If Paramount Pictures one day decided to give Star Trek: Voyager the Kelvin Timeline treatment, which Hollywood stars would play Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew? The core premise of Voyager was two ideologically opposed groups – Starfleet and the Maquis – being forced to work together after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant. The conflict among Voyager‘s cast of characters was rarely explored in a meaningful way on television. A series of Star Trek: Voyager movies could put that conflict front and center in the first movie, and further develop the tight-knit bond between the crew in future entries.

There would be no shortage of storylines for screenwriters to adapt, either, given the wealth of thrilling Star Trek: Voyager movie episodes that were broadcast during its seven-season run. If the studio wanted a different approach, then the uncharted territory of the Delta Quadrant could provide rich storytelling opportunities. While this Star Trek: Voyager reboot movie is purely hypothetical, and fan casting it is just for fun, there are several actors working in Hollywood today that could take on the roles of the legendary USS Voyager crew.

10

Charlie Day as Neelix

Originally played by Ethan Phillips

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Charlie Day is perfectly suited to playing the USS Voyager’s morale officer and head of hospitality, Neelix. In Always Sunny, Day plays the naive but easily agitated janitor/bartender of Paddy’s Pub. Suceeding Ethan Phillips in the role of Neelix, Charlie Day would nail the Voyager character’s sweeter, more vulnerable side, while bringing an edge to Neelix that would make his portrayal unique.

While Charlie Day’s recent movie Fool’s Paradise didn’t perform well either critically or commercially, Charlie Day is still a draw at the box office. His roles in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Super Mario Brothers, and Horrible Bosses each demonstrate that Charlie Day excels as part of an ensemble. There is no greater ensemble in film or TV than the crew of a Federation starship, meaning that Day would be a great addition to the cast of a Star Trek: Voyager movie.

9

Dafne Keen as Kes

Originally played by Jennifer Lien

The relationship between Neelix and Kes in Star Trek: Voyager was always slightly odd, not least because of the age gap. A Voyager movie reboot could address this by making Neelix’s relationship with Kes more paternal, making Dafne Keen an ideal actress to play the role opposite Charlie Day. Keen made her Hollywood debut in Logan opposite Hugh Jackman and Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Patrick Stewart, playing X-23, the adoptive daughter of Wolverine. Keen excels at playing strange young women in extraordinary circumstances, not just in Logan but His Dark Materials and The Acolyte too.

In Star Trek: Voyager, Kes was always more interesting than her relationship with Neelix or her flirtations with Lt. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill). The Ocampan species and Kes’ psychic gifts gave her an interesting arc that was curtailed when Jennifer Lien left Voyager. Through no fault of Lien, the story of Kes got lost in the original series, so telling her story through a Star Trek movie could enable the writers to focus in on the Ocampans and their unique biology, and Dafne Keen has already shown her considerable skills in playing such a character.

8

Glen Powell as Lt. Tom Paris

Originally played by Robert Duncan McNeill

From Top Gun: Maverick to the upcoming Twisters, Glen Powell is definitely having his big Hollywood moment. Therefore, Powell would be a box office boon to this hypothetical Star Trek: Voyager movie, and Lt. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) is his perfect role. Tom Paris is one of Star Trek‘s best pilots, and had a cockiness that would regularly put him at odds with Captain Janeway and the Voyager crew. Powell’s played similarly overly confident characters before, and looks to be playing one again in the upcoming Twister sequel.

Most pertinently, Glen Powell played a cocksure and slightly arrogant pilot in Top Gun: Maverick, so he’s already got the transferable skills to fly the USS Voyager. The character of Tom Paris requires an actor who’s capable of displaying brash confidence while hinting at a more vulnerable and insecure side. Throughout his career so far, Glen Powell has played pilots, astronauts, hit men and romantic leads, which makes him the perfect package for a prospective Tom Paris recast.

7

Jennifer Lawrence as Lt. B’Elanna Torres

Originally played by Roxann Dawson

Having become a household name with roles in the Hunger Games and X-Men franchises, Jennifer Lawrence may want to give Star Trek movies a swerve. However, as this is a hypothetical Star Trek: Voyager movie reboot, that won’t be a problem. Lawrence’s roles as Katniss Everdeen and Mystique demonstrated her ability to bring a degree of grit and realism to the Hollywood genre movie. As a gritty Hollywood action heroine, Jennifer Lawrence would make a brilliant Lt. B’Elanna Torres in a hypothetical Voyager reboot.

However, like all the best Klingon warriors, B’Elanna Torres was also very funny in Star Trek: Voyager. Jennifer Lawrence demonstrated her exceptional comic chops in the recent romantic comedy No Hard Feelings. Indeed, No Hard Feelings proves that Lawrence has the skills to play B’Elanna’s spiky romance with Tom Paris, too. By combining the tough exterior of her action roles with her own brilliant acerbic wit, Jennifer Lawrence would be a terrific successor to Roxann Dawson as Lt. B’Elanna Torres.

6

Manny Jacinto as Ensign Harry Kim

Originally played by Garrett Wang

Manny Jacinto is 19 years older than Garrett Wang was when he starred in Star Trek: Voyager, but he could still be a great Harry Kim. By casting an older actor like Manny Jacinto as Harry, a Voyager reboot could lend more weight to the idea of the eternal ensign. In The Good Place, Manny Jacinto won audience hearts as lovable idiot Jason Mendoza, a man who had made poor life choices but also possessed a heart of gold. Casting Manny Jacinto as an older Harry, whose own bad choices have jeopardized his Starfleet career could explain his status as Voyager‘s eternal ensign.

