Star Trek legend returns after 27 years with cameo from retired star – series boss explains how they it made happen

After 27 years, Star Trek legend Avery Brooks made a return to the franchise this week, with an incredible voice cameo in the latest episode of Starfleet Academy.

Episode 5 of the new spin-off sees cadet Sam (Kerrice Brooks) set out to discover what happened to Benjamin Sisko (Brooks), the Captain of Deep Space Nine.

With an appearance from Cirroc Lofton, who plays Brooks's on-screen son, Jake Sisko, the entire episode is a love letter to the '90s series – but a few moments at the end really pack an emotional punch, with the Deep Space Nine theme playing and a thank you message to Brooks.

Incredibly, Brooks, who has retired from acting, also makes a voice cameo, as we hear him say: "Divine laws are simpler than human ones, which is why it takes a lifetime to be able to understand them. Only love can understand them. Only love can interpret these words as they were meant to be interpreted."

Revealing how exactly that happened, showrunner Noga Laundau said: "Along the journey of the episode, we realized that Avery had these beautiful spoken word pieces that he had recorded, and we thought, 'Wouldn't it be amazing if we could put one in the episode?' Because the one that's in the episode in a really serendipitous way is exactly the message of the episode. And he was very, very generous, and he said yes."

EP Alex Kurtzman added to TV Line that Brooks is "an incredible jazz musician," and went on to say: "He had done these recordings, and he let us use it."

Recently speaking to RadioTimes.com about the widely loved episode, Kurtzman explained: "Tawny felt very strongly that she wanted to do, not just a love letter to Deep Space Nine, but also to Avery and really give him his due.

"It took a while to craft the shape of that particular episode, but I guess I could say that about all of the episodes and it ended up being just an absolutely beautiful testament to what great writers they are, and how much they love Deep Space Nine.

"It brings an awareness of what Deep Space Nine represented to the fandom in such a deep way to the foreground for a generation that maybe hasn't experienced Deep Space Nine.

"We're just really proud of it, and the fact that it's so funny and then gets so emotional by the end, I think, is kind of the magic special sauce of that particular episode."

He added: "It was a very hard story to break and then like we went through many, many outlines and the minute Noga [Landau, showrunner] and I got the script, we called each other and we were like, 'This is one of the best first drafts we've ever read.'

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy airs weekly on Paramount+.

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