In Star Trek: First Contact, the Enterprise travels back to 2063 as Earth recovers from global upheaval. Lily Sloane, portrayed by Alfre Woodard, is a scientist who aids the crew and crosses paths with Captain Picard during a tense Borg encounter.
Originally, writers imagined a budding romance between Lily and Picard that would have kept Woodard in the franchise as a recurring presence. The intended kiss scene was cut early in development, effectively ending the potential relationship before it began.
As reported in Cinefantastique’s December 1996 issue, the romance was meant to unfold while Picard and Lily work together to repair Cochrane’s warp ship in calmer moments away from the Borg crisis. Ronald D. Moore explained that, given the two-day timeline of the film, a deep romance would have stretched plausibility and the story’s pacing. The idea was to bring Lily back to the 24th century, but it was ultimately judged unworkable.
Looking ahead, Picard’s love interests appeared in later Star Trek projects, but not with Lily. The scrapped romance hints at a missed opportunity for Woodard to become a more regular part of the Star Trek universe and to extend her connection to the Next Generation saga in future outings.
Source: Original article
