Whoopi Goldberg has been a Star Trek fan since The Original Series aired in the 1960s. She managed to parlay that love of the franchise into a recurring role as Guinan, an El-Aurian, on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Guinan served as the bartender of Ten Forward as well as a listening ear. She also provided wisdom and clarity for many Enterprise crew members and became one of Captain Picard's closest friends. Goldberg reprised her role in two episodes of Star Trek: Picard's second season in 2022. But it's possible we haven't seen the last of her in Star Trek.
Zoe Saldana and her husband, Marco Perego, appeared on The View, the talk show co-hosted by Goldberg, to discuss their collaboration in an upcoming movie, The Absence of Eden. [via Collider] The subject of Star Trek 4 came up as Saldana played Nyota Uhura in the first three J.J. Abrams' movies. When Saldana was asked if she had any news yet, Joy Behar, another co-host, advised Goldberg to not tip her hand. She followed that up with an advisement to not "let them know you got the job." The prospect excited Saldana, but Goldberg denied a potential reappearance.
As we learned in the Picard episode "The Star Gazer," El-Aurians only age when they choose to. So this leaves the door wide open for Goldberg to return to the role at any time. Guinan hasn't been seen in the Abrams' movies, and, as far as we know, she has never met Captain Kirk or any of the original Enterprise crew. So there would have to be some reconfiguring to bring her onboard, but, as we all know, that's something Star Trek is used to.
Again, though, Goldberg has denied a return, and even though she may be returning, she's obviously not at liberty to say just yet. So it might just be one more piece of good news to look forward to in Trek's future!