy made a memorable impression as the Jean-Luc Picard clone Shinzon in the feature film Star Trek: Nemesis. It was one of the actor’s breakout roles in mainstream Hollywood and continues to be remembered by fans of the franchise. Whether his performance is fondly recalled or disliked is up to the individual viewer, but there is no doubt that his contribution to the franchise remains a major one. And when it comes to some of the most significant villains in the history of the series, there is no doubt that Shinzon remains an integral character. That must be the case as it looks like the franchise has plans to bring him back in some manner.
According to one of our trusted and proven inside sources, Paramount is pursuing Tom Hardy to return as Shinzon in a future Star Trek project. This lines up with other news we have heard from We Got This Covered about the studio wanting to revive as many of the classic villains from the franchise as they can. Many have assumed this would be yet another opportunity to redo a version of Khan Noonien Singh, the most infamous antagonist in the history of the property. However, it looks like Paramount is also combing through the baddies from Star Trek: The Next Generation and other series as well for villains they can once again utilize for their upcoming projects.
As far as that is concerned, bringing back Tom Hardy makes the most sense. The character of Shinzon was built up as a titular nemesis for Jean-Luc Picard but only lasted for one movie. The concept was that Shinzon was to replace Picard and perform espionage inside the Federation at the behest of the Romulan Empire. However, the power structure of the Empire shifted and the new leaders decided to abandon the plan. In doing so, they exiled Shinzon to the dilithium mines on the planet of Remus. But, he was eventually drafted into the Dominion War and became a revered leader by his Reman counterparts.
This all sets up tom Hardy’s Shinzon as a truly interesting character. Unfortunately, the necessity of Star Trek: Nemesis as a feature film meant that he was not long for this world. So, he ended up dying by the end of the movie and has been pretty much forgotten about in the world of the franchise. Having him come back in spectacular form would be a legitimate surprise and could lead to a better utilization of his character. The assumption is that he would appear on Star Trek: Picard and be framed as a major villain for at least a season. However, this looks to all depend on Tom Hardy’s desire to even be involved in the idea. It sounds like Paramount hasn’t gotten the actor to sign on the dotted line just yet, but that they really want him and are hoping to snag him.
We will have to wait and see if Paramount is able to persuade Tom Hardy to return as Shinzon. We certainly hope they can convince him and we can see a much better story with the character play out on Star Trek: Picard.
