Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis Teases A New Deanna Troi In Picard

While sworn to secrecy, Marina Sirtis says Deanna Troi's story arc in Picard Season 3 is more substantial than previous seasons.

By Jonathan Klotz | Updated

Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis, and her classic character Deanna Troi, are both coming back to Picard for season three. Despite appearing in the first season of the Paramount+ streaming series alongside Jonathan Frakes‘ Riker, the upcoming season promises bigger things for Troi. During an interview with Cinemablend, the actress teased a major development that results in a new Deanna Troi.

As Star Trek’s resident counselor, Marina Sirtis mentioned that the upcoming changes to Deanna Troi don’t mean “that there was anything wrong with Troi in my opinion! It’s 30 years on, geez, one would hope, right? We’re not doing cookie-cutter stuff.” What the major development and change to Troi is, and how it does not fit into any cookie-cutter tropes, remains shrouded in mystery until the season three premiere of Picard on Thursday, February 16th exclusively on Paramount+.

While coyly stepping around what the “major development” may be, Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis admitted that had signed multiple NDAs related to her time on Picard. The latest trailer for the upcoming season gives only the briefest glimpse of Troi looking shocked at something off-screen. What it could be is left to the viewer’s imagination, but the lack of trailer screen time could imply a major role for Troi that’s wrapped in secrecy, or the character could just die and that’s the development.

Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes in Star Trek : First Contact

Picard Season 3 brings back more returning actors and characters than just Star Trek’s Mariana Sirtis and Deanna Troi, with multiple villains from the previous series also appearing. Brent Spiner reprises his role as Data’s evil twin, Lore, while Daniel Davis is back as Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis. Amanda Plummer, daughter of the late Christopher Plummer, joins as an all-new villain rumored to have ties to past Star Trek adventures.

The Patrick Stewart series has been a hit with Star Trek fans over the previous two seasons. While fans enjoyed seeing Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, and LeVar Burton, among many others, make appearances as their famous Star Trek: The Next Generation characters, season three appears poised for more fan-service and returning favorites. In addition to characters, the upcoming season of the hit streaming series will bring a new Enterprise.

Designed by a fan of the franchise, the USS Enterprise F will make its first canonical appearance at some point during the season. Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis, as Deanna Troi, served onboard the Enterprise-D during The Next Generation and Enterprise-E for the film Star Trek: First Contact. While it is unclear if Troi will be onboard the latest version of the iconic sci-fi ship, fans of the actress do not have to wait that long to see her latest movie appearance.

Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis appears in a much more grounded role, as the mother of a Russian man struggling to live in the United States during the 2008 recession, in the upcoming film Control. The British actress is skilled with accents and has previously played Iranians, Iraqis, Romani, and American characters. In a reprisial of her role as Troi, the sci-fi star provided her voice for the an episode of the animated Star Trek series Lower Decks.