Whoopi Goldberg On Returning To Star Trek As Guinan
Here's what Whoopi Goldberg has to say about her return to Star Trek.
This article is more than 2 years old
The Whoopi Goldberg resurgence continues. It’s not like the award-winning actress has been gone, she’s been the co-host of the daily talk show The View since 2007. But other than a few voice roles and guest-starring roles, Goldberg has mainly kept herself situated on The View. Now, though, Whoopi is returning to a role that she loves as she will appear as Guinan in the second season of Star Trek: Picard.
It was last year when Sir Patrick Stewart appeared as a guest on The View and formally invited Whoopi Goldberg to return to the Star Trek universe by joining him on Picard.
Whoopi Goldberg, at first shocked by Stewart’s invitation, then said yes, to which she received a standing ovation from The View audience. While details, obviously, are slim to none at best, Whoopi did talk to SFX Magazine about her return as Guinan while promoting the Stephen King mini-series The Stand. She told SFX, “No, I haven’t seen [Star Trek: Discovery] – but I did watch the first season of Picard, which was great. From time to time, I talk to Patrick [Stewart] about Star Trek. Hopefully, I will be joining their cast for a little while next year. I’m very excited about that.”
With Star Trek: Picard set to begin season two production on February 1, 2021, Whoopi Goldberg’s “for a little while” comment raises hope that her appearance will be more than just a one-off. Guinan’s history with Picard is interesting as is her character in general. Guinan is a member of the long-lived El-Aurian race, a race that almost met their entire demise at the hands of the Borg. The fact that some ex-Borg’s have played a role in the first season of Picard could make for some interesting storylines as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) was a main component. Along with the presence of the Borg, John de Lancie has also hinted that his wonderful Q character may also be returning to the Star Trek fold in Picard could also lend itself to some fun. His relationship with Guinan was a bit on the adversarial side, something fans would love to see rekindled.
And then there is the relationship between Patrick Stewart’s Picard and Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan. Star Trek: The Next Generation has already established that their relationship was special and the two were very close. She was his confidante in many respects. Picard even stated on The Next Generation that his relationship with Guinan was “beyond friendship and beyond family.” This is definitely something worth exploring. Michael Chabon, Picard season one showrunner and season two writer is clearly looking forward to the repairing of Picard and Guinan. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s amazing. I’ve gone back to rewatch some of the more key Guinan episodes from Next Gen, the major Picard and Guinan moments. She’s such an amazing actor; I can’t wait.”
Of course, all this is a far cry from 2016 when Whoopi Goldberg famously announced on The View that if Donald Trump were to be elected President that “maybe it’s time for me to move, you know.” It was hard to take her seriously and she proved that to be true. Goldberg is one of only 16 entertainers who can boast they have won a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and an Academy Award. Leaving the US just didn’t seem feasible. Along with her co-hosting duties on The View, Goldberg is seeing more time on the small screen with different projects. She has held a recurring role on the CBS show Blue Bloods and recently has been seen in the ten-part mini-series Stephen King’s The Stand where she plays Mother Abagail. Also, on deck for Goldberg is the recently announced return to one of her more famous roles as Deloris Van Cartier aka Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act 3.
Okay, Trekkies, who’s ready for Whoopi Goldberg to return as Guinan?
