WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 6 - "The Bounty".Star Trek: The Next Generation's Professor James Moriarty actor, Daniel Davis has hinted that the villain could return after his recent appearance in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Davis played a holographic version of Sherlock Holmes's arch-nemesis in two classic episodes of TNG, which was created to outwit Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner). Picard season 3, episode 6 reveals that Data has been resurrected as a secure A.I. designed to protect the secrets of Daystrom Station, and he generates a Moriarty hologram to confront intruders Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Captain Worf (Michael Dorn), and Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd).
In an exclusive Daniel Davis interview with Screen Rant, the actor has hinted that this may not be the last that viewers will see of Moriarty in the Star Trek universe. With so many Star Trek shows taking place in the time period after Moriarty's genesis in the holodeck of the USS Enterprise-D, there's great potential for the character to return. Here's what Daniel Davis had to say about the prospect of reprising the role of Moriarty:
"As far as Moriarty is concerned, I spoke to one of the producers when I was in Los Angeles shooting this episode, and she said to me, "Well, you know, Moriarty is one of those characters who can pop up just about anywhere in the Star Trek universe." Because there are other Star Trek shows now [like] Discovery, and Strange New Worlds. Even my dear friend Kate Mulgrew is voicing Janeway in the cartoon. So maybe Moriarty will show up. He may not be done yet. We don't know. But fingers crossed."
Where Could Moriarty Next Appear In The Star Trek Universe?
One of the most obvious places for Moriarty to return would be Star Trek: Lower Decks, given its affectionate and irreverent tribute to the Star Trek: The Next Generation era. As Lower Decks season 3 teased a robot rebellion, it's possible that Moriarty, who was last seen stored inside a holocube entrusted to Lieutenant Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz), may join the rogue A.I.s. It's likely that the cube was passed onto the Daystrom Institute, in which treacherous Exocomp Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue) is currently imprisoned, creating the possibility for both characters to meet.
Another option for a Moriarty return would be for Daniel Davis to appear alongside Kate Mulgrew in Star Trek: Prodigy. A recent holodeck episode paid tribute to the classic Moriarty TNG episode "Ship in a Bottle", so it's clear that the team behind Prodigy is very aware of Moriarty's contribution to the Star Trek canon. Perhaps Janeway's new Voyager could have a Sherlock Holmes holonovel installed, which soon creates havoc for the Admiral and her young charges.
Better yet, Terry Matalas' proposed Star Trek: Picard follow-up, Star Trek: Legacy, could continue the story of the self-aware Moriarty and his desire to live a life outside the confines of the holodeck. Raffi and Worf used a mobile holo-emitter to outfox the Vulcan gangster Krinn (Kirk Acevedo) so the technology that allowed Star Trek: Voyager's EMH (Robert Picardo) his freedom could have been adapted for Moriarty. As Matalas wants to use Legacy to tell stories of characters from the Star Trek: The Next Generation era and their next generation, an episode featuring both Moriarty and Voyager's Doctor would be unmissable.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.