Star Trek fans have been asking for the return of Captain Benjamin Sisko since actors have been crossing over on the new series.
At the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Captain Benjamin Sisko bid goodbye to his wife and son and remained with the Bajoran Prophets. He promised his wife that he would return, but that series ended in 1999. Other than an appearance on William Shatner’s “The Captains,” Brooks has chosen to remain mostly off-screen. And if he won’t return to the character he made famous, would Star Trek recast him?
Deep Space Nine characters have already appeared in Star Trek: Lower Decks with Nana Visitor and Armin Shimerman voicing their previous roles. Star Trek: The Next Generation characters have crossed over into Lower Decks and Star Trek: Picard, and the list goes on from there. The shows are clearly intermingling now, and while that excites most of Star Trek’s fans, it reminds Deep Space Nine fans that there’s one character they might never see again—Captain Benjamin Sisko unless Paramount makes a tough, and probably unwelcome, choice.
Captain Benjamin Sisko could return…even if the role isn’t played by Avery Brooks.
Captain Sisko has already returned in IDW Publishing’s line of Star Trek comic books, and the writers are making a good effort to tell his story after his time with the Prophets. However, it’s certainly not the same as seeing Brooks onscreen.
Paramount would certainly be taking a chance if they recast Sisko, but it would make sense if the character was going to be a much younger version of himself, like in the instance of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds introducing Montgomery “Scotty” Scott.
Right now, there really isn’t a place for Captain Sisko except for a voice role in Lower Decks. The new series, Starfleet Academy, should be starting production one the strikes are over, but there is speculation [via Inverse] that series will be set in the same timeline as Discovery so that would essentially negate the possibilty of Sisko making an appearance.
Still, it isn’t unheard of for major characters to be recast even if it’s not back in the past or in an alternate timeline. For instance, the role of Morpheus in the new Matrix movie was played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II instead of Laurence Fishburne who was synonymous with the role. And with the possibility of a Star Trek: Legacy series getting stronger, there is always a chance that the powers-that-be will want Captain Sisko for the series. But the question remains, would Paramount ever make that ultimate decision if Avery Brooks can’t or won’t return?