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Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Brent Spiner has heard your Tom Hiddleston/Data fancasts, and he doesn’t see it (but he does have someone else in mind)
Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Brent Spiner isn’t sure about the Tom Hiddleston/Data fancast, but he likes the idea of Tilda Swinton in the role
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If you give fans enough free time, they will begin fancasting for non-existent projects. What can we say? It’s a fun thought exercise, and sometimes we stumble across something that really fits. The Tom Hiddleston/Data fancast is one example. At some point somebody stumbled onto the idea that Tom Hiddleston would be a great choice if Star Trek ever cast a new version of Data.
The idea has been floating around since the early 2010s, and it’s one of these things the internet hasn’t let go. For an idea on how Hiddleston might look as Data, check out this fan edit from 2011.
However, Brent Spiner, who has played Data since Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987, isn’t sold on the concept. In fact, he has someone else entirely in mind. “I don’t see it. I mean, I love it, but I still say Tilda Swinton,” Brent Spiner said during a panel at Spacecon 2026.
As of this writing there aren’t any plans to recast Data, so the conversation is moot anyway. But that’s the thing about fancasts, they’re purely hypotheticals we throw out there for fun. In fact, Spiner nominating Tilda Swinton could be considered a fancast, albeit from a particularly well-placed fan. This tells us that even actors aren’t immune from indulging in the fun. I guess Data is a bit more human than we all thought.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is streaming on Paramount+.
Space may be the final frontier, but there's no end to Popverse's love of the Star Trek universe. Hop aboard the starship Enterprise with our Star Trek watch order, explore strange new worlds with our upcoming Star Trek TV shows and movies list, seek out the new life of the franchise, and boldly go where no Star Trek film has ever gone before - with Quentin Tarantino?
About Spacecon
SPACECON is America’s newest comic con created by PMX Events. Attendees will see celebrity guests from the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy and other intergalactic movies and TV shows. Con goers will discover an immersive show experience to get up-close and personal with their favorite celebrities, voice artists, and comic artists with hundreds of exhibitors and special attractions to exhilarate any fandom.
Dates
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Location
San Antonio, Texas
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