John de Lancie confirms he won’t return to Star Trek: Picard in season 3

John de Lancie is making his last round as Q on Star Trek: Picard

Q has been a pain in Jean-Luc Picard’s side since Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered. He has returned in Star Trek: Picard in a lot more antagonistic manner, more villainous than obnoxious. And though we don’t know what his plan is or exactly what has brought him back to Admiral Picard, we do know that John de Lancie, who has been portraying Q since 1987, is only here for season two. Speaking during a Paramount+ Twitter Spaces chat [via Trekmovie], de Lancie confirmed that his character will not return to Star Trek: Picard in season three.

So the all time great Star Trek villain that co-showrunner Terry Matalas teased for season three isn’t Q even though de Lancie is giving a much different performance this year than he has at any other time on any Star Trek series. Imagine him slapping Captain Picard aboard the Enterprise, and surpisingly, that slap on Picard was de Lancie’s idea to raise the stakes.

John de Lancie wanted to show that his appearance wasn’t about playtime.

Previously, when Q has appeared, there has been an element of playfulness, a sense that he was bored and needed sometehing to entertain himself. de Lancie wanted to show that Q had approached Picard for a much more serious reason this time which was why he thought slapping the admiral was a good idea.

"That was something that I added… It should be shocking. I hope so. And then mostly is it should show that it’s not playtime. I don’t have the time for this to be and extended back and forth between Picard and I. I’ve come there to be helpful in the most profound sort of way for him. But also, there’s a motivation for me as well."

It was, indeed, shocking, and out of character for Q. But it also let viewers know that he wasn’t there in his usual capacity to tease and torment. He means business. And although this might be his last outing as Q on this series, that doesn’t mean the actor isn’t open to returning to the Star Trek franchise.

"It is like anything else. It comes down to what’s the story and is it something that I can do well and would I be contributing and is it a good story to do? But nobody’s talked to me about anything."