star trek picard patrick stewart interview

For Patrick Stewart, Jean-Luc Picard is ‘the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me’

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

As the august space voyager Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart commanded the Starship Enterprise on and off across seven seasons of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” four feature films, and, after a two-decade pause, three seasons of “Picard.” It’s a role he took only because he was assured by confidants that “The Next Generation,” which required a six-year contract, wouldn’t run a year, freeing him to return to England and the theater.

The final season of “ Picard ,” which concludes Thursday on Paramount+ , brings down the curtain on the character and, in bringing back most of the original show’s cast, “The Next Generation” saga as well. I spoke with Stewart, 82, a genial, funny, casually dapper gent, at the home he shares with his wife, singer Sunny Ozell — an old Spanish-style house on a leafy Los Angeles street, purchased just before the pandemic. (“I never thought I’d live in a house that had archways everywhere — no doors!” He counted six from where we were sitting.) Stewart had watched the finale that morning, and he had thoughts and more.

Did you fall in love with Shakespeare before you decided to become an actor?

No. Because “fall in love” doesn’t fit my experience. But something happened, and it happened the first time I held a copy of Shakespeare in my hand and read aloud. And that was because of an English teacher, Cecil Dormand; he had that wonderful ability of being intense and serious about the work and also entertaining and comical at times.

And one day he went around our classroom, dropping a little thin book onto [our desks] and said, “Right, ‘Merchant of Venice.’ This is William Shakespeare, and you’re reading so and so,” and finally, “Patrick, you’re reading Shylock. OK, Act 4, Scene 1 — you know, who you’re playing, start reading it.” So we all went [mimes students reading silently], and he said, “Not to yourselves, you idiots. This is life, it’s drama. It’s the real world. Aloud!” And I had a big speech — it’s the trial scene — I didn’t know what the hell I was saying. There were words I’d never encountered before. I didn’t understand it, but there was something that made my breathing deeper. I can only remember the physical sensation because I was 12 — it wasn’t comprehension, I just felt weight in myself, which I hadn’t felt before. And I was hooked.

Tell me about Murph Swander.

Murph Swander ! His real name was Homer. Homer D. Swander. In one sense, he’s why this huge event happened in my career and life. Murph came knocking on my dressing room at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, in Stratford-on-Avon. He was standing there with a bottle of malt whiskey in his hand, and he introduced himself and said, “I’m here with a group of young people from California and we’re coming to see your show tonight and we’d love you to come talk to us tomorrow.” I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t do that. My work is what I do onstage, not talking about it.” And he said, “Well, it would give the students a lot of pleasure if you came, and by the way, this is for you.” I couldn’t afford to drink single malt whiskey in those days, so I said, “All right. Ten o’clock tomorrow morning.” And I talked for the whole hour without taking a breath.

Jumping forward many years, he set up a sort of institution which was run by Murph and myself and another actor, may he rest in peace, called Tony Church, and we went to Santa Barbara [where Swander taught] and did a week of classes, and we’d go to UCLA and up to Santa Cruz — it was mostly the University of California circuit. I got to know some of the teachers very well. And one of them, professor David Rodes, a specialist in Shakespeare at UCLA, called me one day and said, “I’m giving a public lecture on campus, and if you wouldn’t mind reading some passages to illustrate it, I thought it would be great.” So I said, “Sure, of course.” And he said, “There’s $100 in it for you.” “Wow, yes, I’ll do that.”

So I did, and the next morning, I got a call from a man who told me he was my agent — I’d never met him, never talked to him before, but he was my agent in California — and he said, “I’ve got two questions for you. What the hell were you doing at UCLA last night and why would Gene Roddenberry want to see you this morning?” And I said, “Jean who? I don’t know her.” And he told me who Gene Roddenberry was.

What were your first impressions of him?

Impressions ... not good. What I learned many months later was that one of the producers of this new series, which I’d never heard of —

You’d never heard of “Star Trek” at all?

I may have heard of it. When my children were young, I used to race home from the theater in Stratford after the matinee so I could help with their supper and read them a story before racing back to do an evening performance. And they’d watch this show, which I used to occasionally see when I came home on Saturday afternoon, these guys wearing different color T-shirts. That’s all I knew.

So I was told that it was a new “Star Trek” series , and I went to Gene Roddenberry’s house and was greeted at the door by this man, Robert Justman, who had been at the university the previous night and had called Gene Roddenberry and said, “I think we found an actor we’ve got to have in the show.” When I arrived, there were two other men there, besides Gene and Robert, and nobody asked me sit down. We talked for about 10 minutes standing up, and then Gene said, “Thanks for coming over,” and goodbye. And I was back on the street, and I thought, “Bloody hell, what the heck was that about?”

Yes, Hollywood. So I called my agent and told him and he said, “Well, it’s funny you should say that because we’ve had another call and they want to see you again. “

Were there things that attracted you to the show, other than that it was work?

Nnnnnope . It was a style of work I never associated with, or even particularly watched when I was younger. Sci-fi didn’t have any interest for me. What was of interest was that it was on camera, it was in California, it was in Hollywood. My agent took me out to lunch and said, “I’ve got to walk you through the deal.” And when he told me some of the details I was totally disbelieving, what my salary per episode would be — incomprehensible. I couldn’t imagine that, nor indeed had I ever wanted it. I just loved the work I was doing, [playing] Shakespeare and other great dramatists.

Was there a point where it became emotionally satisfying, more than just a job?

It took a long time. I worked very, very hard. I wanted to do good work because I thought this might be my passport to Hollywood. Well, seven years later, we wrapped the series and then we did four movies. It was the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me.

More for better than for worse.

Unquestionably.

How different was it playing Picard in “Picard” ?

Oh, so different. I turned it down at first. And then I thought about the offer and decided I would do it, but I made two conditions. I didn’t want to wear a uniform, and it must not be a series that is fundamentally a sentimental reunion of “The Next Generation.” And they agreed to that. And I think the first “Next Generation” character who came on the show was Jonathan Frakes [as Will Riker] and then in Season 2, Marina Sirtis, who played Counselor Troi, was also in it. And to my great pleasure, I enjoyed having them back on the soundstage. We’ve all aged, all of us. I mean, Michael Dorn [who plays Worf], whose hair is white! And Jonathan with his grizzled gray beard. And me, of course, with my hollowed cheeks and exhausted appearance.

I think it was [producer] Alex Kurtzman who said, “Look, 20 years have passed, and in those 20 years, surely a lot has happened to you, Patrick. I know enough about your life to know there have been upheavals and changes. Surely, the same has happened to Jean-Luc Picard. What might those things be?” Well, I actually invented a whole story about those missing years; this may sound a little pretentious, but to create that past, which I assume will never, ever be known, was very intimate, and it influenced me when we began shooting “Picard.” Because I knew he had needs, longings, desires that were not being fulfilled. Disappointment that things had not gone the way he had hoped. Loneliness. Separation from these people he had loved and admired.

There are moments when I look at scenes in “Picard” and think, “Poor guy, [laughing] he looks terrible. He’s having such a bad time.” That wasn’t my intention, but that was what was being communicated. Anxiety, stress, irritation. I never yelled as Picard — I mean, I may have done — “ The line must be drawn here! ” [pronounced “hee-yah,” much-memed dialogue from the film “ Star Trek: First Contact ”], for which I was made fun of for decades. Actually, there was one like it in the last episode, and I thought, “At least, because there aren’t any more episodes, nobody will be making fun of me.” We made fun of one another a lot.

‘Star Trek’ is the greatest sci-fi franchise of all. Why it’s stood the test of time

Full of ideas and emotions, the ever-expanding ‘Star Trek’ canon is still finding new ways to go where no TV show has gone before, 55 years on.

Oct. 28, 2021

Were there any kinds of scenes you particularly enjoyed or didn’t enjoy playing?

I have to admit that when we got into Season 5, 6 and 7 [of “The Next Generation”], there were days I wished I could be doing something different — when you do 178 episodes there’s bound to be repetition. And there were some things about “Picard” I was uncomfortable with, when I thought it was nudging its way toward being a reunion show. But there were not many. And the way the show has been directed, and lit, and staged, it’s so impressive. So many times I feel I’m watching a movie and not a TV series.

I looked forward to those scenes where Picard was not just anxious but actually frightened. Or confused. Or not knowing what to do. I got great satisfaction out of playing those things, because they allowed me to investigate, and release, aspects of Jean-Luc that had really never appeared in “Next Generation.”

What do you think you brought to the character that wasn’t necessarily on the page?

Well, I very quickly came to understand that “ Star Trek ” was not naturalistic television. And there was a sort of formality about being the captain. I was the captain of a starship, and I sat in the center seat, and I had assistants on either side of me and people running the ship down there in front, and it very much reminded me of numerous Shakespearean situations I’d been in onstage. And I thought, “That’s how I should regard this role, as if it were ‘Henry IV,’” which is about brave men. And very quickly I got to know the cast.

Does that family of actors reflect on the family of characters?

I think so, yes. Your use of the word family is in fact very accurate. That is what we became. If you add Whoopi Goldberg, who joined us in the second season, and John de Lancie, who came in as Q. We became so close, and that’s grown over the years.

Last night, I watched Episode 9of Season 3, and this morning, I watched the final episode. There had been a little conflict about how it should end, and the script we held when we started shooting had an ending I was thrilled by — I thought it was absolutely perfect — I can’t tell you what it was — and then when we were shooting, a problem occurred. It was the last day and, oh, it was getting so late and we had so much to do. And I said, “We can pick that up anytime, it’s only me involved.” We never did it. So the ending I loved was never filmed. Instead, it was one I wasn’t happy about — until this morning.

Until you saw it.

The impact that the final episode had on me was unexpected and almost overwhelming. When it finally finished, I had to call out for my wife and go give her a hug because I felt so deeply connected with what I’d watched.

The way the series ends is wonderful. And I so badly thought it was totally wrong when we shot it. But the director and producers, in particular Terry Matalas, who directed it, his instinct was absolutely right, and my instinct was only protective, whereas he was going deeper into what made me feel this morning the whole effect it had on my life and career, this show. And I promise you, if you’d come to see me at half past 8 this morning, you would have found me in my wife’s arms, wiping away the tears.

It has the necessary elements: a bar, Shakespeare and poker.

But it has something else, doesn’t it? It has feelings.

‘Star Trek: Picard’

Where: Paramount+ When: Any time Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under age 14)

More to Read

L.A. Affairs: I was 18. He was 36 and my teacher. Could our marriage survive?

March 15, 2024

William Shatner has performed for decades, but he also loves horses and is designing a watch

March 12, 2024

Chris Gauthier, ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘Eureka’ character actor, dies at 48

Feb. 26, 2024

The complete guide to home viewing

Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Robert Lloyd has been a Los Angeles Times television critic since 2003.

More From the Los Angeles Times

A model of restraint, ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ is unlike anything else on television

March 27, 2024

With ‘Palm Royale,’ Bruce and Laura Dern are (finally) father and daughter on screen

Stephen Colbert walks back Kate Middleton jokes: Don’t ‘make light of somebody else’s tragedy’

March 26, 2024

Kyle Richards’ daughters on their parents’ breakup becoming reality TV: ‘We’re used to this’

• facebook-rs

The Last Word: Patrick Stewart on Picard’s Evolution, Going Bald, Helping Veterans

By Sean Woods

Sir Patrick Stewart ’s return to the Star Trek universe and the role of the captain that made him famous in Picard has been greeted with widespread critical acclaim and unbridled nerd enthusiasm. Rolling Stone’ s Alan Sepinwall hailed the show and rightly called Stewart  “far and away the best actor to be a  Star Trek  regular.” When Rolling Stone caught up with Stewart, he was behaving as you might expect of a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company: practicing lines for a return to the stage and “sitting in my house in the country in Oxfordshire, with a nice big fire going because it’s overcast and cold.”

“I’m grateful to have somewhere like this to hide away,” he adds. “It is  pretty British.”

During our Last Word interview with Stewart, we asked the actor to look back on his career, to share some life advice and reflect on why he was willing to take on a character he’d seemed to have left behind long ago. “The fact is, 18 years have passed since I last put on Captain Picard’s uniform,” he told Rolling Stone. “And the world we’re living in is a different place.”

What was the best advice you ever received? In terms of the work that I do, Duncan Ross, a brilliant, brilliant acting teacher, gave me quite a stern talking to. He said, “Patrick, the most important thing you have to understand is that you will never achieve success by ensuring against failure.” I thought I understood what he meant, I thought I got it: “Yes, yes, you’ve got to take risks. You’ve got to be brave, you’ve got to gamble.” It was more than 30 years of being an actor before I really internally understood what he meant. Now, it’s become a habit of mine, before I make an entrance onstage every night, to say out loud but quietly, “I don’t give a fuck!” And I go work. And it works! It takes away anxiety and stress and worry, and all of those stupid wasteful things that don’t help you at all.

