Summary
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Colm Meaney has no plans to return toStar Trekas Chief Miles O’Brien. Meaney originated O’Brien inStar Trek: The Next Generation, but the Irish engineer truly came into his own onStar Trek: Deep Space Nineas part of the crew led by Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). BetweenTNGandDS9,Meaney played O’Brien in 225 episodes, the most of anyStar Trekactor except for Michael Dorn’s Worf.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Gazetteinterviewed Colm Meaney about his new filmDuchessand asked the venerable Irish actor if he wants to reprise Miles O’Brien in Star Trek on Paramount+. While Meaney believes one should"never say never,“Colm shot down the idea of coming back as"an elderly Miles O’Brien.“Read Meaney’s quote below:
I think seven years in a space suit was enough, you know? I’m often asked that question, and you never say never, of course, but first of all, I wouldn’t fit in it anymore [Laughs] and… I remember people saying at the time when Voyager got going, ‘How many times can you go to the well? How many times can you revamp this?’
They successfully did it with Star Trek and they’re still doing it. Good luck to them… Do you want to see an elderly Miles O’Brien? I don’t know. It’s certainly not at the top of my agenda of things I’d like to do at the moment.
Chief O’Brien’s 10 Best Star Trek TNG & DS9 Episodes
Miles O’Brien is “the most important man in Star Trek history,” played by one of its best actors, as proved by O’Brien’s best TNG and DS9 episodes.
How Colm Meaney’s Chief O’Brien Can Return To Star Trek
O’Brien doesn’t have to be elderly
There is an easy solution for Colm Meaney to bring Chief Miles O’Brien toStar Trekwithout the concerns of appearing elderly or fitting in his old Starfleet uniform: appearing in one ofStar Trek’s animated series.Star Trek: Prodigyseason 3, if it receives a renewal from Netflix, would take place about a decade afterStar Trek: Deep Space Nineended. Meanwhile, there is a chance Meaney could be one ofStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5’s surprise guest stars. Either way,an animated Chief O’Brien would be a welcomeStar Trekcomeback.
Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 1, episode 3, “Temporal Edict”, declares Chief O’Brien"perhaps the most important person in Starfleet history.”
Another chance forColm Meaney to reprise Chief O’Brienis inStar Trek’s next series,Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Although set afterStar Trek: Discoveryin the 32nd century,Starfleet Academycould bring O’Brien back as a hologram or through other sci-fi means. At the end ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Chief O’Brien returned to Starfleet Academy as an engineering professor.Star Trek: Starfleet Academywould be the ideal means to give Chief O’Brien’s legacy a new context inStar Trekhundreds of years later.
