In an effort to increase the drawing power of Star Trek X, producers reportedly asked Jeri Ryan to reprise her role as Seven of Nine in the upcoming film. But when she proved to be unavailable, they apparently quickly decided to go for the next best thing, in the form of Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway).

Sources suggest that the producers were very interested in getting Jeri Ryan to appear in the film, as had been previously reported. However, Trek X is not expected to begin filming until the late Summer or even Autumn, and by that time Ryan will have started production on her new television series Boston Public (story). Reportedly, Ryan will be too busy with this role to do any outside film appearances, such as Trek X, or more than a few convention appearances.

As Ryan seemed to be unavailable, the producers rewrote Seven's appearance in Star Trek X to feature Mulgrew's character. As of this writing, it is not yet known whether Mulgrew has committed to returning as Janeway for the film.

It is also uncertain how large Janeway's role would be. Previously, it was thought Seven of Nine would only be making a small cameo appearance, similar to the Holodoc's small role on 'Star Trek: First Contact,' and this indeed is what most sources are still saying. However, long-time source 'Faith', who has read part of the Trek X script (story), has told us she will have a "substantial" role in the film.

While Voyager fans will be catered for with this cameo, Deep Space Nine fans apparently will not be. Gayle Stever, who has been strongly involved with fan clubs for DS9 actors such as Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir), Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys) and Andrew Robinson (Garak), today sent out an e-mail to various DS9 fan organisations to launch a letter campaign in protest of this.

"It has come to my attention from a reliable source that the next Star Trek feature film will feature TNG and Voyager actors (reportedly Mulgrew and also possibly Ryan)," Stever wrote. "There are currently no plans to include a DS9 actor in the film but I believe that with the right kind of pressure, we could change that. I would like to suggest that we (the DS9 fan clubs) sponsor a letter writing campaign to Rick Berman asking him (respectfully) to include a DS9 actor in the next feature (and I DON'T mean Worf!)."

Deep Space Nine was also recently passed over for the first Enterprise promo, though this was corrected after online fans protested (story). According to Stever, this would also be possible for Trek X, and she urged fans to write in to Paramount. "100 letters will get attention. 200 letters will have an impact. 1000 letters could be enough to really make a difference. Thanks!"

Final script work is currently being completed on Star Trek X, with pre-production scheduled to start in July. Official details on the film's plot and possible cameo characters aren't expected to appear for at least several months, so until such official info is released by Paramount any Trek X news from unofficial sources should be treated as you would any rumour. Thanks go out to Lysette van Erp for forwarding the DS9 campaign mail!

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