Were you hesitant to go back to your Star Trek character, Picard? Hesitant? I turned it down. It was history. It was behind me and there was nothing more to be said about Jean Luc Picard or his life. When I met the producers I was 77. I’m 79 now, and there is a ticking clock, and there’s still a lot I want to do, but I had a lot of needs and longings than more Star Trek. But I have to admit, the script more than caught my attention. It was not returning to the world that I had been in before.

Editor’s picks

The 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, the 50 worst decisions in movie history, every awful thing trump has promised to do in a second term.

How so? The fact is, 18 years have passed since I last put on Captain Picard’s uniform. And the world we’re living in is a different place. I’ve just been listening to the 5 o’clock news here [in England] and what’s happening with Brexit. Of course, both our countries are in the same kind of predicament in that we have a totally unsuitable person running the country. I use, as an example, the film Logan . No longer was Charles Xavier the sensitive, compassionate intellectual sitting in his wheelchair. He was a totally broken person. When I thought about if I was to consider Star Trek, I used Logan as an illustration — we continued the fundamental themes of the X-Men movies, and the principle characters were still there, but they were in a different world. Their lives had changed, there had been dramas and horror and tragedies, and things were now grim and perilous .

What was growing up in post-war England like? Oh, Lord, I was talking about this the other day. I was born in 1940, and my father was already away at the war. He was part of the British Expeditionary Force that attacked France at the end of 1939, and it was a disaster. The German panzer divisions just massacred them. My father was not a great one for telling wartime anecdotes. But he did tell me about one evening: He was with a whole group of men who were trying to get back to the coast and save themselves, when they heard Winston Churchill on the radio announce that “today we have removed the last members of the British Expeditionary Force from the battlefields in France.” Well, Winston, you got it wrong, because there were certainly many hundred still there. My father was one of them. He got on the last boat out. So, this had a profound effect on him. He suffered seriously from PTSD. This was to affect him for the rest of his life. The only treatment that you got in those days was somebody would yell at you, if you were in the army, to pull yourself together and act like a man. So when he came home, he was not a happy man. He was discontented, restless, frustrated, and unwell. But that was not recognized at the time, and it made many aspects of my own life unpleasant.

Kenneth Mitchell, 'Star Trek: Discovery' Actor, Dead at 49 After ALS Battle

Patrick stewart and drew barrymore sing with creed in peak paramount+ super bowl ad.

And he was abusive to you and your mother? He was, yes. He was a weekend alcoholic, which meant that from 10 o’clock on Friday evening, for the next 48 hours you had to be very careful what you did and said. But he would be drunk and he would be violent, and that continued for a number of years. It gradually lessened, partly because he realized that my brother and I were getting bigger. The sad thing for me is, I didn’t know that he was suffering and needed therapy and all of those things that so many returning veterans need today. For years, I’d given my father a very bad press, but I became a patron of a wonderful organization called Refuge, which is an organization dedicated to providing a safe house for women and their children who had violent husbands. But then, about five years ago, I learned about my father and his PTSD. I felt ashamed that I had used his name as a symbol for violence and anger, not knowing that he couldn’t help himself. I don’t defend him for the violence. Violence is never an option. Recently, I was invited to become an active member of a group called Combat Stress , and they focus on helping veterans with PTSD. So, I now try to balance things out, doing my Refuge work for my mother and Combat Stress for my father. I could do nothing for them when I was little, when I was young. Nothing. I would put my body between my father and my mother as I got bigger, and try to defy him, but it didn’t often work. In their names, now I’m able to, with the time that I have available, do more for them.

You were almost a journalist at some point, and then you chose acting over journalism. I was a cub reporter. Strings were pulled. I had a very, very modest education. We left school at 15 in those days, and my local newspaper took me on. I was given a district of my own to cover, which I really enjoyed. I threw myself into the job, aware that I was very, very lucky to have a job like that. But I’d become massively involved with amateur theatricals. I loved it. I loved going to rehearsals. For one thing, it got me out of my house. But, there was a problem, which was that all my amateur acting interfered badly with my work as a journalist. I got into trouble. I was dishonest. I made things up. I invented stuff. Yes, yes, yes … Because to me, being at the rehearsal was more important than attending a council meeting. Finally, I was found out, when the huge mill in my town caught fire one evening, and someone called the newspaper and the editor said, “No, don’t worry, Patrick’s right next door.” Well, I wasn’t there. I was in the rehearsal room. I was found out and got hauled before the editor, who gave me an ultimatum: “Give up all this amateur acting, this ridiculous playing games that you’re doing, and concentrate on doing your job, for which we’re paying properly.” I didn’t like being talked to like that, so I went upstairs and I packed up my typewriter and I left. I went home and said, “I’m going to be an actor.” And they said, “How are you going to do that?” And I said, “I’ve no idea. I’m going to find out.” And I did.

How did you cope with going bald so young? Was it hard? Yes, it was. I got very depressed about it because my hair fell out very quickly. I was 19. By the time I was 20, it was gone. I spent a lot of money — more than I could afford — on a really great hairpiece, a wig. And I would wear it to auditions. And usually what they asked for in the theater in those days were two audition pieces, which you could choose yourself. So I would do one as a character piece, wearing my hairpiece. And then I would very quickly take it off and do a totally different character, looking like a different actor. And I would say to them, “Hey, two actors for the price of one. You can’t turn this down, can you?” The worst part about it was I thought it meant my romantic life was over, would never happen, because what woman would like to go out with a bald 19-year-old? Very few. Whereas these days, nowadays, men with these fabulous heads of hair shave it. That’s fine, but I thought, “That’s it. Romance is dead for me, so just throw yourself into your work, Patrick. Make the best of it.”

You became famous later in life. What do you think it would have done to you if you’d been famous as a younger person? I think I might have been a nightmare. The thing is, I got a chance to observe, because I worked for 15 months with Vivien Leigh, for example. We toured the world in three productions with her playing the leading role. I got to watch Vivien and many other brilliant leading actors. I used them as my benchmark. All of these people were beautifully behaved. I was madly in love with Vivien Leigh. She was always so kind to me, although I was actually the least important member of the company. I saw how you have a choice about how you behave and what kind of work you can do. And I used that information to try to do the best possible work I could.

You revived your one-man Christmas Carol show in New York this holiday season. The whole story is really a man looking back on his life. I wonder how you look back, and what that story taught you? I am loving working on it again because it’s 16 or 17 years since I last performed this. I’m not the person I was when I created this role over 20 years ago, and I’m seeing the story very differently. And, of course, because what has happened in our world, I’m seeing it much more as a political document than as a lovely, sweet, adorable Christmas story. It’s full of bitter, savage attacks on the inequalities of life, particularly in London. Dickens was very sensitive to this and wrote brilliantly about it: When Jacob Marley comes to visit Scrooge that first night, and Marley is telling him how he ruined his life by being only obsessed with money, and Scrooge says to him, “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.” And Marley says, “Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.” I never made quite enough of that before, because that’s what it’s about. It’s not just about being rich or poor, but it’s about, if you have resources, what do you do with them? This is about you making them available to people who have less, and you do all that you can to care for them. That’s not a spirit that’s abroad much in our world today, is it?

You are involved with the campaign for death with dignity and assisted suicide. What brought it to you and why is it important to you? I’d always been intrigued about what they call doctor-assisted dying. When I was in my sixties, a friend of mine told me an appalling story. I knew that his wife had died. I didn’t know how. She was seriously ill with cancer, incurable cancer, and in extraordinary pain. He told me how he was living alone with his wife, looking after her, and one night he went out to walk the dog. So while he was gone, she put a plastic bag around her head and knotted it under her chin, and was dead when he got back. This story shocked me so profoundly that I decided to investigate more. I came across Dignity in Dying , and they’re a fantastic organization who campaign for a change in British law that would permit doctor-assisted dying, but only with the strictest, most severe conditions attached to this — because people are concerned about families wanting to get rid of some old person or somebody who has money and they want to inherit it, all that kind of thing. What we argue for is signed documents from two doctors that this person is terminally ill, will die within six months, and is of sound mind to make this decision themselves, and is under no pressure. If someone is in profound misery, and is a person of faith, the way in which I believe their faith can be celebrated is by giving them what they most need: a pain-free ending. It will give other people a choice to end their life in the way in which they wish to see it end. Of course, I put myself in their shoes, often. I’m 79, and I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

'Wicked Little Letters' Is Reason No. 347 That Olivia Colman Is a National Treasure

• MOVIE REVIEW
• By David Fear

Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons Go Pedal to the Metal in 'Kinds of Kindness' Teaser

• By Jon Blistein

Netflix Loses Bid to Dismiss 'Inventing Anna' Defamation Lawsuit

• Crimes and Court
• By Daniel Kreps

Rebel Wilson Reveals the Lewd Scene She Felt Pressured by Sacha Baron Cohen to Film: 'I Wanted to Get Out of There'

• Rebel Rising
• By Larisha Paul

Selena Gomez Shares Sweet Tribute to Steve Martin, Martin Short: 'Best Friends to Me Forever'

• By Charisma Madarang

Most Popular

Anne hathaway lost roles after oscar win because of 'how toxic my identity had become online,' says christopher nolan backed her: 'i had an angel' in him, where to stream 'quiet on set: breaking the silence' episode 5 online, body language experts believe this is the reason kate middleton was alone in her cancer announcement video, james madison’s record $53m in student fees tops all public schools, you might also like, disney reaches settlement in florida lawsuit over theme park district, three makeup brands are exploring deal options, the best yoga blocks to support any practice, according to instructors, atx tv festival 2024 lineup: ‘industry’ season 3 premiere, ‘girls5eva’ karaoke, and julio torres’ ‘fantasmas’ debut, new york liberty name barclays as jersey patch sponsor.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

Verify it's you

Please log in.

Emmy Awards Nominations 2024

Predictions, drama series.

• The Crown 9/2
• The Morning Show 11/2
• The Gilded Age 13/2

Drama Actress

• Jennifer Aniston 4/1
• Imelda Staunton 4/1
• Emma Stone 11/2

Drama Actor

• Gary Oldman 18/5
• Dominic West 9/2
• Colin Farrell 13/2

Comedy Series

• The Bear 4/1
• Abbott Elementary 6/1

Comedy Actress

• Ayo Edebiri 69/20
• Jean Smart 19/5
• Quinta Brunson 4/1

Comedy Actor

• Jeremy Allen White 16/5
• Martin Short 39/10
• Steve Martin 9/2

Limited Series

• Lessons in Chemistry 9/2

Movie/Limited Actress

• Jodie Foster 4/1
• Brie Larson 9/2
• Kate Winslet 5/1

Movie/Limited Actor

• Jon Hamm 39/10
• Tom Hollander 9/2
• Matt Bomer 15/2

Patrick Stewart (‘Star Trek: Picard’): ‘At the end, I regretted nothing’ [Complete Interview Transcript]

• Latasha Ford , Marcus James Dixon
• June 23, 2023 3:30PM

During a recent Gold Derby video interview, senior editor Daniel Montgomery and contributor Tony Ruiz spoke in-depth with Patrick Stewart (“ Star Trek: Picard “) about his Paramount Plus sci-fi drama, which is eligible at the 2023 Emmys. Watch the full video above and read the complete interview transcript below.

While the final season finds Stewart’s iconic character, Jean-Luc Picard, in the comfort of working with his old crew, the admiral is far from comfortable. He deals with the sudden discovery that he has a grown son ( Ed Speleers ) with Dr. Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden ) that he must protect from Vadic ( Amanda Plummer ), a vengeance-seeking Changeling hell bent on capturing Picard’s son.

“It was in every sense, an extraordinary experience,” Stewart revealed about his three-season return to the world of “Star Trek.” The legendary actor later added, “And although I had serious doubts to begin with, at the end, I regretted nothing.”

SEE  Watch more than 400 interviews with 2023 Emmy contenders

Daniel Montgomery: I’m Gold Derby editor Daniel Montgomery here with my colleague Tony Ruiz and Star Trek Picard star, Sir Patrick Stewart. Now, this third and final season of the show brought back the original cast of the Next Generation, but did you have any initial concerns about making sure that reunion felt really organic and true to the characters as possible?

Patrick Stewart: Oh, I had many concerns, and fundamentally they centered around should I really do this at all? Because Next Generation had been such an iconic series that I didn’t want to risk the impact of that, which it still has. I mean, it grows in worldwide observation. It gets bigger and bigger and bigger. I think there are millions and millions and millions all around … I mean, for instance, it wasn’t shown in China for a long time, Star Trek. But now it is, and I get lots of responses filter through to me from China, and I was actually in Beijing about three years ago, and I found I couldn’t go out on the street alone. I was so recognizable there. But once I began talking with my producer and producer writers, Akiva and Alex and Michael Chabon, and then finally with Terry, I began to see that what we could achieve … I’m sorry, that was Terry Matalas, I should have said that. What we could have achieved was all there and was better than I could have anticipated it would be. And for me, the fascination was, it wasn’t the Jean-Luc Picard that I had filmed for seven years in the series and then followed that with four feature films because time had passed. And I can’t remember whether it was Akiva or Michael, perhaps Alex, who said to me one day, “Look, what’s happened to you in the last 20 years? Have you changed? Have you had new experiences? Do you feel the same way about the world as you did back then?” I said, “No, no, not at all.” He said, “Well, that’s exactly the situation that Picard is in. He doesn’t either. He’s not the same person.” And right away, that was my cue to begin investigating what he might have become.

