Originally, Captain Sisko was going to die in season 7

Captain Sisko was supposed to meet his end in season 7

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine debuted as a vastly different type of Star Trek show. While there certainly were some space flights and battle scenes, a good percentage of the action and character arcs took place aboard a space station. That didn’t stop fans from tuning into the show, and one of the biggest draws was Avery Brooks as first Commander then Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Known previously from Spenser: For Hire and A Man Called Hawk, Brooks dominated the screen with a commanding presence, which was helpful since that was what was needed for this role. There was never any doubt that he was in charge of Deep Space Nine, and when he was gone from an episode or barely in it, the lack was noticeable.

Captain Sisko was a man who embodied strength and commitment, both to his son (and later his wife) and the crew he commanded. So when the final season demanded that he go up against Gul Dukat to finally put the villain in his place, it was a showdown that we were all ready to see. What we didn’t know then was that Sisko was originally supposed to die.

Killing Captain Sisko would have been a mistake

There aren’t any complete details about how his death would have taken place, but one can assume that the Prophets didn’t save him after he sacrificed himself in the Fire Caves of Bajor like they did in the original ending. So presumably there would have been a scene where the crew (and Jake and Kassidy) were made aware of his death which would have ended the series on a much more somber note.

Lucky for us, producers agreed that the ending was too bleak so Sisko was brought back by the Prophets. Of course, he still didn’t get his happily ever after with his wife, son, and unborn child, but we’ve already picked that bone with the producers. Killing Sisko would have been a HUGE mistake and completely unacceptable, though.