Summary

• A potential revival of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would benefit from the return of key characters such as Benjamin Sisko, Kasidy Yates, Jake Sisko, Jadzia Dax, Gul Dukat, Elim Garak, Dr. Julian Bashir, Ezri Dax, Miles O'Brien, Rom, Leeta, Quark, Colonel Kira Nerys, and Worf.
• While some original actors may not be able to reprise their roles, recasting or animated versions could still allow for their characters to continue in the story.
• The appearances of Deep Space Nine characters in recent Star Trek shows indicate that a revival is possible and that fans haven't seen the last of the beloved series.

If Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is revived for the modern era of Star Trek, its most important characters must return. Modern Star Trek shows hint at an updated Deep Space Nine, or at least a spiritual successor in the works, such as Star Trek: Prodigy is to Star Trek: Voyager. Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and Quark (Armin Shimerman) appear in Star Trek: Lower Decks' visit to DS9, and the USS Cerritos also catches up with Grand Nagus Rom (Max Grodénchik) and First Clerk Leeta (Chase Masterson) in a visit to Ferenginar. Notably, Star Trek: Picard features DS9's Changelings as adversaries, along with crossover favorite Worf (Michael Dorn).

The popularity of Star Trek: Picard season 3's Star Trek: The Next Generation cast reunion is probably the biggest clue that a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revival would work. While any DS9 revival would be sadly incomplete without René Auberjonois as Constable Odo and Aron Eisenberg as Ensign Nog, due to both actors ing away, DS9 can still trade in a similar form of nostalgia. A new series can explore what happens years later, whether an animated project bridges just a short span of time or a live-action show like Picard catches up with characters in real-time, allowing the surviving cast of Deep Space Nine to reprise their roles. Here are the characters who must return for a DS9 revival:

13 Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko

At the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Captain Benjamin Sisko ascends to a higher plane to fulfill the will of the Prophets as the Bajoran Emissary, his destiny since DS9's beginning. While it's unlikely that Avery Brooks will return to Star Trek any time soon, Brooks requested a script change that includes Sisko's promise to return to his family, so there's at least an in-universe opportunity for Captain Sisko to come back, even if Brooks himself doesn't reprise his role. Should it become necessary to recast, the Prophets' existence outside linear time might provide an explanation for any differences. But Brooks may be persuaded to voice Captain Sisko for an animated DS9 revival.

12 Penny Johnson as Kasidy Yates with Benjamin Sisko's Unnamed Child

Captain Kasidy Yates is a key part of Benjamin Sisko's journey. Kasidy becomes Benjamin's love interest in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and by the end of the series, Yates and Sisko are married with a child on the way. If Avery Brooks is unable to return to DS9, Sisko's story could continue with his child, now grown and contending with the fact that their father is the Emissary. There are opportunities for fascinating storytelling that would mirror Sisko's own struggle with identity, especially if his child grows up on DS9 with its predominantly Bajoran culture.

11 Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko

Jake Sisko elects not to follow in his father's Starfleet footsteps and becomes a writer, finding his stride as a field reporter during the Dominion War. Jake's reporting career could give him a solid angle to any story that a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revival would tell, since its political backdrop prompts investigation by an outside source like the press, and Jake's familiarity with DS9 makes him a prime candidate for the assignment. Cirroc Lofton almost returned to Star Trek with a potential plot in Star Trek: Picard season 3 to essentially this effect, and it would be great to see it realized.

10 Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax

At the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, Jadzia Dax's death was a bad move prompted by behind-the-scenes tension, so including any version of Jadzia in a DS9 revival would likely be well-received by fans. While Star Trek has no shortage of resurrection methods, Jadzia Dax was a ed Trill, so her memories live on in the Dax symbiont, making the process of her return much easier. Star Trek: Discovery's blueprint for bringing a former Trill host back to life could come into play in Jadzia Dax coming back for an updated Deep Space Nine right along with the rest of the regular cast.

9 Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat

Gul Dukat meets his demise in the Fire Caves of Bajor after dedicating his life to the Pah-wraiths, but Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's primary adversary must come back. Dukat's ultimate descent mirrors Sisko's corresponding ascent to Emissary, just as the Pah-wraiths are the natural inversion of the Bajoran Prophets that inhabit the wormhole, so Dukat's apparent demise doesn't necessarily mean that he's finished for good. His appearance on a DS9 revival could be the event that sets the whole series in motion, when he comes back to haunt the station that used to be his -- now with added Pah-wraiths, for extra evil!

8 Andrew Robinson as Elim Garak

No matter what Elim Garak is up to by the time a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revival happens, he should be included. Garak evolves, like many of DS9's best guest stars, into a complex and compelling individual who wins over audiences with his unique combination of wit and intrigue. Garak's exile to DS9 ends with his return to Cardassia, and the opportunity for him to aid in its restoration. Although Garak loves Cardassia, his mercurial nature might see him pop up unexpectedly on DS9 for a short visit once in a while ... just to check in and see how things are going. No other reason. Honest.

7 Alexander Siddig as Dr. Julian Bashir

Dr. Julian Bashir is recruited by Section 31, Starfleet's secret intelligence agency, late in the run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and that provides him with a reason to be included in a potential revival. While Bashir works as a double agent during the Dominion War, with loyalties that remain with Captain Sisko, Julian's fascination with spycraft could make him a genuine agent by the time a revival takes place. Dr. Bashir's work as an operative can take him back to DS9, a place that all leads point to as the source of some mysterious new threat to Federation security.

6 Nicole deBoer as Ezri Dax

In her single year on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, Ezri Dax succeeded as the beloved Jadzia Dax's replacement against the odds. Ezri smoothly integrated into DS9 and made her mark as the station's counselor and a great character in her own right. Lieutenant Ezri Dax stays on Deep Space Nine after the Dominion War, so she's already in position to be involved, and her counseling profession gives her a significant role in healing the mental health of soldiers and civilians alike after such a tragic war. Ezri and Dr. Bashir became a couple at the end of DS9, and a revival can follow up on their relationship status.

5 Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien

A far-future gag on Star Trek: Lower Decks posits that history re Chief Miles O'Brien as the most important person in Starfleet, and O'Brien's inclusion in a return to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine should plant the seeds of that legend. Miles O'Brien becomes a professor at Starfleet Academy after the Dominion War, and Star Trek: Picard makes a plot point of influencing the younger of Starfleet through tampering with transporters, so in a post-Picard version of DS9 O'Brien's transporter expertise and mechanical know-how could be the key to saving the whole of Starfleet, whether he remains on Earth or goes back to the station.

4 Max Grodénchik as Grand Nagus Rom & Chase Masterson as First Clerk Leeta

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine sees Rom and Leeta's romance blossom and thrive, culminating with their marriage and Rom being named the next Grand Nagus. Star Trek: Lower Decks catches up with the DS9 power couple on a visit to Ferenginar, and shows that Rom's leadership is evolving Ferengi society to the point where Ferenginar is applying for hip in the Federation. Seeing Rom shepherd Ferenginar into a new era as a Federation world would be a great touch to a DS9 revival since DS9 is the show that really brought the Ferengi into the spotlight as a complex and interesting society in its own right.