Tony Ruiz: And in terms of what he might have become, I mean, obviously the central crux of this third season is him becoming a father and grappling with what could or could not have been. Did those scenes, because they’re asking something new of you in terms of the character, did those scenes ask something new of you from an acting perspective?

PS: Yes, they did, because although this was a form of experimentation, I was trying to leave my mind as open as possible, never to close anything down, and not always to be certain what I was going to do, have question marks over things until we were in front of the camera, not necessarily with it rolling. But of course, cameras don’t roll anymore, do they? But I’m still stuck with that language. And so there was an improvisational aspect to it, which I think paid good results. And because everybody had it, the rest of the crew of the Enterprise and John de Lancie as Q, he had that too. It was in every sense, an extraordinary experience. And although I had serious doubts to begin with, at the end, I regretted nothing.

DM: And so much of these three seasons of Picard has been about Jean-Luc coming to terms with his past, with his trauma with the Borg. What was it like to bring that full circle with the Borg Queen and how that has also affected his son?

PS: Well, it was not artificial what we did in those respects. And indeed, there were moments when Picard had no idea what to do, didn’t know what the hell he should be doing next. And of course, his conflict with Commander Riker, which we had not seen before, was disturbing, disturbed me when I watched it. But it was elements like that that gave this adventurous new series its special quality as well as the extraordinary design and camera work and writing and directing and producing. It was of great value to me.

TR: You mentioned the whole conflict with Commander Riker, and I feel like one main love stories, particularly this season, is actually between John-Luc and Will, of really that friendship, seeing how that friendship has gone through all of these different iterations and even finding new beats to play in that. How much conversation did you and Jonathan Frakes have about exploring these new dimensions of their relationship?

PS: Of course, we talked about it a lot. Jonathan and I have talked to one another for 30 years, and in fact, we’re having lunch next week because Jonathan has, “Things I want to talk to you about, that I want to say.” And it’s very, very satisfying to have a relationship like that. So we did, we examined what the alternatives were, what the possibilities were, and we said, “Look, let’s just get it on its feet and have a bang at it and remain completely open to what might happen, and see what does happen, what comes about.”

DM: And one of the new relationships that your character has on the show introduced the season is Captain Shaw, played by Todd Stashwick. And what’s interesting about that character is he’s willing to stand up to Picard and criticize Picard in ways that a lot of other people aren’t. How is it creating that dynamic on the show? And seeing someone who is Picard’s equal in that sense, is not as impressed by him.

PS: His work was extraordinary from the very beginning. It happens to me and has done so all my career that I find myself working with an actor or actors and actresses, and I get so intrigued by what they’re doing, so fascinated that I forget what I have to do. I get so caught up in something spontaneous and real and coming out of the inside of them, not artificially, superimposed on the outside. And that was the case with him and with Amanda too. I mean, that was some of the most extraordinary scenes that I’ve ever played.

TR: For me, and I think for a lot of fans of the show, I think one of the dramatic high points of the season was the return of Ro Laren. And those scenes between you and the great Michelle Forbes are … Both of them are right and both of them are wrong. It’s so well written and so well acted. Was the charge between you and Michelle, was it palpable in those scenes?

Patrick Stewart: Oh yes, absolutely it was. But we didn’t have very much, and that made me sad. I had loved working with her on Next Generation, and I would’ve liked to have had more, more involvement, but what she brought to it was extraordinary, and we’ve lost it.

DM: And one of the great aspects of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard and all aspects of all Star Trek series has been the crafts. So I’m wondering what your relationship has been both in addition to the people in front of the camera, what’s your appreciation of the people behind the camera, all those sound people and makeup artists, everyone who has made the show possible and who have gotten so much recognition?

PS: From the very beginning of Next Generation … Well, I say from the very beginning. No, once I was growing to understand with each episode of season one that we shot, what this series was about and what it required, I became determined that the answer for the biggest questions was ensemble, ensemble, ensemble. There was no leading actor or leading actors and then supporting actors, everyone. And that didn’t mean only the performers, but the designers and the costumers and the camera people, and the crew, and our producers, and our directors were a group. We were all an ensemble. And I clung onto that through Picard as well. And that’s something which I think Terry and Alex appreciated that I always wanted to share and to be shared with about their feelings. And we disagreed about certain things. There were conditions that I’d made before we began shooting Picard, and they were not the conditions that might have been opposed by Alex and Akiva and Terry. But we made it work, and we went around it and talked about it, and then just set it loose in front of the camera and I’m very proud of that.

TR: One of the hallmarks I think of this last season particularly, and in all three seasons of Picard, has been the humor. There’s a level of humor that I’m thinking specifically of you talking about how much you missed the carpet when you get back to the Enterprise D. Was that humor, was that something that you wanted there to always be, or was that something that came from the producers? Where does that come from?

PS: I think it grew from an acorn of impulse that was in the cast in the very beginning, and it’s now well known that I called a company meeting, the actors, and told them they were misbehaving and that they were taking up too much time with fun and games and improvisations. And that was when Denise Crosby said, “Oh, come on, Patrick, we’ve got to have some fun.” And I said, “We are not here to have fun.” And it still remains an embarrassment to me. And of course, they made fun of me right away that there was laughter on the stage, and I was so offended that I stalked off to my dressing room. But I learned so much from that experience, and I was the one who came up in the second scene with the notion that each one of us, each one of the regular permanent cast should be responsible for one big laugh a day. And that was a rule. So come on guys, no pressure. And that’s how it was. And of course, with people like Marina and Brent on board there was a lot of laughter. And Dorn too, Michael became bolder and bolder than he had been in Next Generation.

DM: And of course, in season three, you’re walking back onto this recreation of the bridge of the Enterprise D. Were there a lot of emotions that came with that, just kind of being in that setting again, and with those people again?

PS: It was not a sentimental emotion, but it was pleasure being reminded of what had been home for us. I mean, come on. We spent a minimum of 12 hours a day on that set. I mean, I saw more of that set than I did of where I lived at my own home, Los Angeles. And I remember walking alone around the set. I waited until people had gone off to do other things or whatever, and I just wandered around and sat in the captain’s chair and let myself drift back, and it was nothing but pleasant and satisfying.

TR: I want to just ask you, you’ve had this long career on stage and in film and television, and you’ve got a book coming out, and I’m curious at this point, is there something that you have left that you haven’t done, that you’re dying to do something, like on stage, a Shakespearean role? Is there something that’s still on your bucket list?

PS: Oh, yes. Lots. The problem is I’m no longer a young man, and my stamina is very important, and I have been looking at a major Shakespeare play on and off for the past few weeks.

TR: Oh, please say Lear, please say Lear.

PS: Might be right. But you might be right. Because I’ve never done it. I was in the play once. I played Cornwall years and years and years and years, decades ago. But I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ll work on it. I’m actually looking for something very contemporary. I would like to find work of the present day. I spent so much of my career, whether it’s been Shakespeare or Star Trek, living either in the past or in the future, but not now, right now. And there’s so much going on in this world and so much that is bad, bad, bad. And here in the United States and in the United Kingdom as well, and Europe as well as the Far East. But I’d also like to do more comedy. I’ve always loved comedy and rarely ever been offered it. I don’t know why. Maybe I’m just too gloomy and pretentious to be thought of as a … But I’ve done some and they’ve been popular and enjoyable, but I really would like to find a really fine, provocative, shocking, outrageous comedy series to perform.

DM: Now, one last question I wanted to know, as for Picard now, do you feel like you’ve closed the book on this character, or is there a scenario you can imagine where you would revisit him again?

PS: Yes, I would like to make a Picard film. I think that everything we did, particularly in the last series, season, not series, in the last season, was a great launch pad for a possible Picard style movie. And I think this is a good time to do it, and it could have a really great impact worldwide. And then we can pull the curtain. But we are moving into such difficult times and troubling times with the writers’ strike, which I support 100%. Oh, it’s essential that adjustments are made to contracts and deals, because otherwise it’s all just become artificial intelligence and not what it has always been. So, we’ll see. My one obsession is I must stay well. And so that’s what I do which is why in a few minutes I shall be hitting the road outside.

DM: Well, I want to congratulate you on season three of Picard, the whole series. I would love to see a Star Trek Picard movie. I think we’d all love to see King Lear as well. So we wish you the best of health and success with everything to come. Thank you so much for talking with us.

PS: Well, thank you very much, Daniel. I appreciate it. This has been so much fun.

PREDICT   the 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12

Make your predictions  at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for  Apple/iPhone devices  or  Android (Google Play)  to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our  latest prediction champs . Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our  famous forums  where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP  for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

All 28 classic 'Star Trek' episodes that won Emmys: From 'The Next Generation' to 'Discovery'

More News from GoldDerby

Stay informed with our weekly Newsletter

Patrick Stewart Explains Why Watching the ‘Picard’ Finale Was ‘So Emotional,’ Teases ‘Star Trek’ Return

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

• ‘Star Trek 4’ Beams Up New Screenwriter: ‘The Flight Attendant’ Creator Steve Yockey (EXCLUSIVE) 1 hour ago
• ‘3 Body Problem’ Star John Bradley Explains Why He Shot His Character’s Biggest Scene Three Times Over Nine Months 2 days ago
• Michael Jackson Biopic Team Touts ‘Unbiased’ Look at Pop Star; ‘Leaving Neverland’ Director Calls Script Draft ‘Startlingly Disingenuous’ 2 weeks ago

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in “The Last Generation,” the series finale of “ Star Trek: Picard ,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

When Patrick Stewart first met with producers Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman in 2017 to discuss the possibility of returning to play Jean-Luc Picard again on a new “Star Trek” series, Stewart famously did so as a courtesy to explain that he had absolutely no interest in revisiting the world of “ Star Trek: The Next Generation .”

While a few “Trek” alumni did pop up on “Picard,” however, it wasn’t until Season 3 that Stewart was finally convinced that it was time to bring back the full cast of “The Next Generation”: Jonathan Frakes’ Riker, Brent Spiner’s Data, LeVar Burton’s Geordi, Marina Sirtis’ Troi, Michael Dorn’s Worf, and — crucially — Gates McFadden’s Crusher, Picard’s on-again-off-again unrequited love.

Led by executive producer Terry Matalas, Season 3 of “Picard” painstakingly reunites the “TNG” cast around a story involving Picard and Crusher’s adult son, Jack (Ed Speleers), who was born with a strain of rogue Borg DNA his father unwittingly passed down to him. That DNA leads to an all-stops-out cinematic climax, in which the “TNG” crew is all that stands between the Borg and the total assimilation of Earth, the Federation and the rest of the galaxy.

You were clear at the outset that you weren’t interested in participating in a sentimental reunion show if you were going to come back to “Star Trek.” Now that you’ve finished a season where you did reunite with the original “Next Generation” cast, how do you feel about about the show now?

I feel very good about it. We all talked about “Picard” far more than we ever talked about “Next Generation.” You know, the scripts would just arrive on “Next Generation.” For this, from the very earliest meeting that I had with Alex and Akiva, it was always based on a new energy in the show, a different group of people. We were going to acknowledge the actual years that had passed. We were not going to try and pick it up where “Next Generation” had left off, or where our movies left off. Everyone had been affected by time that had passed, not just physically in appearance, but in one’s relationship situation, in what activities people were involved in, what had become of them, and so forth. I found that one of the best elements of the show, especially when we began to assemble again. 

We were not just celebrating a reunion. Not remotely. It was absolutely vital that this group of people came together because of the contribution that they could make, and the necessity of their being there. I think that supported the whole of this three-season series. We could examine what has really happened to Riker, and so many things that happened to Data. That’s what gave it, I felt, in “Star Trek” terms, a very, very independent feeling. I hope that it will be seen as something which will stand alone, not just “Next Generation Part 2.”

The “Next Generation” cast has spent a lot of time together over the years and have remained good friends. But how did it feel for everyone to be together on the Enterprise D bridge set again?

Well, it’s produced a lot of comedy. I don’t think we are, as a group, sentimental about things like the bridge of the Enterprise in the way that maybe our fans are. Because, I mean, we were filming [“The Next Generation”], I spent more time on the bridge of the Enterprise than I did at home, and so it became a familiar workplace for us. That continued throughout “Picard,” even though they were not always the same ship. It gave a lot of freshness and energy to the show.

