Star Trek: 10 Times Opening Credits Spoiled The Surprise
3. Alice Krige - Endgame
Alice Krige's appearance in Endgame constitutes a case of 'we got there in the end' but let us also stress - this is not a statement that we prefer her performance over Susanna Thompson's - there is, in fact, a funny story as to how this came about.
When Star Trek: First Contact was entering production, Thompson had missed out on the part of the Borg Queen to Krige. Then, when the Queen was written into Voyager for Dark Frontier and Unimatrix Zero, Krige had been unavailable to reprise the role, thus leading to Thompson being cast. This change in performer led to a change in depiction - gone was Krige's sultry seductress of First Contact, and here was Thompson's cold scientist of Voyager.
This did come with a price. The contact lenses were uncomfortable to the point that Thompson couldn't wear them for longer than a few minutes at a time. When she was unable to reprise the role for Endgame, Krige was asked to return.
With her name appearing in the opening credits, it was a surprise for the audience, who by this stage had expected to see Thompson returning. Voyager would, for a time, be the only show to have multiple performers play the Queen during its run until Picard saw Annie Wersching, Jane Seymour, and, one again, Alice Krige playing the part in its second and third seasons.