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Fans Welcome Back Jeri Ryan to Star Trek Online

Beloved Star Trek actress Jeri Ryan reprises her role as Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Online.

By Silek Sun 02 Feb, 2020 7:08 PM - Last Updated: Sun 02 Feb, 2020 7:31 PM
It has been nearly 7 years since Jeri Ryan has sat in a sound booth with the producers of Star Trek Online, and fans have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about her return. While one of the most intriguing characters in all of the canon, Jeri wasn't sure Seven of Nine necessarily had a future in the continuing success of Star Trek.

seven ingame
Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Online.
"I'm shocked that this actually is happening," Ryan said to Space.com of the character she first started playing in 1995."It's very surreal, very surprising, and I'm thrilled. I'm really thrilled. I loved the way they're updating the character, as in the show," Ryan said. Star Trek Online will also show Seven's difficulties with her dark past, and will have "equivalent storylines" to Picard for consistency across the two franchises.”

Although plans for her return to both Picard and Star Trek Online were held secret for as long as possible, the first murmurs started quite awhile back.

“I was very surprised when they first approached me. It was about two years ago. It's been brewing for a long time. My friend James Duff, one of the creators, approached me... and he said ‘I want to bring Seven back,’ and I laughed, but he said ‘I'm serious,’ and he explained how he sees her developing and what she's become, and it was surprisingly really intriguing, but I didn’t think anything would come of it. Then cut to a year later at the Creative Arts Emmys last year. I'm lined up backstage getting ready to go on and I’m standing behind Alex Kurtzman, and he’s like, ‘Oh yeah, we've been talking a lot about Seven in the writers' room.’ I was like, ‘Oh, so it's actually real,’ which is kind of crazy. It's still very surreal, but it's fun. She's cool. I love her. I love who she’s become.”

Star Trek Online has a long history of talent from the television shows and movies bringing their characters to game. Some of the biggest names in the franchise have lent their talents to making Star Trek Online a more engaging and canonical experience, but notably, some have not. Ryan seems to have genuine excitement for continuing Seven of Nine's story and appreciated the care the writers have put into her evolution.

Speaking to Comicbook.com, of her role in Star Trek Online, Ryan has said, “She's 20 years more mature. She's been through a lot in the last few years. They're staying very consistent with Seven in the new world of Picard, the new series. She's helping the players sort of battle between ultimate good and ultimate evil along with Sonequa's character, Michael Burnham, and it's pretty cool. I can bring much more of myself to the character now. Seven, as we saw 20 years ago, was very, very different from my personality. I laugh easy, I cry easy, I've got a lot of emotions, and all of that was new and sort of hidden for her. So she's much more human now 20 years on."

Although Ryan's experiences on the set of Star Trek Voyager are widely known to fans to be tumultuous and somewhat tense between some of the cast and producers, when asked about her current involvement within her new environment she said, “I'm having a great time on Picard. It’s a very happy set. It’s a very relaxed set, which has been great. I didn't have a phenomenal overall experience shooting 'Voyager'. I don't look back on that as a super fun four years for me, unfortunately, so to be revisiting this character in a more pleasant work experience is great.”

It is no secret that Seven of Nine has become one of the franchises iconic characters, and a fan favorite even though only appearing in just four seasons of Voyager. When asked about Seven’s lasting appeal, Ryan says, “I think she was just a really beautifully written character, so I have been very, very lucky. I think that it's her struggle to find humanity and feeling like an outsider. And I've talked to a lot of people over the years who've said they relate to Seven because they felt like outsiders, a lot of people on the autism spectrum, a lot of people in the LGBTQ community have approached me over the years to say that they appreciate that they were seeing themselves, which I think is really pretty special.
“And she's one of the characters who set off as an outsider looking in on humanity and learning about humanity. I think that's another great tradition like Spock in The Original Series and Data in Next Generation. I think people are attracted to those characters. And the Borg is just a fantastic villain because I think there's nothing more terrifying than having your individually taken way. I think that’s what makes them feel threatening. Plus, they just look really cool.”
Star Trek Online: Legacy is the latest update to Star Trek Online.


Seven's arrival to the now live Legacy event, is coinciding with her premier in Picard. As this new content rolls out, Ryan says, “I'm excited to hear the fans' reactions as they see it. I think they're going to really enjoy it. They're going to enjoy reconnecting with these characters and seeing who they've become over the past years. And Seven’s a badass! She's a lot of fun. I think people are going to enjoy it.”

Cryptic, the producer of Star Trek Online seems just as excited to have Ryan back with them as she is. The new episode, in two parts, was a cornerstone of the new Legacy Event. They teased the content shortly before release saying, “This episode returns Captains to Excalbia, from The Original Series episode The Savage Curtain,” the studios say. “The Excalbians have decided to put on another test of Good and Evil, and your characters will play a major part in it. But you won’t be alone. Returning to the game for the first time since Delta Rising, Jeri Ryan portrays a Seven of Nine that’s different from any we’ve seen before. And for the first time ever, Sonequa Martin-Green joins the cast to bring Michael Burnham to life! These episodes are a love letter to the past and future of Star Trek Online, and we think you’ll love this jaunt down memory lane.”

To hear Andre Emerson, Star Trek Online’s executive producer speak, we can expect more tie ins with the current Star Trek Universe productions. He has said of the 10th anniversary, “These last ten years have been an incredible journey for Star Trek Online. And it feels like we’re only getting started. Over the last decade, we’ve had the honor and privilege of exploring all of the different series that really defined the Star Trek franchise. Looking forward, we are excited about diving further into new shows like Picard and Discovery and want to thank our wonderful community of players for being the reason why opportunities like this even exist.”

In my opinion, the more Jeri Ryan, the better.

What did you think of this article? Are you excited by Jeri reprising her role? Let us know!

WRITTEN BY Silek
EDITED BY Infinity
2 Comments
Sun 02 Feb, 2020 7:10 PM
Fantastic article!
Sun 02 Feb, 2020 9:12 PM
Way to go Silek! I loved Seven in Voyager and look forward to the coming episodes her character is in Picard!