One of the greatest pleasures I got watching for the first time was that everyone had investigated what would have changed in their lives and their manner and their being. I found all that intriguing. It will be the one thing that might lure me back to do another season or other episodes, simply that it was so interesting. Everyone were such good and committed actors that we were able to bring this freshness to what we were doing. We were not really the same people.

Yes. The circumstances, as it was with “Picard,” would be the important factor in all of that. But certainly, there is a wonderful future for Ed there, I’m sure of it. And if I can occasionally crop up to offer a little bit of comedy myself, then I shall be happy to do that.

Picard’s lack of a family and is disinterest in children was there from the very first episode of the series. So what did it mean for you to be able to explore Picard as a father in such a robust way?

I think that the relationship between Dr. Crusher and Picard was what mattered most in this. I read several accounts of parents who only learned that they were parents when the child was quite adult. What it produced in and Jean-Luc was fury with — I nearly said Gates — with Dr. Crusher, because she had not told him. He had not pursued family life as an essential part of his own life; nevertheless, when the thing happened, he was cut out of it. He was isolated. I think that was the toughest thing for him to swallow, that there had been 20-odd years in the life of his only son, and he had not known about it at all. Those 20 years were the years in which he had wandered through being promoted to an admiral, the desk job he had, retiring, becoming a lecturer and a winemaker — all of these things became irrelevant as he dealt with the critical situation that was building up around the people he cared about so deeply.

Why do you think Crusher’s relationship with Picard wasn’t a part of the “TNG” movies?

( Long pause ) It’s hard to know. I think they wanted to keep question marks always hovering around Jean-Luc. Is he going to fall in love? Is he going to meet someone who he wants to marry? Will he have children? What will happen to his career? We didn’t know.

We’d had one idea for ending “Picard,” which I think now would have been a mistake. But it would have ended the show with a huge question mark. I liked that in terms of how it could have sent our viewers minds racing and questioning and puzzling about what was this question mark exactly and what did it mean? We didn’t do it.

What was the thing? 

I can’t talk about it. I said I wouldn’t talk about it, because it was a complicated situation. I went with what the producers wanted. I was not comfortable with it, but watching the final episode the other night, I realized that what they had persuaded me we should do was absolutely the best thing that could have happened. 

What was it like to watch the finale?

It made me so emotional watching the last two episodes. Not because we were saying goodbye. But because of the narrative itself, what was happening to these people, who they are — I mean, both the characters and the actors. I love them all. They are a very, very critical part of my life. And that’s the reason why we all continue to socialize and meet and have meals and drinks and laughter. Always laughter.

Yes, but not for long. The mere fact that his name was the title of the series, we had to stay with it. But yeah, it was touch and go at times, wasn’t it? ( Laughs ) No, they would have had to work a lot harder to kill me off before the end of the show. I would have come back and haunted them all if that would’ve happened.

I loved Picard’s toast at Guinan’s bar at the end, when he quotes Brutus’ speech from “Julius Caesar.” How did that come about?

I can’t recall whose actual idea it was, that we should return to Picard and Shakespeare at the very end. But I had been looking at quite a lot of Shakespeare because it’s been, along with “Star Trek,” the most important creative force in my life, and I’d had some ideas about another Shakespeare involvement down the road. I had been remembering my most recent experiences, particularly, and it was then that “there is a tide in the affairs of men” suddenly hit me as being very pertinent to what we were shooting.

It felt like that was as much Patrick talking to his castmates as it was Picard talking to his crew mates.

Both. Yes. It had become that increasingly. All the way through “Picard,” it had that quality about it. We were communicating again, in our fictional world, and enjoying it immensely. Being cast back in 1987 was was the most significant thing that ever happened to me, professionally anyway, because it changed everything. Having the opportunity to experience something like this, and then to repeat it, has been beautiful. I want to get together again with them as soon as possible.

Finally, that concluding shot of you all playing poker through the credits — was that a real game?

Yeah, that was a real game.

So who won?

I think I won. I mean, we were being so relaxed about it. And but it was real round of cards.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

More From Our Brands

Camila cabello drops long-teased single ‘i luv it’ featuring playboi carti, charlize theron just bought a $3.3 million house in socal’s studio city, new york liberty name barclays as jersey patch sponsor, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, atx tv festival adds fargo, pretty little liars and industry screenings — view full line-up, verify it's you, please log in.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Patrick Stewart: ‘I’d go straight home and drink until I passed out’

As he beams aboard another Star Trek adventure, the 81-year-old actor talks about playing Picard as an intergalactic Prospero, hitting the bottle during an exhausting Macbeth – and reaching page 310 of his memoir

P atrick Stewart is slightly surprised to be talking about the impending second series of Star Trek: Picard, during a break from shooting the third in California. The reason is that he so firmly turned down the first season. After playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard, 24th-century hero of Starfleet, in 176 TV episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four spin-off movies, Stewart was convinced that “I’d done everything I could with Picard and Star Trek”.

But the producers – Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), Michael Chabon (Wonder Boys), Kirsten Beyer (Star Trek: Discovery), Alex Kurtzman (The Mummy) – persisted. And Stewart “took a look at the names, and there were Academy award and Pulitzer prize winners. So I thought the most courteous thing to do would be to have a meeting to tell them face to face why I was going to turn them down.”

Over coffee, he explained his refusal: been there, done that, got the nylon polo neck tunics. But the petitioners asked if they could still make a pitch. They spoke for 20 minutes, Stewart recalls on Zoom from his Los Angeles home, after which he was intrigued enough to ask if they could send him something on paper. Reading those 36 pages “convinced me that there was enough new stuff to explore”.

Their clinching argument was that both the actor and his character had been in their 50s during The Next Generation, which ended in 1994; now they were octogenarian, with Picard retired from space and in exile, for reasons gradually clarified, at his family vineyard. The show would explore the intervening decades. “And when I looked at it like that,” says Stewart, “my attention was grabbed. Because they were doing the opposite of getting me to repeat what I’d done before. We would not be treading old ground just because that’s what a lot of people might like to see. It would be a new person with a different set of values and relationships.”

Did he watch old episodes or rely on his memories? “The latter. As the seven seasons of TNG went by, the distinction between Jean-Luc Picard and Patrick Stewart became thinner and thinner, until it was impossible for me to know where he left off and I began. So much of what I believed and felt went into that show. So coming back to the part, I felt that the impact of time on Jean-Luc would just be there in where I am now. And that’s how it has felt.”

Was the deal that if anyone played the older Picard, it would be Stewart – or was there a risk of switching on to find, say, his friend Ian McKellen in the part? “Oh, I would have watched that,” Stewart laughs. “What a clever idea. No. They were absolutely clear: if I passed on it, there would be no show. And I believed them and thought that was generous.”

As a classical stage actor – his focus before the Star Trek and the X-Men franchises gave his career a more lucrative second act – Stewart had twice played Prospero in The Tempest . Did the writers deliberately intend a parallel between the old, haunted astronaut of Star Trek: Picard and Shakespeare’s exiled Duke of Milan, brooding on a desert island? “Yes!” says Stewart. “That sense of the future lacking the significance it used to have. And a genuine fear that he doesn’t know how to handle things now.”

Filmed back-to-back due to confidence in the project, the second and third seasons “show much more of the romantic and emotional life of Picard, which there was very little of in the original series. There’s an increasing feeling that he missed out on an awful lot of living.”

But wasn’t Picard’s status as a sort of space-monk, ascetic and celibate, a deliberate contrast with predecessor William Shatner’s James Tiberius Kirk, who had a new date or old flame on every planet? “Yes, that’s true. That was a factor in The Next Generation. But by the time of the sequel, we felt able to explore whether Picard might be able to find a way of living alongside someone.”

McKellen – who achieved a similar late-career screen superstardom – has spoken of the shock experienced by actors who move from classical theatre to fantasy franchises, especially the intensity of the fans. Did Stewart also find the adjustment difficult? “It’s not that I found it difficult. I just initially refused to acknowledge it. Throughout the first season of The Next Generation, I was continually getting these invitations to attend something called ‘conventions’. And my reaction was no because that had nothing to do with what I was trying to achieve: I wanted the show to have an impact on screen, not me standing on a platform talking about it.

“But at the end of the season, I accepted one in Denver. They took me to the back of this big building and I said, ‘What if no one turns up?’ And they looked at me like I was talking gibberish. I walked out and there were more than 3,000 people in this vast auditorium. And it overwhelmed me – not just the enthusiasm for my being there but an intense sense of affection and respect. Which wasn’t something I’d always experienced in this profession. After that, I’d do three or four of these conventions in each season.”

The success of The Next Generation initially led Stewart to turn down the first X-Men movie in 2000. “I said, ‘Look, I know this isn’t science fiction but it’s fantasy, and I’ve done that.’ But they persuaded me that it wouldn’t be like Star Trek, so I did it. And yet again I was proved wrong. Both shows broadened my sense of what it was to be a professional actor. I’ve been an actor since I was 18 – and I’m now 81. I think the last 10 to 15 years have had more impact on me than anything before and left me more than ever compelled to do this job.”

That period included, in theatre, an acclaimed Macbeth, a Waiting for Godot in the West End and on Broadway, and then Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land . Both the Beckett and the Pinter were as a double act with McKellen, who was also in the first X-Men film. Did he talk the reluctant Stewart into signing up? “No. This is the odd thing. Although I always admired Ian – an actor of that quality and passion, how could you not? – we didn’t really know each other well then.”

At the RSC, they tended to be playing the lead in different shows. “It’s only in the last couple of decades that we’ve become like brothers. It was due to X-Men, in fact. I’ve always been quite a shy person. But we were shooting X-Men in Toronto and in adjoining trailers at the base camp. On that kind of technically complex film, you spend far more time sitting waiting to work than working. So we’d hang out together in his trailer or my trailer and it was the element that made me most grateful for X-Men: that it brought Ian into my life. Ian was already cast in Waiting for Godot as Estragon and was looking for a Vladimir, and he chose me. In both the Beckett and the Pinter, it helped that we are able to tune into each other very easily. Although actually, we are very different people. There are many differences and distinctions.”

Apart from McKellen having been a key gay rights campaigner and Stewart being married to a third wife, Sunny, the pair are also a theatrical War of the Roses: McKellen from Lancashire (Burnley), Stewart Yorkshire-born (Kirklees). The white-rose actor laughs: “Yes. Indeed. And there’s also what Ian calls my obsession with my poor education. He won a scholarship to go to Cambridge, and I left school at 15 and two days. I was at a secondary modern school, where a great English teacher first put Shakespeare into my hands and asked me to read it aloud. But I feel a sense of intimidation at Ian’s level of education. Although I now understand he spent most of his time at Cambridge acting rather than studying.”

Although both have played Prospero and Macbeth, Stewart’s move to the US in the 1980s means that two great Shakespearean roles graced by McKellen – Hamlet and King Lear – have eluded him. Stewart, though, points out that, as McKellen last year played Hamlet again at the age of 82 , the Prince of Denmark may yet come his way. “When I heard Ian was doing that Hamlet with non-conventional casting,” says Stewart, “I asked him if I could play Ophelia because it felt absolutely natural. But the timings didn’t work out.”

Stewart has been talking to a director about the possibility of a King Lear on stage, for which he is the traditional generation and gender, although this show might also include some unusual casting. When I suggest that McKellen could play Lear’s Fool, Stewart says: “My feeling is that Ian would want to play Cordelia. I’d love to have him as my daughter. I’m just worried that stamina would be an issue. I’m not sure I could do eight shows a week as Lear; it would have to be six maximum, which may not suit producers. So it may be too late. But I feel I’d have missed out on an experience if I never play Lear.”

It is the energy and intensity of theatre that both attract and alarm him. His acclaimed Macbeth from 2007 to 2008 “ended on Broadway exactly 365 days after the first preview in Chichester. It was all I did for a year. I had difficult patches and there was a period when we were in New York that performing that play took everything I had. I would end the show emotionally exhausted, go straight home and drink alcohol until I passed out. I’d sleep for a good many hours and then find that, by about four in the afternoon, there were little stirrings of, ‘You’re going to play this great role again in a few hours.’ And I’d know it would end with me being fucked in a few hours. But it was the only way I could find to do it. And I think that year opened up new possibilities for me. Everything has to count; it’s not just fun any more.” But surely he couldn’t carry on with the burn-out-black-out-repeat of that Macbeth year? “No. I know now that I have to stop and take a break.”

The British TV section of his CV is sparse: I, Claudius, Smiley’s People, Maybury between 1976 and 1983, after which his screen work is almost all American. Could or should he have done more in the UK? “Possibly. I don’t think of them as being separate. Tomorrow, I’ll be picked up at 4.30 and taken to a Hollywood studio where I’ll be in front of cameras, which is what I’ve been doing for much of the last 40 years. But it doesn’t feel different from filming in Britain, or theatre. When the medium changes, acting still stays the same for me – which is to make it truthful.”

