Casting Star Trek: The Next Generation Reboot

While choosing the right Jean-Luc Picard might seem like the hardest decision to make, casting First Officer William Riker is a much harder process.

Picard, as the captain of the Enterprise, is duty bound and commanding, yet doesn't necessarily need to be jovial with the crew.

Riker, on the other hand, has to constantly straddle that line.

Jonathan Frakes' highest accomplishment with the character was portraying a man who was both authoritative (as the second in command), but also warm and likeable; the sort of person you could see yourself sharing a beer with after a hard shift.

And that's a hard contrast to find in an actor.

Enter Armie Hammer, who seems to have made a career off of doing just that.

From his time in Call Me By Your Name and The Man From Uncle, Hammer excels at playing figures in positions of power and high society, whilst his natural charm and easy-going manner never make him too unlikeable, even in films like The Social Media.

While Hammer has a tendency to play upper class characters, an everyman like Riker would allow audiences to see the actor in a different light.

He's also ridiculously tall, like Frakes was. Not that that matters, or anything.