Robert Beltran Refused To Return As Chakotay For This Star Trek: Picard Storyline

Although "Star Trek: Voyager" concluded in 2001, multiple characters from the series have returned throughout the franchise at large to remind Trekkies that they all still exist and are still going about their Starfleet careers. Both Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Tuvok (Tim Russ) appeared on "Star Trek: Picard," with the former playing a regular role on the series. The reference-heavy "Star Trek: Lower Decks" makes "Voyager" references all the time, and even had an episode set on board the U.S.S. Voyager. 

Most notably, Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) not only had a cameo in the 2002 film "Star Trek: Nemesis," but a holographic version of the character played a large role in the animated series "Star Trek: Prodigy." That same show also featured the real-life Janeway, the Doctor (Robert Picardo), as well as a subplot involving Chakotay (Robert Beltran), the captain of the experimental ship the U.S.S. Protostar. Chakotay, Trekkies can tell you, was the first officer on board the U.S.S. Voyager back in the day, but who also belonged to a resistance group called the Maquis that aimed to topple the Federation. The Maquis hated the Federation's repeated negotiation with its enemies, and often lost their homes in reckless treaties. 

Chakotay was a gentle, pragmatic character, often evening out the passions of his co-workers. He was heroic, and meditated regularly. Chakotay also provided good First Nation representation, even though it was later revealed that the Native American consultant on "Voyager" was making it all up. 

Beltran spoke with TrekMovie in 2023, and the actor revealed that he had a chance to play Chakotay in two episodes of "Star Trek: Picard." He turned down the gig, however, because it wasn't appealing to him.

The episodes in question were "Penance" and "Assimilation" (March 10 and 17, 2022), which opened the story to the second season of "Star Trek: Picard." Beltran was vague when he announced the offer on his Twitter account, however, where he wrote: 

"I was offered an episode (first two, then one) in 'Picard,' but I simply did not like what they had written for Chakotay, so I turned them down. I won't go into detail, but I have no animosity toward the 'Picard' producers at all. 'Star Trek: Prodigy' offers a Chakotay that I AM enthusiastic about."

It wasn't until TrekMovie reached out to "Picard" showrunner Terry Matalas that the specific episodes would be revealed. Matalas, who also co-wrote "Penance," noted that Chakotay was supposed to appear as an alternate, "evil" version of himself in a parallel universe. Indeed, he would have briefly served as the show's central antagonist, casting suspicious glances at the good-hearted characters from the "good" universe. 

The second season of "Picard," for those unfamiliar, began with Q (John de Lancie) sending Picard (Patrick Stewart) into an alternate timeline wherein Earth had become a fascist, genocidal force in the galaxy, having wiped out multiple species. Picard, Seven of Nine, and several others would have to briefly occupy the lives of their murderous counterparts. Seven was put in a particularly tough spot, as she was suddenly the evil President of Earth, and had to contend with the fact that her counterpart was spearheading murders and executions. 

The original idea was that Chakotay would appear in the alternate timeline as the wicked and fascistic husband of Seven of Nine. This would have made sense in "Star Trek" canon, as Chakotay and Seven shared a brief romance in the seventh season of "Star Trek: Voyager." 

The idea of "Penance" and "Assimilation" was that Seven's husband was the First Magistrate of Earth, referred to as the Confederation. Matalas would have loved to have seen Beltran in the role, but they had to re-write the part when he refused. Seven's fascist alternate-universe husband became a new character played by Jon Jon Briones, who appeared in "Ratched" and "American Horror Story: Apocalypse." Briones, by coincidence, is the father of Isa Briones, who played multiple roles throughout the first two seasons of "Star Trek: Picard." She was Dahj, Soji, and Sutra in the first season, and Kore in the second. 

Having Chakotay in the role would have been fitting, as the final episode of "Voyager" took place in a future where the pair had married. That episode, however, was erased from the timeline when Janeway started mucking about with time travel. In "Picard," also, it was revealed that Seven had fallen in love with Raffi (Michelle Hurd), and that she was trying to patch up their friendship after a bad breakup. Introducing Chakotay into the series would have likely merely added too much of a soap opera dynamic to the drama; Seven and Raffi could work out their issues on their own without having to throw Seven's ex-boyfriend into the mix. 

Also, Beltran clearly liked the idea that Chakotay should remain stalwart, calm, and authoritative. A villainous version of the character wasn't something the actor was interested in. Luckily, the heroic, "main" version of the character had plenty to say and do in the second season of "Prodigy," so "Voyager" fans weren't robbed of seeing a familiar face.