The nature of truthful acting has recently become disputed, with pressure for “authentic” representation rather than imaginative transformation. Stewart’s X-Men character, Professor Charles Xavier, uses a wheelchair. Some actors and commenters would now argue that an able-bodied actor should no longer play that part. What is Stewart’s view? “I think the argument, while coming from a very good place, is a resistance to creativity in the work that we do. I respect and understand the feelings but I think we would be denying people experiences and performances by saying, ‘No, no, no, it’s not appropriate you should do that.’”

The argument being that an actor can still achieve “truth” by pretending to something they have not experienced? “That’s absolutely spot on. Theatrical reality is a lot more complex than some people think. If the ‘authenticity’ rules had been in place for the last 100 years, we would have missed so many performances. I still want to explore everything as an actor.”

After shooting season three of Star Trek: Picard, he plans to take several months off to complete a memoir. He’s reached page 310 and it’s called Are You Anybody? The title has been percolating for decades. “On my first RSC opening night at Stratford-on-Avon, I was playing the Earl of somewhere in Henry IV, tiny part. There was a group of autograph-hunters at the stage door, and someone thrust the programme at me to sign, then pulled it away again and said, ‘Are you anybody?’ And I said, ‘No, nobody at all,’ and walked away. But the importance of that question has stayed with me ever since.”

• Patrick Stewart
• US television
• Ian McKellen

Comments (…)

Most viewed.

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Enlighten Me with Rachel Martin

Patrick stewart says his time on 'star trek' felt like a ministry.

Rachel Martin

Sir Patrick Stewart says playing Jean Luc Picard gave him an idea of how he might become a better person. Rich Fury/Getty Images hide caption

Sir Patrick Stewart says playing Jean Luc Picard gave him an idea of how he might become a better person.

Sometimes you find comfort in unusual places. It was 1997 and I was living in Japan, teaching English to middle school kids. I lived in a tiny village, and in those early days especially, I was pretty lonely. Except for my good friends Jean Luc and Data.

The teacher who had lived in my apartment before had left a huge box of VHS tapes – there were enough episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation to keep me company for the duration of my time there. Don't worry, I made real life friends in Japan, but that show – those characters navigating the galaxy – were an important touchstone as I explored my own new world.

For the most devoted of fans, Star Trek: The Next Generation represents much more than just a TV show. And this is not lost on Sir Patrick Stewart, who played the captain of the Starship Enterprise on The Next Generation for seven seasons and four feature films, and stars in the latest TV iteration of the franchise, Picard .

" The Next Generation 's impact on so many people has been extraordinary," Stewart told me. "Ranging from people saying that it became their English language education to someone who said, 'I was going to end my life, but I couldn't because I wouldn't be able to see Star Trek anymore.'"

Stewart has just released a memoir, Making It So , taking its title from a Picard catchphrase. We talked about his life on screen and stage, and why he considers those years on Star Trek as a kind of spiritual calling.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Rachel Martin: There is a bit in the book, early in your career, I think it was your first job, but you were an assistant stage manager. It's your first job in the industry and you write this beautiful description of what it felt like to be on the stage, and I wondered if you would read that for me.

Patrick Stewart: Yes, I can:

At the end of each performance, I waited for the last actor and the staff to leave the theater before switching off the lights and locking up for the night. Actually, I left on one light in accordance with an old theater tradition, whereby a single bare bulb is left on, hanging over the center of the stage. With the theater otherwise deserted, I stood beneath this light every night, taking a moment to breathe in the auditorium and the vibrations of the audience that had just left it. I looked at the set, only recently populated by our company of actors. I was part of all this now. Indeed, I had responsibilities to fulfill, even if they were as a lowly assistant stage manager. This, I thought, is now my home.

Martin: Maybe I am projecting, but there is, I think, a sacred quality to how you describe that space. Is that accurate? Did you sense that kind of reverence or sacredness about the theater?

Stewart: Oh yes. To stand in the middle of an empty stage in an empty theater and feel that I was at home was everything. But it took a while for me to get there.

Martin: Did you feel that on a television set?

Stewart: No. I didn't. Cameras made me nervous.

Patrick Stewart on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. George Rose/Getty Images hide caption

Martin: You were not Gene Roddenberry's first pick to play Jean Luc Picard. Taking this role was also going to take you really far from your wife and kids who lived back in England. Why did you take it?

Stewart: I wasn't going to take it. Indeed, a dear friend of mine and a very important English actor had said to me, "Don't do this, Patrick. It's not what you need to do. You're a very good stage actor. That's where you ought to be. Don't do it."

I had learned that the contract that I was being offered was for six years, but I was told we would be lucky to make it through the first season. I remember one actor saying to me, "Sign up for this. Do six months of work. Make some money for the first time in your life. Get well known, get a suntan and go home."

And I thought, "Yeah. That doesn't sound too bad. I could live with that." And, of course, our first series lasted seven seasons. And then we made four feature films.

Martin: I talk to a lot of people about spirituality and about the value of spiritual communities, which I think are when people who have similar values gather together and have or seek transcendent experiences. And I think Star Trek , in all of its incarnations, represents that to a lot of fans. It is a spiritual world. They treat it with religious reverence. Have you encountered that? Do you get it?

Stewart: Yes. I see it very, very clearly and very strongly. It was about truth and fairness and honesty and respect for others, no matter who they were or what strange alien creature they looked like. That was immaterial. They were alive. And if they needed help, Jean Luc Picard and his crew, his team, were there to give it.

In a sense, we were ministers. And I have heard now so many times from individuals who have been honest enough and brave enough to tell me aspects of their life, of their health, of their mental health. And how it was all saved and improved by watching every week.

Why 'the guy' from 'The Office' wants a spiritual revolution

Martin: How did that sit with you? That's an awful lot of responsibility to be that. I mean, you're an actor in a show and people ascribe to you this wisdom, you're a moral compass for them.

Stewart: I was proud of it and what we did. And I talked to Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis and Gates McFadden and Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton. We talked about this kind of thing often. And it's a glorious feeling because we were just having a good time. We loved our jobs.

Martin: Didn't that feel incongruous that you're acting and you're having fun but it had this profound impact?

Stewart: No. It didn't feel at all incongruous. Particularly given the role I was playing. This was a man of such profound understanding and empathy. And to feel like that as a person was such a reward for what we were doing because we were enjoying our work but at the same time we were changing people's lives.

Martin: Did playing Jean Luc Picard Make you a better person?

Stewart: It gave me an idea of how I might become a better person, yes. I was able to absorb that and make those feelings a strong and firm part of my life.

Editor's note Oct. 4, 2023

This story has been updated to replace a photo of Patrick Stewart in costume as Jean Luc Picard that had been reversed by the agency that provided it.

• Sir Patrick Stewart

site categories

‘american fiction’ oscar winner cord jefferson set for wga west’s 2024 paul selvin award, breaking news.

‘Star Trek: Picard’s Patrick Stewart On How He Finally Allowed More Of Himself To Inform His Portrayal Of His Iconic Starfleet Hero — Contenders TV

By Scott Huver

Scott Huver

Guest Author

More Stories By Scott

• ‘The Crown’ Stars Elizabeth Debicki & Khalid Abdalla On Drawing Inspiration From CCTV Footage In Recreating Diana & Dodi’s Tragic Romance
• ‘The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki On How Memory Of Diana’s Death Informed Her Performance & Those “Ghost” Scenes
• Daniel Radcliffe’s Immediate Desire To Learn The Accordion Told Al Yankovic The Actor Was The Right One To Play Him In ‘Weird’ – Contenders TV

After over three decades of embodying Starfleet’s legendary Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Picard star Sir Patrick Stewart says he’s finally learned to embrace letting more of himself bleed over into his much-beloved character.

“My approach to my work has undergone significant changes in the last few years,” Stewart explained during Deadline’s Contenders Television panel for the series. “And it has changed and developed because I’ve come to trust Patrick Stewart more than I used to and find that my instincts, my impulses, my feelings and emotions are authentic.”

Contenders TV: Deadline’s Complete Coverage

The veteran actor said that, after decades of resistance, he now accepts that “Jean-Luc Picard is Patrick Stewart, and I am him. There is no separation anymore. I used my life continually when we were shooting Season Two and Three of Picard , and I’m no longer afraid of doing that, which at one time in my career I would have been. But not anymore. I feel I have something to say, and I can only say it through the performances that I give.”

Related Stories

Deadline Contenders Television Arrivals - Day 1: Josh Brolin, Selena Gomez, Amber Ruffin, Bob Odenkirk And More - Photo Gallery

2024 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

In terms of his approach to his role, Stewart said the first seeds of possibility were planted when executive producer Alex Kurtzman, the guiding figure of the current Star Trek television franchise, first suggested that Picard’s evolution might mirror Stewart’s own.

“He said ‘It’s over 30 years since you were last Jean-Luc Picard,” Stewart revealed. “You’ve probably changed somewhat in that time in those 30 years: different opinions, different feelings, maybe even ways of working. Well,’ he said, ‘maybe that’s happened to Jean-Luc as well’…I was caught up by that. How do I, how do I be convincing that 25-30 years have passed, and this is not the same Jean-Luc that we all came to know and, some of us, to love.”

Stewart also discussed taking on a more hands-on role behind the scenes than he’d previously held on his prior Star Trek: The Next Generation series and films. “I was involved up to here,” he said. “I had, for the first time, an executive co-producer title attached to my name, and I was consulted. People were very, very generous and we talked about everything.”

Deadline Contenders Television Arrivals – Day 2 Photo Gallery

Ultimately, the actor helped chart an unexpected course for the role that would inform three seasons of the Paramount+ streaming series that would challenge both the character and himself. “Picard had to face a reality about his childhood and his home life and his parents that he had never ever faced before. Why? Because he was afraid, and an afraid Jean-Luc is a pretty rare creature, but to have that undercurrent of unexpected emotion running through Season 2, and coming to a climax of course in Season 3, was very satisfying.”

Stewart also revealed that shooting Season 3 immediately following Season 2, he’d already shared scenes with his longtime TNG cast mates, who were recently revealed to be joining him in the forthcoming final season.

“I’m with Gates [McFadden] and Marina [Sirtis] and Jonathan [Frakes] and Brent [Spiner] and LeVar [Burton] and Michael [Dorn], and those days have been wonderful,” he reported. “I think it’s hard for the directors because we fool about so much! And it was always like that – I mean, you’ve probably heard that famous thing that I said it during our first season when somebody said, ‘Patrick, we’ve got to have some fun,’ because I was complaining about the disruptions and the noise, and I said ‘We are not here to have fun!’”

Check out the panel video above.

Deadline Contenders Television is sponsored by  Apple TV+ ,  Eyepetizer ,  Final Draft ,  Los Siete Misterios  and  Michter’s . Partners include  Desalto ,  Film AlUla ,  Four Seasons Resort Maui ,  Jason Mizrahi Design ,  ModMD ,  The American Pavilion , and  Tidelli .

Must Read Stories

Second advisory firm backs activist investor nelson peltz.

‘Godzilla x Kong’ Will Bunny Hop To $135M Global Bow: Easter Weekend Preview

Prosieben rejects restructure plan from berlusconi family’s mfe, ‘walking dead’ creator robert kirkman, other eps get a win in $200m amc profits suit.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.

Read More About:

Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

'Star Trek' stars Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie on Picard and Q's latest face-off

We talked with the Trek legends about that  scene from Season 2's second episode. 

The second season of Star Trek: Picard is underway, and after the first two episodes, we’ve seen much of what one of the show's trailers promised: Picard and Q getting into quite an argument. 

SYFY WIRE had the chance to talk to Picard and Q themselves — Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie , respectively — about what it was like once again being scene partners as their Star Trek counterparts, particularly for an early confrontation that sparks the start of "Penance," the second season's second episode.

Be warned: There are mild spoilers ahead regarding the first two episodes of the new season.  

The beginning of  “Penance” — the second episode of Season 2 — has Picard trying to make sense of the alternative future he finds himself in, where Earth is a polluted, ultra-fascist place where Picard is a leader of the authoritarian and xenophobic (to put it mildly) Confederation. Although Q showed up at the very end of the first episode, it's here in episode two where he and Picard have an exchange that boils over into a physical confrontation between the two for the first time — Q slaps Picard!  

“That slap was added at the last moment,” de Lancie reveals to SYFY WIRE. “And it just goes to show how willing everybody was to take ideas and to run with them, which makes for an environment where you feel supported and encouraged to go to areas and extremes that you wouldn't normally.”

Even before the slap, Picard is battling through several emotions — especially shock, anger, and confusion — as a result of having to deal with Q again. (The last time Picard and Q shared screen time was in the TNG  series finale in 1994, "All Good Things...") 

“He was very dismayed,” Stewart tells SYFY WIRE about Picard seeing Q again. “He always suspected that there was a hidden story about Q, and it's when he begins to see that what is hidden in that character begins to be released and opened up, that I think this relationship in Picard gets more and more interesting.”

