LeVar Burton: “I don’t necessarily need to go back” to Star Trek character Geordi LaForge

LeVar Burton as Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation “The Quality of Life”

APRIL 18, 2021 - Remember last year when LeVar Burton seemed to suggest that he would be happy to reprise his role as Geordi LaForge on Star Trek: Picard? Well, it seems as though he may have changed his mind...of course, in true Hollywood fashion, he’s still leaving the possibility open.

Burton was speaking to Newsweek, in an interview they published over the weekend. In it, Burton discussed the idea of him appearing in Star Trek: Picard’s second season, something he’s been talking about for over a year. Last April, Burton admitted to Entertainment Tonight that a role had been “talked about” but didn’t give any further details. This time though, Burton seems to have a less positive take on the idea.

Burton told Newsweek, “I’m really happy with where Geordi sits in my life. [...] And even though I feel like it would be fun to revisit him now and again, living in his skin every day, I don’t necessarily need to go back to doing that.” When they asked him explicitly whether Geordi could turn up in Picard season two, he said “maybe”, noting that “the time period of Picard is contemporaneous.”

And he’s right. In fact, Geordi LaForge was a notable character in the Picard prequel comic series Countdown, which establishes that, at least at the time of the attack on Mars, he was in contact with Picard.

Burton has been in the press in the last couple of weeks due to a growing fan petition for him to be the next host of the game show Jeopardy! Of course, if that job were to come through, it could interfere with Burton’s availability to appear in other projects.

If you’d like to add your name to the Jeopardy! petition, you can find it on change.org, and be sure to catch up on Star Trek: Picard season one for a bit of context, now streaming on Paramount+.