Michael Dorn Wrote An Entire Pilot For A Star Trek Worf Spin-Off
Unless one counts Majel Barrett's voice appearances as the computer on the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Michael Dorn has appeared in more "Star Trek" episodes and movies than any other actor. He appeared in 174 episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (that's all but two of them), 98 episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," five of the "Star Trek" movies, and nine episodes of "Star Trek: Picard." Clearly, there's something about the character that "Star Trek" writers like, otherwise they wouldn't keep writing stories for him.
In "What You Leave Behind" (May 31, 1999), the final episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," Worf was given an ambassadorship, serving as the liaison between the Federation and Qo'noS, the Klingon homeworld. Worf had always been a character torn between his Klingon heritage and his human upbringing, so it was perfectly appropriate for his ultimate fate to be commuting between Qo'noS and Earth. Worf also appeared in the 2002 film "Star Trek: Nemesis," seen attending the wedding of Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Troi (Marina Sirtis).
Worf was absent from "Star Trek" after that until the third season of "Star Trek: Picard" in 2023. In that series, Worf had left his position as ambassador, having taken a "subcontractor" position with Starfleet Intelligence, plying his eye for crime to track down criminals and other ne'er-do-wells. For 21 years, Trekkies didn't know what Worf was up to.
Dorn, perhaps more than anyone, was eager to explore what Worf was doing after "Nemesis" and even went so far as to write a pilot episode for a Klingon-centric TV series starring his character. He talked about his pilot episode in a 2021 interview with TrekMovie. His idea was actually very detailed and well thought out.
Star Trek: The Klingon Empire
The exact date of Dorn's project is a little unclear, but he wrote it long enough ago that he's had the opportunity to pitch it to Paramount several times. His most recent pitch came after the launch of CBS All Access (later, Paramount+) in 2021. Dorn mentioned that there might be a burst of interest from the studio, but no actual movement would be made and no offers would come forth. Attention would then cool and Dorn would put his Worf series back in the drawer. This cycle repeated multiple times between the premiere of "Nemesis" and "Picard" season 3.
Dorn's idea was to set the "Star Trek" series on Qo'noS and dramatize a long, careful restoration period after the events of "Deep Space Nine." What would the Federation look like through the eyes of the Klingon Empire? Dorn's elevator pitch ran thus:
"Instead of looking at the Klingon Empire from Starfleet, we look at Starfleet from the Klingon Empire. And it has been going on for decades, the Klingon Empire just can't go on. It's the Russians, basically. And they decide that they have to either die with a sword in their hands and go extinct, or change with the times and become something different. And Worf is the guy that says, 'We have to change with the times, that is the mark of a warrior.'"
Envisioning the Klingons as if they were the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War is a concept taken from the 1991 film "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (in which Dorn appeared, incidentally), so there was precedent in "Star Trek." What would a fallen empire need to do to rebuild and avoid the rule of tyrants eager to fill the power vacuum?
The Klingons learn to collaborate
The Klingons have always been a very insular species throughout "Star Trek" and scenes set on Qo'noS typically only feature Klingons. Dorn pictured a version of the Klingon Empire that finally let others immigrate to their planet; diversity was to ensure the health of the Empire. It's a nice setup that is, in many ways, reminiscent of "Deep Space Nine," a series also surrounding the reconstruction of a planet that barely survived a military occupation. As Dorn explained it:
"[T]wo things happen. They start letting other races into the Klingon world. And the only way they can do that is by letting in Starfleet officers. That's sort of the way it's done. 'We'll let in other people, but first Starfleet offers because we understand Starfleet. They're soldiers, we're soldiers.' The second thing they have to do is their resources are limited and dwindling, because the Klingon universe is just like the Federation. They have planets and worlds and societies that they own, but they do it in a brutal way."
The idea would be that the Klingons would have to — reluctantly and with little skill in diplomacy — reach out to the worlds they occupy. They would need to establish their own version of the Federation, seeking forgiveness from their citizens and work to earn their trust and establish a utopia out of the remnants of a warlike regime. That's an amazing idea for "Star Trek" and remains true to the franchise's overall utopian ideals. Even the Klingons can be forgiven and are capable of rebuilding.
Worf would, naturally, play a central role in the process, captaining a ship and taking it to the various Klingon worlds to begin negotiations. He would essentially become a Klingon Picard (Patrick Stewart).
The fearless Worf
Dorn also wanted to put Worf at the center of his new show for reasons other than the fact that he'd get to play the character. He found that Trekkies like Worf because he has no fear. He also appreciated the classical nobility of the Klingons; they're sort of like lusty pirates crossed with characters from "Richard III." Dorn continued:
"It's claustrophobic. It's Shakespearean in its scope. There's assassinations and coups and behind-the-scenes politics going on. It's such a great fit and it doesn't feel like anything else that's on [Paramount+]. It's funny because it's like they are looking for something and they've totally ignored this easy path. But we'll see what happens. I don't know if it's dead or not. I have the script ready. It's on my computer and ready to be emailed to anybody that's interested. But we'll see. They have their own take on these things, and we'll leave it at that."
That interview was in 2021. After that, Dorn appeared on "Picard" and Worf's entire backstory was rewritten. Dorn still feels that he could push Worf's story into his Klingon series, but it seems less likely now. As he put it in a 2023 interview with TrekMovie:
"I would have to go back and really rework that whole pilot that I pitched. But I think the smart money would be to take what they've done so far with the character, and expand on that. It's funny, the only thing that I think would be their beginning point or their jumping-off point, is that Worf has gray hair. You start there, and then you go from there."
"Star Trek" has been shrinking in recent year, presumably for financial reasons, so it's unlikely Dorn's ambitious Klingon series would ever get off the ground. But it does sound cool.