Jason Isaacs On Returning To Star Trek
Here's what Jason Isaacs has to say about returning to Star Trek to play Prime Lorca.
This article is more than 2 years old
Star Trek: Discovery fans want to see Jason Isaacs play Captain Gabriel Lorca again. This is not something they’ve been quiet about. After the end of the first season of the show, it felt to many like it was inevitable that the talented actor would return to play the character again, this time as Prime Lorca. During his first season, he played a Mirror Universe Imposter version of Lorca, so getting to see the actor actually play the Prime version would be an excellent contrast and interesting thing to see happen on the show. Is the writers stopping this from happening? The studio? Jason Isaacs? What has to be done to make this happen? Well, in a ComicBook.com interview, Jason Isaacs addressed the possibility of his return.
The Star Trek actor is no stranger to demands for him to return to a character. This is the actor who played Lucius Malfoy, and the Harry Potter fans are a serious fandom always ready for more. But Jason Isaacs doesn’t make career decisions based on what his bank manager says, the people he wants to work with, or even what his fans want to see from him. What does he make his decisions based on? Love of story. About how he makes career decisions, the actor said, “I try and find something that has something in it that will make me entertained. There’s all kinds of fab things that happen between cuts and action, being in lovely locations, or getting paid well, or being with friends, but at some point it’s between action and cut that you have to focus on and I want to have something to do.”
While that’s all well and good, Star Trek: Discovery fans really want to know what he specifically thinks about playing Prime Lorca. Fortunately, Jason Isaacs did get around to addressing that specific scenario. He said, “I love being part of that universe, and Prime Lorca, the Prime Universe version of my captain, has yet to be found. But I wouldn’t go back just to be in it, I’d go back if you had a great story to tell.”
When it comes to Prime Lorca, how could there not be a great story to tell? There’s the story of where the captain has been all this time. They could dive into how he feels about the Mirror Universe imposter’s actions. Would Prime Lorca feel responsible for some of them and want to redeem himself for the imposter’s actions? While of course the Star Trek character could simply show up and be a captain same as anyone else, is Jason Isaacs is demanding a story reason for this specific character to return, it doesn’t seem like that would be difficult to do.
There is a bigger factor to making that story happen, though. Star Trek: Discovery has now time jumped. Does Prime Lorca necessarily fit on that show at this point? Probably not? However, that’s the beauty of this universe: there are other shows he could show up on, especially now. ComicBook.com pointed out just how perfect some of those opportunities are. For example, soon, we’ll have Strange New Worlds, a series that’s a spinoff from Discovery. The new show Section 31 starring Michelle Yeoh is another strong contender.
So, while the opportunity may not make sense on Star Trek: Discovery for a Prime Lorca storyline, the opportunities in the universe are still there. There definitely seems to be a story there. What audiences need from the creatives behind the scenes now is for someone to prioritize Prime Lorca and make that story happen.