Manny Jacinto is currently playing Qimir in The Acolyte, giving him the perfect franchise experience that would prepare him for a role in a hypothetical Star Trek: Voyager movie. Harry Kim’s close relationship with Captain Janeway in the original TV series was one of Voyager‘s most touching partnerships. In The Good Place, Manny Jacinto also played a character who was transformed by his friendships with positive female role models, drawing a further parallel with the role of Harry Kim.

5

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lt. Commander Tuvok

Originally played by Tim Russ

Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ) is Captain Janeway’s oldest friend and trusted advisor, so a Star Trek: Voyager reboot would need to cast someone similarly wise and Stoic. Ejiofor’s work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe also means that he’s no stranger to big franchises and their rabid fanbases. Having played the wayward mystic Baron Mordo in the Doctor Strange movies, Chiwetel Ejiofor has shown he’s got the ability to lend gravitas to magic and techno babble.

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Oscar-winning role in 12 Years a Slave demonstrated the extent to which Chiwetel can powerfully maintain stoicism. Ejiofor’s performance of Solomon’s endurance of the worst treatment was profoundly moving. Star Trek movies are far less serious than 12 Years a Slave, but Ejiofor can bring that emotional repression to playing Star Trek: Voyager‘s Vulcan security officer. Ejiofor’s ability to maintain an impassive front while hinting at hidden depths proves he’d be a perfect Tuvok.

4

Zendaya as Seven of Nine

Originally played by Jeri Ryan

Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) was introduced in Star Trek: Voyager season 4 as a replacement for Kes. In this hypothetical Voyager reboot, Seven could be introduced in the second movie, after the first told the story of Kes and her ascension to a higher being. With that in mind, Zendaya could be terrific as Seven of Nine in a Voyager movie, and her recent role as Chani in Dune: Part Two proves why. Seven always had a brittle personality, partly due to her latent Borg programming, and Zendaya’s recent roles have demonstrated how the charismatic performer is able to dial that down with powerful effect.

Seven’s experiments with reconnecting to her humanity would give a performer as versatile as Zendaya some rich material to perform. Many of Zendaya’s roles in the likes of Dune, Challengers, and even the Spider-Man movies have seen her put up a front that she gradually breaks down. This skill to turn her charisma on and off like a tap could give hypothetical theater audiences a fresh take on the character of Seven of Nine in a Star Trek: Voyager movie reboot.

3

Robert Picardo as The Doctor

Originally played by Robert Picardo

There are definitely actors who could bring their own fresh take to the role of Star Trek: Voyager‘s EMH, the Doctor (Robert Picardo). Stanley Tucci, Robert Downey Jr, Paul Bettany, and Doctor Who‘s Peter Capaldi all have the versatility and acerbic wit that would make them good successors to Robert Picardo. However, Picardo is such a unique performer, and the Doctor is such a beloved character, that it might be more fun to place him as the only original star in this brand-new cast.

The Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies brought Leonard Nimoy back as an older Spock, so perhaps a hypothetical Star Trek: Voyager movie could feature the Prime Timeline Doctor. The Voyager episode “Living Witness” saw an alternate version of the EMH living 900 years in the future. Perhaps in his attempt to get home, this alternate Doctor falls through a crack in reality and finds himself aboard the Kelvin Timeline’s USS Voyager, where nobody is as he remembered them. The comic potential of such a storyline would bring out the best in a talented performer like Robert Picardo.

2

Aaron Pedersen as Commander Chakotay

Originally played by Robert Beltran

Any recast of Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) would want to avoid repeating Star Trek: Voyager‘s Native American controversy. One potential way round this would be to reframe Chakotay as an Aboriginal Starfleet officer, and cast Mystery Road‘s Aaron Pedersen in the role. Pedersen is a prolific character actor in Australia, playing cops and criminals alike in movies like Goldstone and Killing Ground. That dichotomy between crime fighter and criminal makes Aaron Pedersen the perfect choice to play the reformed Maquis terrorist, Commander Chakotay.

Aaron Pedersen’s best-known role is as Detective Jay Swan in Mystery Road and the preceding movies. Jay is a solid and dependable figure, softly-spoken, but with a strong moral code that is sometimes at odds with the rules and regulations of the Australian police force. Despite their different indigenous backgrounds, Jay Swan and Star Trek: Voyager‘s Chakotay feel like kindred spirits, making Aaron Pedersen a great casting choice for a hypothetical reboot movie.

1

Cate Blanchett as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Originally played by Kate Mulgrew

Cate Blanchett and Kate Mulgrew have both played Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn on screen, but that’s just one reason the Australian actor would make a great Captain Janeway. Kate Mulgrew brought a degree of Katharine Hepburn’s charm and wit to the role of Janeway, something to which Cate Blanchett is no stranger. On top of their shared love for Katharine Hepburn, Blanchett and Mulgrew are also versatile performers that can seamlessly shift from light, frothy comedy to much darker, soul-searching material.

Captain Janeway always felt the weight of responsibility to her crew throughout Star Trek: Voyager, and an actor of Blanchett’s caliber would be able to tap into that. Due to the episodic nature of the USS Voyager’s adventures, the show rarely explored Janeway’s internal struggles with her responsibilities and the weight of her decision to strand her crew in the Delta Quadrant. A Star Trek: Voyager movie, specifically written to address that struggle, led by Cate Blanchett, is such an enticing prospect that it’s disappointing it will probably never happen!