Summary
- Colm Meaney has no plans to return as Chief O'Brien in Star Trek.
- While he believes in 'never say never,' Meaney is not eager to reprise the role of an elderly Miles O'Brien.
- The actor acknowledges Star Trek's ability to revamp itself but doesn't prioritize an O'Brien return.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Colm Meaney has no plans to return to Star Trek as Chief Miles O'Brien. Meaney originated O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the Irish engineer truly came into his own on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as part of the crew led by Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). Between TNG and DS9, Meaney played O'Brien in 225 episodes, the most of any Star Trek actor except for Michael Dorn's Worf.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Gazette interviewed Colm Meaney about his new film Duchess and 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.
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 to Star Trek without the concerns of appearing elderly or fitting in his old Starfleet uniform: appearing in one of Star Trek's animated series. Star Trek: Prodigy season 3, if it receives a renewal from Netflix, would take place about a decade after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended. Meanwhile, there is a chance Meaney could be one of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's surprise guest stars. Either way, an animated Chief O'Brien would be a welcome Star Trek comeback.
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1, episode 3, "Temporal Edict", declares Chief O'Brien "perhaps the most important person in Starfleet history."
Another chance for Colm Meaney to reprise Chief O'Brien is in Star Trek's next series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Although set after Star Trek: Discovery in the 32nd century, Starfleet Academy could bring O'Brien back as a hologram or through other sci-fi means. At the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,Chief O'Brien returned to Starfleet Academy as an engineering professor. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy would be the ideal means to give Chief O'Brien's legacy a new context in Star Trek hundreds of years later.