“There’s a lot at stake for [Picard], and there’s a lot at stake for me,” de Lancie said about the aforementioned scene. “In a way, we are both talking about mortality from our different perspectives.” 

For Picard — and for Stewart — the passage of time has changed everything, and those changes also impact the dynamic between Picard and his long-standing frenemy, who has been with the former Enterprise captain since his first mission, 1987's "Encounter at Farpoint".

“I think 32 years have passed since I last put on a uniform and answered to the name of Captain Picard,” Stewart said. “Much has happened. Not just for me, but in the world around us  … and what the writers and directors said was the same thing has happened to Star Trek , given that the world of Starfleet and the people who exist and live around Starfleet has changed with time.”

Some things haven’t changed between the two actors, however, after all these decades.

“I have to say, I was a little nervous and trepidatious as to whether this is going to work,” de Lancie confessed. “But then we did the first scene, and [showrunner Terry Matalas] was there. And they yelled 'cut' and [Terry] went, ‘Yes! I can see the chemistry!’ So I figured well, we must be in the zone.”

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard air Thursdays on Paramount+.

Watch Resident Alien

• Patrick Stewart
• Star Trek: Picard

Related Stories

The Hunger Games Timeline, Briefly Explained

Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey Creators Tease Shared Universe

All of The Leprechaun Movies, Ranked

Eternal Sunshine Director Made Wild Request of Jim Carrey Ahead Of the Film's Shoot

Back to the Future Easter Eggs You Almost Certainly Never Saw Revealed

John Carpenter's The Thing: Definitive Oral History

The Real-Life Story Behind 2012 Jewish Horror Film The Possession

Everything to Know About The Cancelled Miniseries Sequel to The Thing

The Alien Movies 13 Scariest and Most Iconic Moments

The Tiny Tweak to Back to the Future's Ending That Made the Film's Final Twist Work Perfectly

Nope VFX Supervisor Dishes on Film's Creature Design

How Resident Alien Made That George Takei Cameo Happen

Recommended for you.

Linda Hamilton on Resident Alien Role: "I'm Not the Funny Girl, I'm the Straight Man"

The Classic Twilight Zone Episode That Inspired Jordan Peele's Us

Resident Alien's Alan Tudyk on Harry's New Love Interest, Edi Patterson's Blue Avian

Patrick Stewart and LeVar Burton Agree ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3 Was Perfect — but They Pitch One Last Hurrah

“I’ve been advised not to talk about it. But… I… I… I don’t care, I don’t give a damn.”

“What are they gonna do, fire you?”

“It’s a little too late for that.”

Patrick Stewart and LeVar Burton erupt in laughter. The kind of laughter that can only come from the dearest of old friends. And they are old friends: They’ve been on a 36-year journey together playing Jean-Luc Picard and Geordi LaForge — in fact, the two of them, along with Jonathan Frakes, were the very first cast members announced for “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in May 1987. Now they’ve come to the end of that journey, with “Star Trek: Picard” Season 3, a reunion for the whole “Next Gen” cast that put them on one final mission among the stars.

Or is it really the end?

In a conversation for IndieWire’s Awards Spotlight, Stewart and Burton talked about the unique opportunity “Picard” Season 3 offered to evolve their characters. This wasn’t just a nostalgia trip, repeating what we had seen of the crew in 1994 or 2002. It was to show where they were “now,” 20 years later.

“When it was first pitched to me, I was very reluctant to go and join this plan of reviving ‘Star Trek,’” Stewart said. “With, at the beginning, some of the original cast. I think if anybody had said to me, ‘And we’re going to have this big reunion where everybody comes back,’ I would have said then, ‘Count me out, that’s not what I want.’”

But then some combination of creators Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, and Michael Chabon got to Stewart and said, in the actor’s words, “‘Look, guys, in the last 20 years your lives must have changed. They’ve transformed. There’ve been excitements, there’ve been disappointments. There may even have been tragedies. But we don’t know what those things are yet, so we have to explore and find out.’”

That was the hook. And discovering the changes to these characters because of the passage of time was electrifying for Stewart.

For Burton, the passage of time meant an opportunity to show a different side of Geordi, and be involved in the process of creating where his character would be now (in the ‘90s “Trek” shows there had been a dictum saying that writers and actors should barely interact).

“I don’t think any of us have been better,” Burton said of “Picard” Season 3. “And I gotta say I think it’s because we were invited into the process. When it began in earnest for me it was with a call with [showrunner Terry Matalas] and he asked me, ‘What would you like to see?’ And I had one request: I want to rehabilitate Geordi’s canon where relationships are concerned. That little stalkerish episode with Dr. Brahms never sat well with me and I never wanted that to be his legacy: ‘He was a great engineer but he had this one #MeToo moment and he never experienced a consequence for that.’ So I said, I want him to be a family man, I want him to have healthy relationships. And [Terry] went away and came back with the LaForge sisters. My children are 42 and 28, and I was then able to bring all of that depth, all of that weight, all of that anxiety that we feel as parents, all that gravitas… it was right for Geordi. It was right where I felt he needed to be.”

Stewart recalled how seeing Burton’s daughter Mica — who plays Geordi’s daughter Alandra in the show — grow up over the years was indicative of the close bonds “Star Trek” had created in his life.

“Every time I encountered her I would be shocked because she was growing into a woman and I had remembered her as an infant and that was one of those indicators that [‘Star Trek’] has been a significant part of my life. In fact, there’s no question, the most significant part of my life. There have been moments — but nothing ultimately had the impact that ‘Next Generation’ had.”

“In the whole of Season 3 I think that the moment of that reveal is one of the most emotional,” Burton said. “There are a lot of emotional moments in Season 3, and I know that there are for fans, but that was one of the most satisfying. Like, come on: it’s like he’s been working on the ’57 Chevy in his garage all these years, restoring it. It was absolutely relatable to the audience that this is how this man spent his time.

For Stewart, that bridge set represented everything about how Picard was defined by collaboration. “When I discovered that the set was almost finished, not completed, but almost finished… it might have been lunchtime and the stage was cleared so I went down there and I walked around the bridge alone and simply allowed all the memories to flood back,” Stewart said. “And yes, there had been from time to time difficulties, of course there had. But mostly the bridge signified to me creativity, work, and companionship — and also dependency. As Jean-Luc Picard, I needed every single one of my fellow actors up there. And I think it was the same for all of us. There was a combination of dependency and freedom.”

If Season 3 was it for Picard & Co., that was quite a finale. But there’s the undeniable fact it was so good it’s left fans wanting more. Which gets back to a certain pitch Stewart wanted to make.

“I think we could do a movie, a ‘Picard’-based movie,” he said. “Now not necessarily at all about Picard but about all of us. And to take many of those wonderful elements, particularly from Season 3 of ‘Picard’ and take out of that what I think could be an extraordinary movie. I keep telling people and mentioning it, and so far there’s been no eager response, but it might well happen. And that would be I think a very appropriate way to say, ‘And goodbye folks.’

Watch the full Awards Spotlight conversation between Stewart and Burton above.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Star Trek: Picard : Patrick Stewart and Crew (Including Some TNG Folk) on Engaging With the Captain Once More

Kimberly roots, managing editor.

• Share on Facebook
• Show more sharing options
• Share to Flipboard
• Share on LinkedIn
• Submit to Reddit
• Post to Tumblr
• Share on WhatsApp
• Print This Page

Brew yourself some tea, Earl Grey, hot, and settle in: A legendary Starfleet officer is about to educate us all on how Star Trek: Picard is not just the next Next Generation .

“I don’t see it as a sequel. That word doesn’t resonate for me. I see it as part of the growth of the whole franchise,” Patrick Stewart said when he and his fellow cast members from the upcoming CBS All Access series stopped by TVLine’s San Diego Comic-Con 2019 interview suite Saturday.

That said, some faces very familiar to Trekkers will join Picard as he embarks upon another adventure. These include Brent Spiner and Jonathan Del Arco, who played Data and Hugh the Borg in TNG , respectively. The pair joined Stewart and  Picard  cast members Alison Pill ( The Newsroom ), Michelle Hurd ( Blindspot ), Isa Briones ( American Crime Story ), Santiago Cabrera ( Big Little Lies ) and Harry Treadaway ( Penny Dreadful ) during the interview, which covered topics including whether or not the crew of the Enterprise stays in touch and how one of Picard’s former go-tos might feel about being replaced by a dog.

Stewart previewed that the captain’s years on Earth haven’t been his favorite, which is why he’s more than willing to help when a young woman approaches him, asking for help.

“His discontent and unsettled nature is present the moment the camera rolled at the beginning, and I hope it will be evident to the audience that all is not well with him,” Stewart added.

Press PLAY on the video above to hear more about the show, to hear more about the other Trek folk who’ll wind up in Picard’s orbit and to find out the one thing Stewart was adamant that Jean-Luc not do in Picard (and why he’ll wind up doing it, anyway).

Cancel reply

26 comments.

Email * Your email address will not be published. We will notify you when someone replies.

Excellent interview, Kim! I can’t wait to watch this series

I’m really looking forward to this now. I had my doubts because I haven’t been the biggest fan of Discovery, but hopefully this new adventure will be the best combination of what came before and what they have now. I enjoyed the interview and can’t wait to see a breakdown of all the new characters.

Picard was an old man in TNG 30 years ago. Now he’s gotta be like like 80 -something years old. How is a sci-fi show about an octogenarian supposed to be in any way compelling? Well, actually I’d watch a show about an 80-something James T. Kirk. But he was always a better Captain than Picard. And William Shatner is a better actor on his worst day than Patrick Stewart will ever be.

“And William Shatner is a better actor on his worst day than Patrick Stewart every will be.” Hahahahahaha. Thanks for a great laugh on a Sunday morning.

William Shatner is a critically acclaimed classically trained Shakespearean actor. And a National Treasure in Canada.

Patrick Stewart is also a highly trained Shakespearean actor.. It’s how he started in the business..

Love Shatner. In everything he does, especially comedy. But he’s not known for a lot of nuance. He definitely improved over the years. But there are some TNG episodes where Stewart’s performances were spellbounding. You can argue who was the better captain, but for me, Stewart is hands down the better actor. :)

well in reality William Shatner acting was always more just a reflection of the material he was given – he’s actually a lot better “actor” than most people would give him credit for – but he genuinely doesn’t care what anyone thinks – he’s rich and he knows that’s all that matters to his day to day life

and regardless of anything he is and always will be the living embodiment of Star Trek – as are all the TOS cast they will always inspire an entire generation of fans

sidenote: I met George Takei once when I was like 11 years old at my first comic book convention – still feels like it was yesterday

Well, in Generations, sitting on a horse, he WAS better than Patrick Stuart. And you can see that in the smile of Sir Patrick exactly in that moment. Also – Boston Legal.

Shatner was great in Generations. Loved Boston Legal. Shatner has great comic timing. (The writing for Stewart was pretty awful in Generations. But it was designed to pass the big screen torch, and it did, I think at the expense of the TNG actors.)

Shatner wasn’t acting in Boston Legal, he was just playing himself. :)

So don’t watch it Chad.

We’ll get by without you, I’m sure.

Why is it even necessary to compare the two?

Stewart-Picard was in his mid 50s or 60 at the end. That was not an old man.

Chad, first Patrick Stewart is not 80! And he wasnt an old man in TNG. He’s a seasoned actor, and a fine one at that. Have you seen any of his work before or after TNG? Shatner has a different style, both are great actors. I’m looking forward to the next layer of story telling.

This is going to be absolutely amazing to watch. I’ve been watching all things Trek since I was a kid in the 1970’s. Some trek are better than others but TNG is my #1 (sorry TOS)

I’m excited for this. While I would love to see some guest appearances from the TNG crew, especially if Picard is going up against the Borg, it would probably feel forced after 30+ years of the characters having moved in other directions.

Picard and his senior staff loved each other though, you can’t tell me that with warp and teleporters and subspace communication that they wouldn’t still be involved with each other in some way. It’s like family. Just because you move doesn’t mean you stop talking.

A lot can happen in 30 years. Again, I’d love to see some guest appearances, but they’d have to be done “right” (for lack of a better word) and I don’t even know what right is. Even family drifts apart. From what I can remember the cast is still friendly after all these years, even going out to dinner with each other or BBQing at one another’s homes (and sharing on social media), several of the cast members have already said “this isn’t a sequel to TNG” and seem okay with not returning to their roles. There’s a few articles on the TNG’s casts’ thoughts if you google them. The longer the show goes on, the more likely we’ll get guest appearances, but I don’t think we’ll see much in the first season.

