retired as an iral from Starfleet and Picard's reaction to the destruction of Romulus that helped create J.J. Abrams' movie reboot series. But fans are also excited for reasons beyond getting to see Jean-Luc Picard again.
Star Trek: Picard will finally return the Star Trek TV series. DS9 became the nexus of Star Trek's 24th century and culminated in the Dominion War which reshaped the Alpha Quadrant. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine went off the air in 1999; their finale more or less closed the book on the 24th century but many questions remain.
After the final TNG film, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Star Trek: Voyager's return home, the Star Trek franchise spent the next 17 years looking backward with prequel TV series and Abrams' films set in an alternate timeline of the 23rd century. The Deep Space Nine documentary What We Left Behind featured that series' writers plotting the first episode of a theoretical DS9 season 8, which would be set 20 years later, but their ideas, while intriguing, can't be considered as canon, unfortunately. Therefore, Star Trek: Picard is in a prime position to finally deliver some answers about what's happened over the last 20 years.
It's unlikely DS9 actors will guest star in Star Trek: Picard or that the new series will directly address the events of Deep Space Nine. But there are enough ways the two series intersect in the shared Star Trek universe that hopefully, fans can get some info on what became of Deep Space Nine and its crew. Here are some questions we hope Star Trek: Picard can answer:
Does Deep Space Nine Still Exist?
Is Deep Space Nine still guarding the Bajoran Wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant and is it still a Federation-controlled space station? The United Federation of Planets and their allies the Klingon and the Romulan Empires won the Dominion War at the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Several Starfleet personnel left the station for other posts and the station was left under the command of Colonel Kira Nerys of the Bajoran Militia. But all of that happened 20 years ago when Star Trek: Picard picks up things. What has happened to DS9 since?
According to the Ds9's writers in What We Left Behind, DS9 season 8 would have picked up 20 years later with the space station turned into a temple to the Prophets. It's still under the command of Kira but she's now a Vedek. Meanwhile, other characters like Ezri Dax, Dr. Bashir, and Nog continued their Starfleet careers. While Star Trek: Picard is unlikely to reference DS9's characters besides Worf, fans would love some sort of update on what became of DS9, even it's an offhand mention like an Easter egg on a data PADD or as part of a Starfleet briefing Picard receives.
What Is The State Of The Alpha Quadrant?
How have things changed in the Alpha Quadrant since Star Trek: Nemesis? One thing fans know is that Romulus was destroyed; the elder Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) tried to save the planet, but he and the Romulan Nero traveled back to the 23rd century and created the alternate Star Trek: Picard teaser is believed to be about his attempts to save the Romulans.
Star Trek: Picard will hopefully address the political status of the Alpha Quadrant and reveal what has become of Cardassia, Bajor, the Ferengi Alliance, the Klingons, and even the Borg. After all, Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced most of those alien races and Captain Picard made key with them before Deep Space Nine further developed the Cardassians, Bajorans, and the Ferengi. When DS9 went off the air, Cardassia was in shambles after the Dominion War and Rom became Grand Nagus of the Ferengi - what has happened in the 20-year interim?
Is Worf A Klingon Ambassador Or Is He In Starfleet?
When DS9 ended, General Martok replaced Gowron as High Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Martok, in turn, appointed Worf as Klingon Ambassador to the Federation. However, three years later, Worf was back in uniform serving aboard the Enterprise-E in Star Trek: Nemesis. Although it wasn't directly addressed, apparently Worf quickly resigned his ambassadorship to return to Starfleet.
But what has become of everyone's favorite Klingon in the last 20 years? Worf was the bridge between TNG and DS9 and he did double duty; Worf appeared in DS9 seasons 4-7 but also would return to the Enterprise-E for every feature film. Hopefully, Michael Dorn will appear in Star Trek: Picard, especially since seeing Worf again would be fans' best opportunity to get some info on his friends from Deep Space Nine.
Did Sisko Ever Return?
It's a longshot but DS9 fans would be over the moon if Star Trek: Picard could provide an update to the fate of Benjamin Sisko. The Captain of Deep Space Nine was also the Emissary to the Bajoran Prophets; he discovered that he's half-Prophet in season 7 and in the series finale, "What You Leave Behind", Sisko ed the Prophets to exist in non-linear time. However, he promised his wife Kasidy, who was pregnant, and his son Jake that he would return. In the DS9 documentary, the writers revealed that Sisko does return at the end of the pilot of their hypothetical season 8.
But Star Trek: Picard could finally reveal whether Sisko did return in official Picard family vineyard in La Barre, .
Star Trek: Picard premieres on CBS All-Access and internationally on Amazon Prime in late 2019.