Worf returns to Star Trek: Picard as a captain but in rank only

Star Trek: Picard recently offered character portraits for the upcoming final season.

One of those portraits shown at San Diego Comic-Con was Worf, a character fans have been eager to see since it was announced that the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation would appear in the final season of Star Trek: Picard. Everyone wanted to make sure that Worf still looked like the Klingon he was while aboard the Enterprise and on Deep Space Nine. And we were relieved to see him looking like himself, just older. And there was one additional thing we say…his uniform.

And in the related trailer, fans were quick to see four pips on Worf’s collar, but, on Twitter, Terry Matalas, executive producer of Picard, nixed the idea that the Klingon would be commanding a ship during the final season.

Worf is on another track in the final season of Star Trek: Picard.

Lt. Commander Worf battled the Jem’Hadar led by the Founders during the Dominion War which played a large role in the final two seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. During that time, Worf killed Gowron after challenging the chancellor because of his poor leadership and dishonorable conduct. By right, Worf became the next chancellor, but he immediately handed his position to Martok. After the war ended, Martok asked for Worf to be appointed Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire. However, Worf returned in Star Trek: Nemesis with no mention of his post as Ambassador after that.

According to Matalas, the Dominion War, though, is going to play a part in the third season of Picard, which will explain Worf’s rank and duty assignment. And it isn’t surprising that Worf doesn’t have command of his own ship as Captain Sisko did warn him, after the events of the Deep Space Nine episode “Change of Heart,”  that he might not get his own command. Though, in follow-up novels Worf did have command of the Enterprise, Matalas was clear that isn’t where we meet Worf when Picard begins its third and final season.  So it’s just another part of a puzzle that Matalas and his team have created to bring Admiral Jean-Luc Picard’s journey, and The Next Generation characters’ journeys, to an end.