Except, Data, Riker, and Troi have been confirmed. I think Michael Dorn said it wouldn’t make sense, but with Data being a part of it now, it’s only a matter of time before Geordi shows up. And Beverly Crusher is one of Picard’s dearest and oldest friends, I have no doubt she’ll turn up, if not in season 1, then season 2. I can’t imagine Guinan and Q don’t show up sometime, probably in season 2. I think we’ll see them all before the 3 seasons are said and done. I don’t know how in Star Trek you can do a guest appearance wrong, especially if it’s old crew members from a captains past; outside of Q on DS9, of course. :) Especially if they only get a few minutes of screen time.

you’re not wrong but you’re assuming they’re all still even alive in 20 years – who knows what different adventures they all might have had heck Worf could be living on the Klingon homeworld at this point — they’re all basically past their prime

Best character to bring back to taunt “Pickerd”? • Q

Bring back Q!

I’d be very surprised if Q did not turn up at some point.

You really can’t compare Kirk to Picard. Different genres and styles..Picard is probably more acceptable in the more politically correct world despite his age. Kirk was great for young boys of the Baby Boomers to identify with like me. I’m a big Shatner fan but think Stewart was perfect for TNG. After season one, people stopped comparing the two actors and two shows. It was really excellent casting and TnG brought a sophistication to the table and more diversity though the original was a bit ahead of its time in that department. look forward to the new show.

with the addition of Seven of Nine … it’s very likely this show isn’t being considered a sequel for TNG … but for ALL THE shows so that as the show progresses they’ll likely consider giving various characters cameos or something in one way or another

as well as even from TOS – like the “dream” planet where anything you imagined turned up or even a cameo from Janeway, etc

or may be even a time travel or something to cross over with Discovery at some point nothing right away of course …. but eventually

Most Popular

You may also like.

• March 26, 2024 | See Worf’s Crew Take On Mind-Controlling Space Bugs In ‘Star Trek: Defiant’ #13 Preview
• March 25, 2024 | ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Showrunner Drops Hints For Each Season 5 Episode
• March 24, 2024 | Review: Action-Packed ‘Star Trek: Picard: Firewall’ Reveals Seven’s Compelling Quest For Identity
• March 22, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Digs Into Star Trek Business News And Reflects On The New William Shatner Documentary
• March 21, 2024 | Filming On The ‘Star Trek: Section 31’ Streaming Movie Has Wrapped

Patrick Stewart Reveals New Star Trek Movie Script Featuring Jean-Luc Picard Is In The Works

| January 5, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 184 comments so far

With the third and final season of  Star Trek: Picard  a success, Sir Patrick Stewart is still thinking about what could be next. Even before the final season debuted the Next Generation star was talking about his hopes to return to the big screen as Jean-Luc Picard. Now Stewart has indicated there is an actual project with him in development, including a new script.

Stewart talks new Star Trek script

As a guest in the latest episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, host Josh Horowitz asked Patrick Stewart about his Star Trek hopes and the actor confirmed he was still interested in returning to the big screen as Picard. He then started talking about his experience with the Star Trek movies:

“After we finished recording our seven seasons of Next Generation we made four Star Trek movies of varying qualities, the best one being [ First Contact ], directed by Jonathan Frakes. He was one of the people who had the most influence on me on the show because of his experience and his understanding of the complexities and how bringing different qualities onto the stage was very, very important in diversity and change.”

As Stewart continued talking about Star Trek movies he dropped a surprise; revealing there is a Star Trek movie script being written with him in mind:

“So it’s an ongoing procedure for me. I heard only last night about a script that is being written, but written specifically with the actor, Patrick [Stewart], to play in it. And I’ve been told to expect to receive it within a week or so. I’m so excited because it sounds like the kind of project where the experimentation that I want to do will be essential for this kind of material. It’s good at 83…”

TrekMovie has confirmed with Josh Horowitz that this interview was recorded in early November as Stewart was out promoting his new memoir, Making It So . This comment from Stewart is the first indication that there is a movie project in development that would include the character of Jean-Luc Picard. Officially Paramount has only confirmed they are developing another film in the Kelvin universe starring Chris Pine (aka “Star Trek 4”), but there have been reports and rumors about other scripts for different Star Trek movies in development at the studio as well.

It is possible that Stewart could be talking about a Star Trek streaming TV movie like the Section 31 film starring Michelle Yeoh which goes into production later this month. Last year it was reported that Paramount+ was looking for Section 31 to be the first of a series of streaming Star Trek movies for Paramount+. It’s possible a streaming movie could be a vehicle to carry on the story of Star Trek: Picard , potentially working as a backdoor pilot for the often-discussed (but not in development) Star Trek: Legacy series envisioned by Picard showrunner Terry Matalas. However, the series finale of Picard ended by putting the focus on the newly rechristened USS Enterprise-G under the command of Captain Seven, played by Jeri Ryan, with a crew of mostly new characters from season 3 of Picard . While Stewart could appear in “Legacy,” it does not appear Jean-Luc Picard would be the focal character.

Patrick Stewart as Picard and Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker in”Imposters”(Paramount+)

Stewart also replied “yeah,” when asked by Horowitz if this script would be “a little bit of a different take than what we’ve seen in the last few seasons of Star Trek: Picard .” He then explained how he is motivated to take on new challenges as an actor, reflecting on his work in Picard :

“What was so interesting about Picard , and the main reason why I decided to commit to three seasons of it was that Akiva Goldsman talked to me about the changes that had happened in my life in the last 20 years. And he said, “Were there any?” and of course, I said yes there were lots and lots and new journeys and new experiences and relationships. And he said, “Exactly! Well that has also been Jean-Luc’s experience.” He’s not the same man. He’s no longer captain of the Enterprise. He was made an admiral. It became really desk work, which is not what he ever wanted to do. And now he’s back at home, living on his vinyard and seeming to be reasonably content. All that was an act. All that was Jean-Luc trying to pretend – as I think my father did – that everything was all right. But it wasn’t. So particularly the last season of Picard was extraordinary to perform because I was continually being faced, because of the wonderful job the writers did, with a different man. There was one wonderful moment I really enjoyed researching when Picard literally didn’t know what to do, how to deal with a situation. He was stunned by it. And watching him having to cope with that realization of ‘I’m old and I can’t work out how to deal with this’ was it was a fascinating process. So I enjoyed that.”

Patrick Stewart as Picard in “Imposters” (Paramount+)

You can watch the full interview on YouTube .

Related Articles

Books , Review , Star Trek: Picard , VOY

Review: Action-Packed ‘Star Trek: Picard: Firewall’ Reveals Seven’s Compelling Quest For Identity

Kelvin Universe , Star Trek 4 , Upcoming movies

Paramount Has A Plan To Bring Star Trek Back To The Big Screen, Says Roddenberry Entertainment Exec

All Access Star Trek Podcast , Discovery , Lower Decks , Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek: Prodigy , Starfleet Academy , Strange New Worlds

Podcast: All Access Goes To SXSW For The ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 Premiere

Star Trek: Picard

‘Picard’ Season 2 Was Rewritten After Paramount Deemed It “Too Star Trek,” Says EP

Well, everything depends on the script, of course. But I think that — unless the script is truly a masterpiece — the character went out on a high note in season 3, and they should leave it at that.

I agree so much!

Agreed. But then the TOS cast went out on a high note in TUC, but then Shatner came back in Generations. So…

Generations was absolute tripe. Made Trek V (which I like anyway) look like a masterpiece…………

Yeah, my point was that even though the TOS cast had a great movie to end their story on, they still used the Kirk character again. If they did it once, they can do it again.

If the team behind Picard S3 is involved, then full steal ahead. Otherwise, maybe let’s leave a great ending alone

Aye, a movie with the team behind Seasons 1 and 2: zero interest. They had no idea how to make a compelling, coherent story. Both seasons had individual elements of interesting ideas, but they were just a big bag of random stuff that never quite gelled together.

Maybe restricting them to feature-length might work better with them, but I’m not sure I want to risk seeing how that would turn out. :P

The team behind season 2 was essentially the same as that behind season 3, no?

Terry Matalas was largely responsible for season 3, hence bringing in different writers and composers. In season 2 he only worked on the first few episodes. It all was approved by Goldsman and Kurtzman, but I got a bit of DS9 vibe where Ira Steven-Behr was given a long leash by Rick Berman.

There is only 1 new writer for season 3 (Sean Tretta). All the others had worked on season 2 as well. So it’s basically the same team of writers who gave us season 2 also gave us season 3. I’m not sure what exactly went wrong in season 2 and right in season 3 but continuing with the season 3 writers room is no guarantee we won’t end up with something like season 2 again.

That may be so, but Matalas obviously had full creative control to implement his vision for S3, and oversaw that writing team in fulfilling his vision, so it was a different animal.

I can’t believe I am defending Matalas…lol Because S3 still did not work for me. But S3 was eminently watchable at least — S2 was not watchable and I want that 9 hours of my life back.

I still think bringing the Enterprise D back in season 3 made no sense. It made about as much sense as Luke’s lightsaber he lost on Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back showing up for Rey to find it in Force Awakens. I mean Star Wars and Star Trek, apples and oranges, but i feel like its what they do make these fan projects to have nostalia bait.

2 hours back to back unoriginality with warp 10 fan service would be more preferable than 10 x 1 hour episodes I suppose

I hope the season 3 team all get the sack. I’m sick of their nostalgia bs.

PS3 wrapped almost two years ago. If they haven’t landed other work by now, that speaks volumes that they aren’t as marketable as the fan base imagines them to be.

You may not have liked it, but it’s not hard to take a step back and see how warmly the critics received it and it was a PR and ratings success. That’s more than enough to get its creatives in the door for myriad meetings, and development of shows takes time. If Matalas is actively trying to get a new show, Trek or otherwise made (we don’t know that he is) then any resistance is down to the creative concept/budget etc, nothing to do with lack of goodwill for what he made or his management style. No reason to make such a big and negative supposition.

This looks to be more on a Picard-centric movie though given what the article says. Forgetting which season of Picard people prefer, I think most would agree that the last time he really excelled with an acting/physical/voice performance of the Captain Picard we all wanted to see was Season 1. It was pretty evident, starting in S2, that Stewart/Picard is slowing down, the voice doesn’t sound quite right, and that was covered up mostly in S3 given it was a full cast reunion season.

It could also just be a cameo. Plus it may be quite advanced and due to film soon – we don’t know that ‘Section 31’ isn’t set in the 25th century era, given that Georgiou time travelled, or even the 24th with this set before Star Trek Picard.

I’m also not sure how willing Hollywood execs are to hang an entire film on the availability of an 83 year old actor (ST Picard notwithstanding) which makes me lean towards thinking any role will be more likely to be cameo or supporting rather than central.

It’s not like casting an actor in a one-off role where they can recast.

That’s an interesting idea

I’m perfectly good with it for what it was, a big old sloppy french kiss and ass grab of fan service. Matalas delivered in spades, and the TNG cast stepped up and did great with the flimsy story they had. Legacy is a popular genre these days, someone will bring Matalas on board. But do we need more fan service Trek? No, we don’t.

If Picard season 3 was passing the torch, the future is legacy. But i think the studio might think a TNG movie might make money. They don’t care about fans feeling like its a bit much, like butter scraped over too much bread.

Feeling conflicted. Sir Pat Stew is showing his age god bless him, and Picard S3 was already a wonderful good-bye to this character full of fan service and basically making up for the mess of S1 and S2. Not sure where they can go but aground.

Very well said. Agree 100%.

Hmmmmmmm extremely skeptical about this generally and after reading Stewarts comments even more so.

It’s been, what, a script a year since 2016? Keep the clickbait coming, folks.

They’ve spent millions on those scripts i assume. What is the point of having a pile of scripts you never intend to make, honestly studio politics have always confused me.

Nah, tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars. Compared to the hundreds of millions a sci fi CGI extravaganza costs, getting a script is pennies in the budget.

But they keep telling us Star Trek is the studios crown jewel and they want to make a movie. When all the evidence says otherwise. Forgive me for being a skeptic but i am getting old waiting for another movie. In 2 years time it will have been ten years.

And even though they say the tv versions are popular, the story I just read on DenofGeek about the top streaming shows (data from THE WRAP) doesn’t even have any Trek listed, so it must not even make the top 25 (MANDO came in at #1, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING at 5, those were the only ones I saw that I actually got through the whole season on.) So I don’t see TREK as really prospering in any venue right now.

Wish Hawley got to make his feature!

I think the reason Paramount are keen on it is because it’s the closest they’ve got to an MCU or a Star Wars, so they’re going to try and elevate it. It doesn’t bode that well if it ever did end up with Disney or Warner Bros.

Personally I don’t really care about the movies (nothing against it if you do). If they keep making premium TV I’ll be quite happy. But if there are a lot of people like me in the fanbase, that doesn’t bode well for a movie any time soon unfortunately.

Plus I bet the contracts for those scripts make it easy for the studios to crib ideas from them, even if they don’t go forward. One of the recent Doctor Who 60th specials was a loose adaptation of an old comic book from the 80s – the writers got credited but I bet the boilerplate they signed all the way back then gave the BBC the rights to adapt it.

