Only 1 Star Trek: Enterprise Actor Made An Official Comeback In Canon (& It Was A Big Shock)

Only one Star Trek: Enterprise actor has returned to official canon, and it was a shock because Star Trek fans never expected it. Star Trek: Enterprise ended with season 4 in 2005. Enterprise's conclusion put an end to Star Trek TV series for 12 years, until Star Trek: Discovery's 2017 premiere began a new era of Star Trek streaming shows. In the interim years, streaming allowed audiences to reassess Star Trek: Enterprise, and the first Star Trek prequel series is now seen in a better light than during its UPN network run from 2001-2005.

Star Trek on Paramount+'s shows, as well as J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, have referenced Star Trek: Enterprise, reinforcing the importance of Scott Bakula's prequel to Star Trek canon. While the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation returned in Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Voyager actors voiced their characters in Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy, fans and Star Trek: Enterprise's actors waited for their call to appear as well. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's penultimate episode, "Fissure Quest," an Enterprise actor finally returned to Star Trek canon, and it was a massive surprise.

Jolene Blalock Is The Only Star Trek: Enterprise Character To Return In Canon

No One Expected Jolene To Make A Star Trek Comeback

Jolene Blalock returned to voice T'Pol in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, "Fissure Quest." Blalock took on a few acting roles after Star Trek: Enterprise ended in 2005, but after marrying Michael Rapino, the CEO of Live Nation, Jolene retired from acting to raise a family. Blalock doesn't attend Star Trek conventions like her fellow Enterprise cast members, and it was widely believed that Jolene had permanently walked away from Star Trek.

However, Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan personally wrote to Jolene Blalock to ask her to return as T'Pol. After watching and enjoying Star Trek: Lower Decks, Jolene agreed, and her comeback was kept top secret. As a twist, Jolene voiced an alternate-reality T'Pol who joined the multiverse-faring crew of Captain William Boimler's (Jack Quaid) Defiant Class starship Anaximander.

With Star Trek: Lower Decks now over on Paramount+, and Star Trek: Prodigy's future uncertain on Netflix, Jolene remains the only Star Trek: Enterprise actor to return to official canon. Jolene voicing an alt-universe T'Pol does mean that the original T'Pol she portrayed made her final appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise's controversial series finale, "These Are The Voyages..." Regardless, Star Trek fans were overjoyed to see T'Pol again and hear Jolene Blalock's pitch-perfect vocal performance as her Vulcan heroine.

One Other Star Trek: Enterprise Actor Returned, But Not In Canon

The Rest Of Enterprise's Cast Is Willing To Return To Star Trek

Jolene Blalock made history on Star Trek: Lower Decks, but one of her Star Trek: Enterprise cast members beat her to making a comeback -- although it wasn't in official canon. In 2023, the Star Trek: very Short Treks episode, "Holograms All The Way Down" saw Connor Trinneer voice Commander Trip Tucker, playing the NX-01's Chief Engineer for the first time since Star Trek: Enterprise ended. However, Star Trek: very Short Treks is not considered part of official canon.

Without Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy, there are now fewer opportunities for Star Trek: Enterprise actors to return to canon the way Jolene Blalock did. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds could conjure Enterprise appearances through creative sci-fi means, but it remains to be seen if that will happen. For now, Jolene Blalock remains Star Trek: Enterprise's only official canonical comeback, and T'Pol's return was a wonderful surprise.