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A great deal of fan excitement surrounds Scott Bakula's proposed comeback 20+ years after Star Trek: Enterprise, and here's how the Emmy nominee feels about the possibility of playing President Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: United. At STLV: Trek to Vegas in August 2025, Star Trek: Enterprise writer-producer Michael Sussman revealed that, with Scott Bakula's input and blessing, he was developing Star Trek: United, with Bakula returning to play President Archer. Sussman conceived Star Trek: United as a political thriller and family drama. Star Trek: United's basic premise sets it in the unexplored late 22nd century, decades after Star Trek: Enterprise. As President of the United Federation of Planets, Archer and his four adult children must work to save the young intergalactic coalition from collapse. Star Trek: United would be a spinoff about Archer at a different place in his life rather than a sequel to Star Trek: Enterprise, but the potential would exist for members of Captain Archer's NX-01 Enterprise crew to appear, depending on the actors' availability and the needs of the story. The idea that Scott Bakula is willing to return as Jonathan Archer, and that there is a developed concept and pitch for his comeback, has captured the imaginations of Star Trek fans. However, Bakula himself has been relatively tight-lipped about the chances of his returning as President Archer in Star Trek: United. Star Trek: United Creator Mike Sussman Explains How Scott Bakula Feels About His Possible Comeback As President Archer Michael Sussman appeared as a surprise guest on a live episode of Sci-Finatics podcast, joining hosts Nick Hallam and David Battrick, YouTuber Steve Shives, and ScreenRant's John Orquiola. Among a wide range of topics about Star Trek: United, John asked Mike about what excites Scott Bakula about the possibility of playing President Jonathan Archer. Read Mike's response below: I think Scott has always had a great love for that character, for the show. I think he’s proud to be a part of the franchise. Like all of us who worked on the show, some of us who watched it were disappointed it was cut short. I think it was [that] he definitely did not want to just do the same thing. It was not about, ‘Let’s put him on another ship with the same crew or a different crew and send him off on adventures.’ He had zero interest in doing that, which was good because that wasn’t the show I wanted to pitch to him. It was about a different chapter in that character’s life, and that is what, I think, he was most drawn to. But it was also what I was drawn to. I was one of three or four writers who were on Enterprise for all 98 hours of it. We told that story. Yes, it could have continued and evolved in another direction, but picking up all these years later and not acknowledging that time had passed would have been a serious mistake. But also, where is he in that era? I had the foresight to write a biographical way [of] where he would be 25 or 30 years after the show. And so it kind of clicked into place. What is the Star Trek version of that? And it didn’t hurt that when I approached him, he had just agreed to play Abraham Lincoln in a one man show in Ford’s Theater of all places, in Washington, DC. So I think I probably caught him at the right time presenting him with this idea… He was feeling very Presidential at the time. As Steve Shives noted on Sci-Finatics, Scott Bakula is not an actor who likes to repeat his past work. For example, Bakula turned down reprising Sam Beckett in NBC's revival of Quantum Leap. However, Scott was intrigued by the idea of playing Jonathan Archer at a different phase of his life in Star Trek: United, as a father, and in a political setting, as opposed to playing a starship captain again. Scott Bakula played Captain Archer in 98 episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. Both Scott and Michael Sussman consider Captain Archer's story to be told, even though Star Trek: Enterprise only lasted four seasons instead of the hoped-for seven. Star Trek: United lines up the President Archer character to be closer to Scott Bakula, who also has four adult children in real life. While Scott Bakula has played the chances of starring in Star Trek: United close to the vest, he teased "You never know" on stage to fans at STLV, and Scott also confirmed he would "love to" play Archer in Star Trek: United, and that fans are "having a ball" speculating about it on The Today Show. How Scott Bakula’s Possible Star Trek Comeback Is Similar To & Different From Patrick Stewart As Picard There are some parallels to Scott Bakula's hopes to play President Archer in Star Trek: United and Patrick Stewart's conditions for reprising Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard. Fittingly, it was Stewart agreeing to Star Trek: Picard that led to Michael Sussman pondering and pitching the idea of 'Star Trek: Archer' to Bakula. Like Scott Bakula, Patrick Stewart wasn't interested in playing Picard as the Captain of the Enterprise once again. Stewart also did not want Star Trek: Picard to be a sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation, and he resisted the idea of bringing back his former TNG castmates until Star Trek: Picard season 3 became a full-blown reunion that was an acclaimed crowd-pleaser. Star Trek: Picard not being a Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion at first, was one reason why the series was divisive, and Patrick Stewart's Picard saga didn't develop a consistent tone throughout its 3 seasons. However, Michael Sussman's concept for Star Trek: United is more clear-cut and intriguing than the hodgepodge of Borg and Romulan mythology that Star Trek: Picard season 1 was, or the time travel, alternate realities, and Q (John de Lancie) powered deep dive into Jean-Luc's childhood trauma in Star Trek: Picard season 2. Star Trek: United Is Not A Real Show (Yet) For all the interest surrounding Star Trek: United, it's important to stress that Scott Bakula's comeback vehicle is merely a collection of fanciful ideas by Michael Sussman, and not an actual TV series in development at Paramount+. At best, Star Trek: United is a pitch Sussman is prepared to make to Paramount Skydance's new management. Michael Sussman previously pitched an earlier incarnation of Star Trek: United to executives at Secret Hideout and Paramount+. Though interested, they felt at the time that Star Trek: United was too similar to the then-in-development Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Sussman adjusted some of his ideas for Star Trek: United, like moving Federation headquarters from Earth to Babel. Even though Star Trek: United is just a compelling idea, even professionals who worked on Star Trek want to be on board for Scott Bakula's proposed comeback. Legendary concept artist Andrew Probert, who designed Star Trek: The Next Generation's USS Enterprise-D and Romulan Warbird, volunteered to collaborate with Sussman on President Archer's new starship, dubbed Starfleet One or Federation One. Paramount Skydance is reportedly prioritizing new Star Trek movies and streaming series on Paramount+. Hopefully, Paramount Skydance could be interested in Star Trek: United to help boost Star Trek on Paramount+ with a brand-new kind of Star Trek series, with the irresistible hook of an enthusiastic Scott Bakula returning to play President Archer 20 years after Star Trek: Enterprise. Watch the episode of Sci-Finatics below:
