Is Tasha Yar actually coming back for Star Trek: Picard?

Star Trek: Picard is bringing back the whole family but will Natasha Yar be among them?

Star Trek: Picard will bid farewell to Patrick Stewart and his iconic The Next Generation character Jean-Luc Picard in the series’ third and final season. Joining him is a host of past stars, many of whom have already returned to the franchise in the first or second seasons. Making their debuts under the Picard banner will be LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), and potentially Brent Spiner in a new take on an old character.

Spiner, and the rest of the TNG mainstays through the seven seasons, have already appeared on the show, including secondary characters like Q (played by John de Lancie), Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton).

One of the biggest names who we hadn’t heard anything about as of yet was Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar for the first season of The Next Generation, before getting killed off, and ultimately brought back, and killed off again. Crosby would stay on the series as a regular guest star, playing a new character called Sela, a Romulan, Human hybrid.

So with season three being a reunion and sendoff of sorts for Stewart, many wondered if Crosby would return to the franchise in some way, notably as Sela. Well, we have our answer.

Denise Crosby will reprise her role of Tasha Yar on Star Trek: Picard

Denise Crosby will be back to reprise her role as Tasha Yar on the third season of Picard, but, according to her, if she returns isn’t the surprise, how she does is. Crosby told a fan at the 56-Year Mission Star Trek convention in Las Vegas that Tasha Yar would be back but didn’t reveal how, (via TrekMovie.com)

"Oh. I don’t want to give away too much. But I’m going to tell you that you will see Tasha Yar, but I’m not going to tell you how. You got to watch."

Crosby did say in May that the “ship had sailed” about appearing on Picard, but Wheaton also made mentioned that he wasn’t in season three of the series, without mentioning he was going to cameo in season two.

So it’s not out of the realm of possibility to wonder if these men and women are just lying to keep the surprise a surprise. I think that’s likely in this case but who knows?