The origins of Vadic (Amanda Plummer) are shrouded in mystery, but Star Trek: Picard season 3 could follow up the season 2 finale tease about Project Khan. Vadic is one of three villains announced for Star Trek: Picard season 3, along with Lore (Brent Spiner), and Professor James Moriarty (Daniel Davis). Vadic, the Captain of a starship called the Shrike, has a grudge against Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his original crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but her hatred could stem from Star Trek: Picard season 2's Project Khan.
After his plan to destroy the Europa Mission was foiled in Star Trek: Picard season 2, Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) pulled out a folder ominously labeled Project Khan. Soong is a rogue geneticist who may have been part of Khan Noonien Singh's (Ricardo Montalbán) creation decades earlier. If Adam resumed his work in eugenics, he may have created another genetically-engineered supervillain who could well be Captain Vadic. This would allow Star Trek: Picard season 3 to pay off the Project Khan tease in a major way, by using it as the means to create the latest enemy of Jean-Luc Picard. If Vadic is a new Khan created by Adam Soong, it would be the scientist's revenge on Picard for deleting the Confederation future that would have venerated Adam Soong as a global hero. Making Vadic the result of Soong's Project Khan would also mean that plot thread won't be sidelined in Star Trek: Picard season 3 the way the Borg Queen's (Alison Pill) season 2 cliffhanger may be.
How Picard Season 3's Vadic Could Be Another Khan
Could Vadic be another Khan? The brief glimpse of the villain in Star Trek: Picard season 3's trailer doesn't give any indication of her physical strength or mental superiority, which are the telltale signs of a genetically-engineered superhuman. But Vadic and her minions aboard the Shrike seemingly appeared out of nowhere with a grudge against Jean-Luc Picard and his former crew from the USS Enterprise-D and E. It could be that Vadic's hatred of Picard was fed to her by her creator, Adam Soong, and she found a means to time travel into the 25th century (possibly via the same transwarp conduit the Borg Queen AKA Agnes Borgrati used) to seek revenge on Picard.
If Vadic was sent by Adam Soong, it could tie into why Lore - another 'offspring' of the Soong dynasty - was rebuilt. Vadic and Lore may be working together as part of a plot to destroy Picard and the TNG legends. But the idea that Vadic could be a new Khan really stems from the question of why Star Trek: Picard season 2's finale would tease Project Khan in the first place? Adam Soong, one of Picard season 2's villains, using Project Khan to create Picard season 3's villain is perversely logical, whether or not it's the actual explanation for Captain Vadic.
Why Khan Is Still A Big Part Of Star Trek
Even if Captain Vadic doesn't emerge as a new iteration of Khan in Star Trek: Picard season 3, the franchise certainly won't let go of the villain, even after 40 years since Khan's demise in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. At Star Trek Day, director Nicholas Meyer announced Star Trek: Khan - Ceti Alpha V, a new podcast chronicling what Khan did in the decades he and his followers were mired on their doomed planet. If successful, Meyer hopes Star Trek: Khan could turn into a TV series or another film.
Meanwhile, Christina Chong hinted that Khan's spirit will play a larger role in her character, La'an Noonien Singh, who is Khan's descendant on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Conversely, Lt. Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) was arrested by Starfleet for lying about being a genetically-engineered Illyrian, which is a different spin on Khan in Strange New Worlds. Star Trek continues to find ways to involve Khan and idolize Ricardo Montalbán as the greatest villain of the franchise. Star Trek: Picard season 3's Vadic may indeed be the latest iteration and a payoff to Project Khan.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres February 16, 2023, on Paramount+.