Q is back! John de Lancie and Sir Patrick Stewart announce the return of the iconic character in Star Trek: Picard season 2

John de Lancie surprises Sir Patrick Stewart on Paramount+ First Contact Day with a famous phrase from Star Trek’s Q: “Bonjour, mon capitaine!”

APRIL 5, 2021 - During the First Contact Day opening panel, Sir Patrick Stewart announced that production on season two of Star Trek: Picard was officially underway with lights, cameras, and everything else that goes with it. For Picard fans, that confirmation is a sign of good things to come, but that wasn’t the only good news. Stewart and panel co-host Wil Wheaton were joined by actor John de Lancie in making the official announcement that de Lancie’s Star Trek: The Next Generation character Q would return to screens in the upcoming season of Picard.

The omnipotent but often devious “Q” was a constant thorn in the side of 24th century Starfleet, always showing up at the worst time to make trouble for the crews of the starship Voyager, Deep Space Nine and, most notably, the Enterprise-D. After more than 20 years, it seems Q is finally making good on his promise to Captain Picard that the “trial” against humanity isn’t over yet.

That’s right.

Q is back.

It isn’t a complete surprise that de Lancie is making an appearance on Picard. Shortly after lending his voice as Q to the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode “Veritas”, de Lancie was seen in a Cameo video, telling a fan, “You’ll be seeing more of me”. And soon, we shall.

During the panel discussion, de Lancie told viewers that he is “totally delighted and really looking forward to” coming back to Star Trek. “It’s been a long time coming and I’m more than ready,” he said. For de Lancie, getting back into character after such a long time really wasn’t that hard to do. “It’s not actually very difficult,” de Lancie said of the process, adding, “[Q is] deliciously naughty, marvelously annoying, terribly self involved. I dare say, as my wife does, it’s not much of a stretch,” he added with a laugh.

But how will Q find himself in Picard’s life once again? Stewart and de Lancie were tight lipped on the details, but Stewart teased fans on Q’s return in season two, saying, “Q’s arrival was utterly unexpected, and it comes at a shattering moment in the episode.”

On returning to the set to film season two, Stewart was over the top in his excitement, saying “There is extra joy that we are back again in a fully active, fully healthy shooting situation [...] There are events coming up in season two that have never been seen before. And I’m excited just at the thought of putting it on camera. It is - so far - very, very satisfying.”

Alongside the announcement of Q’s return, Paramount+ released a new teaser trailer for the upcoming season. In the trailer, you can hear Picard’s voice talking about the passage of time and the choices we make as the camera pans across his study. A playing card bearing the Queen of Hearts lays on a chess board and begins to blow away like sand until all that is left…is the letter “Q”.

To see the new teaser for yourself, visit the Paramount+ channel on YouTube.