Five years ago,Star Trek: Deep Space Nineteased season 8, which, unfortunately, can’t happen.Star Trek: Deep Space Nineended in 1999 after seven seasons, wrapping up the saga of the space station commanded by Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). UnlikeStar Trek: The Next Generation,DS9did not move on to become a movie franchise.Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s castwent their separate ways, but the series lives on in streaming and found an even greater appreciation from audiences 30 years after it first aired.
In 2019, 455 Films releasedWhat We Left Behind: Looking Back At Deep Space Nine.The documentary was spearheaded byDS9’s showrunner Ira Steven Behr and reassembled most of the show’s actors and creative team to look back on the triumphs andcontroversies of Deep Space Nine.What We Left Behind’s centerpiece was Behr gathering his core writers, Rene Echevarria, Hans Beimler, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and Ronald D. Moore on July 23, 2025. Together,DS9’s creative nexus plotted the first apocryphal episode ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 8.
What Was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 8?
DS9 Continues 20 Years Later
Star Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 8 was an exercise byDS9’s writers to pitchthe first episode of a new, continuation series ifDS9were able to be made in the present day.Set 20 years after the end ofDS9,season 8 begins with Captain Nog (Aron Eisenberg) in command of the USS Defiant while the DS9 space station itself has become a Bajoran religious shrine in honor of theEmissary of the Prophets, Captain SIsko. After the crew of DS9 reunites on the station, they witness the Defiant’s sudden destruction and Captain Nog’s death.
11 DS9 Characters Who Need To Be In Star Trek: Prodigy Season 3
These 11 iconic characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine should definitely make an appearance in Star Trek: Prodigy’s possible next season.
AsStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 8’s first episode continues, a conspiracy involving the Jem’Hadar on Bajor begins to surface,DS9season 8 catches up with the show’s characters, revealing Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) is now a Vedek,Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer)is a Starfleet Captain married to Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) meets with his now adult half-brother, Joseph Yates-Sisko. As tensions lead to an armed standoff on the station,Captain Sisko suddenly materializes on Deep Space Nine in a cliffhanger.
Why Can’t Star Trek: DS9 Season 8 Happen?
Many Obstacles Prevent DS9 Season 8 From Becoming Real
Star Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 8 can’t happen for many reasons, and one of them is that much has changed sinceDS9’s writers pitched their story in 2015. Tragically,a fewDS9actors have died. Aron Eisenberg passed away in September 2019, and he was soon followed by Rene Auberjonois in December 2019. In September 2024,James Darren also passed away. All three actors and their characters, Captain Nog, Odo, and Vic Fontaine, were pivotal toDS9season 8’s story.
Although a hologram, Vic Fontaine was ‘dying’ inDS9season 8, which was the reason why DS9’s crew reunited on the station.
In addition, Avery Brooks has retired from acting and has distanced himself fromStar Trek. Even if Brooks did want to return, he is now 76 years old, while Captain Sisko would theoretically not have agedsince he ascended into a non-linear being when he became one with the Prophets of Bajor. Further,DS9season 8’s story, set roughly in 2395, has been contradicted by the canon established inStar Trek: Picard, in regard to the state of the galaxy and thatWorf (Michael Dorn) became Captain of the USS Enterprise-E.
Which Star Trek: DS9 Characters Have Returned?
Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back Some DS9 Characters
A handful ofStar Trek: Deep Space Ninecharacters have returned thanks toStar Trek: Lower Decks.Star Trek’s animated comedy series is set about 5-6 years after the end ofDS9.InStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 3, episode 6, the USS Cerritos makes a special trip to Deep Space Nine where Colonel Kira is in command of the station and Quark (Armin Shimerman) is still slinging synthehol in his bar on the Promenade.Lower Decksspared no expense to deliver the Star Trek: Deep Space Ninenostalgia that tugged at fans' heartstrings.
Chase Mastersson
Season 4, Episode 6 - “Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place”
Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 4, episode 6, “Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place” brought the USS Cerritos to Ferenginar, a famousDS9planet. As Lower Decker Lieutenants Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid), Samanthan Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and D’Vana Tendi (Noel Wells) explored the Ferengi’s capitalistic home world, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) negotiatedFerenginar joining the United Federation of Planetswith Grand Nagus Rom (Max Grodenchik) and First Minister Leeta (Chase Masterson).
Will A Star Trek: DS9 Revival Ever Happen?
DS9 Coming Back Together Remains A Star Trek Dream
As Star Trek on Paramount+ downsized their content to justStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, andStar Trek: Section 31in the next two years, chances of aStar Trek: Deep Space Ninerevival grow even slimmer. The end of the animated seriesStar Trek: Lower Deckson Paramount+ and the possibility thatNetflix may not renewStar Trek: Prodigyfor season 3 would also kill the chances of moreDS9characters returning in animated form. However,most ofDS9’s cast would still love to reprise their iconic rolesif given the opportunity.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Cast: Where Are DS9’s Actors Now?
Deep Space Nine had one of the most talented casts in Star Trek history, as proved by their impressive list of credits after DS9 ended.
Unfortunately, without the lateDS9actors and if Avery Brooks doesn’t return as Captain Sisko the way Patrick Stewart and Kate Mulgrew revived Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and Admiral Kathryn Janeway,anyStar Trek: Deep Space Ninerevival wouldn’t be a true and complete reunion. Sadly, the ship has sailed forDS9to reunite the wayStar Trek: The Next Generation’s castdid inStar Trek: Picardseason 3. But whileStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 8 can’t happen the way it was conceived inWhat We Left Behind, DS9’s legions of fans would still be thrilled to watch any reunion, be it animated or in live-action.
