Casting The Star Trek: Enterprise Reboot

By Sean Ferrick / March 5, 2022

While it's technically correct to say that Star Trek as a whole isn't a stranger to reboots, what's lovingly referred to as the Prime timeline (so-called because it's currently producing shows for Amazon, yeah?) is yet to tread those particular boards.

J.J. Abrams trilogy of films - that boldly went where several other people had already gone before - showed us that Star Trek can indeed be bigger, better, and lensflarey-er. Taking the characters that fans knew and loved, but giving them the sort of budget that could finally tell these stories with the sort of intergalactic scale and scope that fell by the wayside during a difficult TV run

So, if intergalactic resurrection is your thing, then there has been no Star Trek series more beset with problems than Star Trek: Enterprise. From a dramatic tonal shift in Season 3, to all the behind the scenes issues at Paramount spilling out onto the set, if any show deserves a second chance it's the adventures of Jonathan Archer and co.

But if such an undertaking was to be, well, undertook, then who would pick up the mantle of these would-be-iconic roles? Well, it might be a long road getting an Enterprise reboot from there to here but, such is the number of aspiring and established candidates, it would be one hell of a ride. Oh, and yes, we're putting budget considerations to one side for this as, if you're going to take a flight of fancy, you might as well go all in.

11. Admiral Forrest - Liam Neeson

Admiral Maxwell Forrest deserved better, dammit.

Played by Vaughan Armstrong, this character was one of the leading men in Starfleet and a fierce supported of Archer's. From the beginning, he made it well known that he was frustrated with Vulcan interference in the Warp 5 program, though he kept a civil tongue. Liam Neeson is an actor who radiates power in every scene, yet he can play light when he needs to. It is this ability to switch between the two that puts him here.

Forrest is the boss. The buck stops with him. So, the person playing the Admiral must have the authority to make that believable. Neeson has played a Jedi Knight and the King of Narnia. These two roles alone secure it for us, yet his full CV keeps adding traits that are perfect for the part. He is caring and patient in Love, Actually - an essential element of Forrest. He is determined in the Taken series (despite being a terrible father) and he is not afraid of going toe to toe with anyone.

The original Forrest was unceremoniously killed off in the fourth season of Enterprise thanks to a bombing. This Forrest would more likely find, diffuse and get rid of the bomb, while chasing the bad guys. He is our Admiral, through and through.