Cher is known for her singing and best known for being part of the "Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour," the living icon almost played another icon in the "Star Trek" universe as the Borg Queen in "Star Trek: First Contact."
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of "Star Trek: First Contact's" release, some members of the cast and sat in for an interview to discuss a look back at "First Contact" 20 years after, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is to be recalled that 1996 was the year when Star Trek was at its highest peak.
Back then, "Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager" were the ones warping the way carrying the "Star Trek" legacy created by Gene Roddenberry. Star Trek: Next Generation was still fresh and at its prime after its seven-season run ended and coming up in a movie "Star Trek: Generations."
Writers, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga were not all that happy having Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) share top billing with James T. Kirk (William Shatner) in "Generations" that they decided to do right by pitting the "Next Generation" crew against their greatest nemesis, The Borg.
Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker) also a top-notch director was tasked to direct "First Contact" and proved to be a success, earning $146 million worldwide on a $45 million budget.
The Borg Queen
Though it is known that Alice Krige of "Chariots of Fire" fame eventually played The Borg Queen, Scott Wheeler, the movie's makeup artist revealed that during initial discussions, Cher was considered to be cast as the Borg Queen, according to Comicbook.
However, as luck would have it, though Cher is a fine actress, they said casting the singer/actress would be too gimmicky. They also doubt Cher would be willing to sit through four-and-a-half hours of makeup to transform her into the iconic queen of the Borg.
According to Wheeler, the "Star Trek: First Contact" script had one description of the Borg Queen: hauntingly beautiful.
