Theory: Returning to the Titan could be a sign of a Riker/Troi series

Captain Will Riker and Commander Deanna Troi returned to their respective roles with voice cameos on Star Trek: Lower Decks

For a very long time, fans have wanted to know more about the time Captain Will Riker and Commander Deanna Troi spent aboard the USS Titan. After the couple was married by Captain Picard and the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, we see Riker saying goodbye to his former captain. But we don’t get to see Riker take his place as a captain finally nor do we see how he commands a ship or how he handles being his wife’s superior. Likewise, we saw nothing of Troi’s adjustment to being a wife as well as serving alongside her husband aboard the Titan or how her position has changed.

Now, though, Star Trek: Lower Decks brought the Titan zipping onto the screen with a brief appearance by the voices of Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, and fans were thrilled to hear these two favorites reprising their iconic roles. That was the first hint that Paramount might be dusting off the Titan with the intent of putting the ship into action.

The second hint comes on the heels of the release of the next Star Trek: Picard novel, The Dark Veil, which takes place aboard the Titan. It is set a year after Picard has resigned from Starfleet, and the official description sounds like it could be a movie all its own.

"The Alpha Quadrant is mired in crisis.Within the United Federation of Planets, a terrorist strike on the shipyards of Mars has led to the shutdown of all relief efforts for millions of Romulans facing certain doom from an impending super­nova.But when the USS Titan is drawn into a catastrophic incident on the Romulan-Federation border, Captain William Riker, his family, and his crew find themselves caught between the shocking secrets of an enigmatic alien species and the deadly agenda of a ruthless Tal Shiar operative.Forced into a wary alliance with a Romulan starship commander, Riker and the Titan crew must uncover the truth to stop a dev­astating attack—but one wrong move could plunge the entire sector into open conflict!"

And the third hint that something might be going on is Captain Riker’s return to the Lower Decks in Season 2. Although we don’t know how long he’ll be around once the animated series returns, fans are hoping this is just the beginning of potentially an animated Riker/Troi series that details their time spent aboard the ship that carried them away from the Enterprise.