Jonathan Frakes returns as Captain William T. Riker in Star Trek: Picard season 3 but will his starship, the USS Titan, also make an appearance? The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard reunites Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard with the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Along with Frakes, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, and Michael Dorn as Worf will all be back, along with Brent Spiner, who plays a new, mystery character since Data died in Star Trek: Nemesis and was laid to rest in Star Trek: Picard season 1. There are also hints that the USS Enterprise-D will be seen in Picard season 3, and Riker’s USS Titan could be seen as well.
After 15 years as the First Officer of two USS Enterprises under Captain Picard, Commander Riker finally accepted a promotion and became the Captain of the USS Titan at the end of Star Trek: Nemesis. Riker also married Troi and the newlyweds departed Picard’s ship to lead their own vessel, at last. However, Riker’s voyages as Captain of the Titan were not canonically depicted in Star Trek TV shows or movies, and they were left to the B-canon of the Star Trek novels and comics. It was Star Trek: Lower Decks that finally showed Captain Riker and the Titan in action; the Starfleet legend came to the rescue of the USS Cerritos at the end of Lower Decks season 1 and Riker pilfered Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) to join his bridge crew. Amusingly, Riker was a “new man” leading the Titan, indulging a loose and jazzy command style since he was free from the stately tone set by Captain Picard on the Enterprise. But by Star Trek: Picard season 1, which is set almost 20 years after Nemesis and Lower Decks, Riker and Troi retired with their daughter, Kestra (Lulu Wilson), to the planet Nepenthe, having left active Starfleet duty and the USS Titan behind.
Jonathan Frakes has a reputation of inadvertently leaking Star Trek spoilers, and he may have given away a secret about the Titan and Star Trek: Picard season 3. In an episode commentary with Jack Quaid and executive producer Mike McMahon for Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ season 2 Blu-ray release, Frakes mentioned the Titan before he was bleeped out, which elicited reactions from McMahan and Quaid. Some Trekkers speculate that Frakes may have given away that the Titan will appear in Picard season 3. Further, Star Trek consultant Robert Myer Burnett, who has reportedly seen early cuts of Picard season 3, mentioned on a Midnight Metal live stream that the Titan is seen in spacedock, which has become a starship museum in Star Trek: Picard season 3. If so, Riker’s ship could be part of the show along with the speculated canonical debut of the USS Enterprise-F.
Why Riker Didn’t Command The Titan In Star Trek: Picard Season 1
When Captain Riker saved Jean-Luc in Star Trek: Picard season 1’s finale, he did so aboard the USS Zheng He, which Will boasted was the fastest and most powerful ship in Starfleet. Naturally, Trekkers expected him to come to the rescue aboard the Titan, although that disappointment was alleviated by Riker’s appearances leading the Titan on Lower Decks. But it makes sense that Riker Captained the Zheng He if the USS Titan is now a museum by Star Trek: Picard‘s era. By this point, it has been over 20 years since the Titan was launched and the Luna-class vessel seen in Lower Decks may already be decommissioned.
Further, given Riker’s trademark swagger, it makes sense that he’d ride in to rescue Picard aboard the best ship Starfleet has to offer. It’s not clear if Riker will still lead the Zheng He in Star Trek: Picard season 3, but it sounds like many famous TNG-related ships will appear, including multiple versions of the Enterprise and possibly also the USS Stargazer seen in Picard season 2. It wouldn’t be a surprise, then, if Captain Riker’s USS Titan potentially joins that fleet of legendary starships in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres in 2023 on Paramount+.
