Over the years, Star Trek has opted to bridge the gap with the past by bringing in legacy characters for newer shows. We've seen Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Jeri Ryan, LeVar Burton and even Jolene Blalock return to the franchise in a variety of shows. It's proven to be a hit with fans, and while it can't work as a long-term idea, fans can still get a few old names back before it's all said and done.
In fact, there are quite a lot of names that Star Trek has sitting in their archives that could be dusted off and brought back to the franchise. It's really just about finding the ones that fit with the new shows and writing someone compelling enough that justify bringing them back to the franchise.
After thinking about it, we found five names that we thought would be a viable option to bring back in the next crop of new shows and films.
Neelix
Not everyone loves Neelix. I'm not in that group. I adore Neelix. His early seasons with Star Trek: Voyager were rough. He was possessive, rude, deceitful, and at times very toxic. But when the show finally moved on from Kes, Neelix became a valuable character. Warm, light-hearted, a true caregiver on a ship in need of them. He really came alive in the last four seasons and for that reason I'd love to see the character back in Star Trek, once again played by Ethan Phillips.