It will film 20 years from now. 😂🤣

Phil, is that you?

No, but I agree with the sentiment…

It is Paramount so probably true! 😂

This is probably coming out of the streaming side, which has more luck getting projects to the production stage.

Assuming there’s anything to this at all.

And by that time Transformers 40 will be in theaters. Its like that gag in Back to the Future II with Jaws 19.

Well if they can’t get their stuff together for a Kelvin movie or a Tarentino movie, they might as well do a TNG movie. I’m sure we’re all hoping they do it well!

Yes, my thoughts exactly.

Don’t care about another Kelvin or Tarantino movie at all but this would be my preference for sure!

Same. I’m so done with Kelvin and Tarantino was a bad idea from the start.

Maybe this will incorporate all 3 (Kelvin, Tarantino, TNG)

How about the reboot crew meets TNG, they’ve done crazier things. I just think it would cost too much so they won’t.

Well none of the kelvin cast can really cost too much (aside Pine but he has lots of bombs on his resume now, and Saldana but tbh her involvement in Marvel/Avatar doesn’t seem to translate much into other hit movies not an above the title lead ,more akin to Carrie Fisher in Star Wars). TNG cast probably just happy to be working in Trek again (after the superb Pic s3) and PStew def seems up for more, so yeah maybe there could be something of a ‘Generations II’/big finale for both casts on the horizon for the 60th Ann (for P+ or theatre or both)

Saying besides Marvel and Avatar an actor doesn’t do well is like saying, well, besides working for Warren Buffet and Elon Musk, they are really not doing that well. Lol, give me a break! :-))

PS: Zaldana is in THREE major franchises; Carrie Fischer was in one. That’s an absurd comparison, no offense.

Zoe Saldana was also in a recent 8-episode P+ series called Special Ops: Lioness . Sometimes when you scroll through IMDB you find work actors have done that gets no huge media attention … it’s almost like … they just like to work, especially when a quality script/story is involved. Over the last several years I’ve discovered many series that did not receive the attention they deserved.

Yep – Great point!

What I mean is her agent won’t be able to say zoe’s now been in the 3 biggest movies of all time its 10m for her to be in star trek again. They’d probably just write uhura out if that was the case

Honestly, while I liked Picard more than some other people did (still on the lower end of my rankings), I’m not a fan of another Picard movie or season. He got an ending in TNG. He got his movies. He got 3 seasons of a series, and while not everyone was a fan of the series as a whole, many agree that it at least rounded out his journey on a positive note. This isn’t to say I wouldn’t want him in *any* projects, if they can make a guest role work (i.e. in Star Trek Legacy), but not really another full Picard-centric project.

Not to mention, if we’re going back to past shows, there’s plenty more characters/shows that deserve their due more, since they’ve had minimal (or even no) representation in the modern era. More DS9 representation. Any canon Enterprise characters. I’d probably still watch this if they made it, but on the list of shows they could make, this is low on my list of what I’d actually want to see.

It’s all about the quality of writing of course as to how good it would be, but I would certainly watch it.

If we got this news after either Picard seasons 1 or 2 ended, my advice would’ve been to take that script, throw it in a large dumpster, get a gallon of gasoline, pour it in the dumpster, take a match and light it up! And wait for the fire to subside. DON’T LEAVE! Make sure the job is completely done. Once it is, check to make sure every page has been completely scorched before going on about your day and just pretend it never happened.

But after Picard season 3 and amazing the TNG cast was BRING IT ON!!!!!!

I’m so pumped if we got another movie!! And I don’t really even care about the movies but this would definitely excite me after how much I loved last season!

If they are too cheap or broke to make the Legacy show this would be a great alternative! 😎🖖

I don’t necessarily need the season 3 Picard team back but would prefer them over the seasons 1 and 2 people. But I am absolutely confused what else there could possibly be for Picard as a character. Sure, life goes on beyond things but as a character in a story you need to end on high notes with the implication they will go on with life content beyond that point in any way you could imagine but in which you don’t really need to see every detail of… which Picard season 3 cleanly set up Picard’s journey being done- he reconciled with his former love, met his son he didn’t know he had, was reunited with a lost Friend, managed to help save the federation, and then saw his son off to his first day of work following in his footsteps as a Starfleet Officer.

Picard season 3 very cleanly wrapped up Picard as a character and to risk creating a poor follow to that seems dumb to me… so I hope whoever is breaking the story and scripting it is an absolutely fantastic writer because the task here is pretty massive to accomplish as near as I can tell.

The only thing that makes sense would be something tied to Legacy . Either a Picard movie for Paramount+ that acts as backdoor pilot (although, I’d argue Picard season 3 probably does that), or just a pilot script for Legacy that features Picard and centered around him in some way.

I mean you could do Legacy as part of the series of TV movies instead of a full-blown series. I don’t know if the economics are better or worse in justifying costs when you amortize it either for a 2-hour-ish film versus a 10-episode series.

Given they are about to start filming the S31 movie, and now this news, perhaps they want to do a several TV movies per year as a cost saving measure versus greenlighting new series — then you have the movie dates scheduled for the couple of months in between 3 ongoing series…so people keep their subscriptions going?

I would be totally behind that, more and hopefully different, original ideas, a variety of casts and directors, and if a film is a flop, move on to the next. Much preferable to an entire series on something which may not interest, imo.

The problem with this theory is that puts a Legacy streamer 3-5 years out. And that assumes that a Legacy big screen outing doesn’t crater (a distinct possibility), or a main character actor doesn’t die.

There is no Legacy.

Hmm, I am not really down with this. Forgetting which season of Picard people prefer, I think most would agree that the last time he really excelled with an acting/physical/voice performance of the Captain Picard we all wanted to see was Season 1.

If this is going to be the next Trek movie, I am kind of disappointed and skeptical.

It is probably for streaming. Can’t see this having any shot in theaters

Same. No chance in the box office but SNW has already proved Trek can be a streaming success.

Even episodes of PIC were in theaters

True but it was very limited. Perhaps they decided this was the best way to go for a feature. Could want to capitalize on S3 of PIC. Not the way I would go but it’s not my $$

Those were promo events where Paramount gave away the tickets for free. That’s not gonna work for a wide release that actually has to make back its costs.

Why in the world is there always this fascination with a “movie.” Please, no. We ended the story with a pretty good romp. Finish on a high note. Move on.

Exactly – In 13 movies, we have had 6 good ones, and 4 great ones. If you get a season, you will get 20-30% great episodes, and at least 50% of the others good. SNW, breaks the template with maybe only 1 lesser episode a season (although season 2 had no bad shows).

So with a movie, you might get good, bad, or great. And you get to wait years for that. As season guarantees you will get some good to great shows, and you get it week to week, generally 20-40 episodes a year for the past few years. Even 2024 will have a season of Discovery and Lower Decks – and that’s after the strike.

Opinions will vary on quality. In my mind, two horrible ones (Generations and Final Frontier), and the remaining 11 get divvied up between good and great, depending on my mood.

Again, we lost the First Splinter for this?

TNG streaming movie most likely. Way cheaper to produce one of those…theatrical is too risky $100M budget plus expensive visual effects for lower returns vs streaming movie can be done for $20-30M ballpark.

Please, please no. Just let him and the TNG crew fly off into the space sunset. They’ve hung up their hats, their space hats.

Wow. I hope it works out!

Let’s see, Shatner was 63 when he filmed Generations. Stewart would be 85 (at the earliest) if this gets greenlit. Watching Ali fight well past his prime was painful to watch, folks.

I mean, there are people who still want Shatner to reprise his role as Kirk. Stewart is young compared to that ;-)

They also killed Kirk off. It wasn’t for that he probably would’ve been in the first JJ verse movie. And I read he was supposed to be in the last movie until they gave Bob Orci’s story the boot.

I read the same. And Orci even wrote a cameo for him in the first movie as a recording Spock had but Shatner doesn’t do cameos (most of the time).

Shatner has about 10 times the energy than Stewart. Christopher Reeve gets thrown off a horse in his thirties and it paralyzes him and ends up killing him. Shatner gets thrown in his eighties and uses a cane for about 6 weeks. Stewart in his early eighties can work only about 4-6 hours a day.

Have you actually seen Shatner lately? By his own admission he’s huffing and puffing through his day now, and his work involves voice over and narration. His action hero ship sailed years ago.

Just my opinion but pass. S3 Pic ended the JL story. I’m not interested in any more stories where Patrick plays Patrick. I prefer Legacy.

I’m thinking this will probably be a Legacy movie too but Picard is apart of it somehow. It would be strange none of that cast wouldn’t be back at all.

Agreed! If it doesn’t involve the TNG crew, the Ent-G, written by Terry, and directed by Frakes, I’m not going to bother. I’ve started to give up on modern trek. It’s one bad idea after another.

I was thinking Legacy too but why would a Legacy movie focus on JL and not Seven?

Not really feeling it. PIC S3 didn’t do that much for me, and Stewart lost his will to do new and experimental pretty early on in his own show. I get the desire to have Sir Patrick do more Trek projects while he’s still able, but the character of Picard has gotten three send-offs so far, and “All Good Things” is still the best of them.

So, someone is writing a script. Paramount has taught me to not get excited until it’s greenlit and in production. I’m not sure what story is left to be told for Picard. I thought season 3 of Picard was a good ending for the character.

Yup. I can write a script. You’re never going to see it. We have only had about 8 scripts for Kelvin Trek 4, if you include Tarantinos in there.

Great to hear Picard might be coming back! A little confused tho how he could have gotten a script during the strikes?

I don’t remember the exact timing when the writers strike ended and I’m too lazy to look it up but it’s possible the script was written before the strike and they simply decided to send it to Stewart at that time.

That’s true. I guess I might be confusing the interview time with the time he got the script. My bad.

its gonna be a TNG reboot in the Kelvin universe. i think if they reboot TNG it would be fun to have Tom Hardy as Picard

Then they would’ve sent the script to Tom Hardy and not Patrick Stewart. 😉

They prob would have sent it to both lol. But Hardy would prob hard refuse.

Yeah but he said a reboot. But I guess old Picard can come through a black hole chasing the Borg from the 25th century because they want to assimilate a new universe and he meets his younger version played by Hardy on the Enterprise D whose parents were assimilated by the Borg when he was a kid.

I really love this idea! 😁

We also learn his younger version went from cadet to Captain in like a week and is now dating Guinan.

I should’ve stopped when I was ahead. ☹️

Ha ha, Picard Prime! I’m all for it. Just keep Abram’s out of it!

You left out a whole lot of unmotivated lens flare, but we get the gist.

Well we do know that ratings and star power are what drives productions and the three ongoing live action projects (SNW, S31 and now this movie) have the benefit of an Academy Award-winning lead (S31), and top 10 streaming ratings (SNW and Picard).

As someone already said, regarding the quality, it all comes down to the script. Of course who am I kidding, I will watch it no matter what haha.

This worries me. Picard is a character served best with the other TNG cast members. I did not like seasons 1 & 2 of Picard at all.

OK, so this looks like it is going to be a Picard-driven movie, unlike the reunion/ensemble cast S3 of Picard. I have significant concerns that Stewart playing Picard can still carry a movie where Picard is the primary character. I think most would agree that the last time he really excelled with an acting/physical/voice performance of the Captain Picard we all wanted to see was Season 1. It was pretty evident, starting in S2, that Stewart/Picard is slowing down, the voice doesn’t sound quite right, and that was covered up mostly in S3 given it was a full cast reunion season.

I’d much rather they do one-off TV movie with something new, or at least something that ties to the current series and characters versus another fan service reach with geriatric actors.

Legacy as a movie rather than a series? Or will it be Chis Pine meeting Patrick Stewart in a crossover movie.

I like your first idea. For the second idea, I’d be tempted to recast a younger Captain Picard who could support future movies.

I was sad when S3 of Picard ended. I liked it a lot. I love TNG era. A Picard movie isn’t needed, if they do it, I hope it’s awesome, but it ended on a high note already and I’m nervous to role the dice again.

I hope its being set in that one year gap in the finale so they can “borrow” the old girl again for a personal mission. Or she was held in Service during that year because of their heroic actions and is now on a good will tour under Captain Riker, whose dream has come true after all and supports Jean-Luc on his new adventure.

It wouldn’t have to be because of the heroic actions. Once again the fleet is decimated after the battle, we can assume the Excelsior was not the only ship which got fired upon. The 1701-D, along with Captain Riker might be needed for a lack of ships and captains.

It is INDEED!!!

It seems to me that Picard has had two wonderful finales with All Good Things and The Last Generation, both finales of series. He has had one horrible finale, Nemesis. Why risk it with another bad ending.

There is another captain out there who had a bad death. An actor who hasn’t reprised his role in 31 years, and who has way more energy than Patrick Stewart, who could only work part time on Picard.

Give us a Shatner movie.

The torch was passed in VI with Kirk’s final personal log as Captain of the Enterprise, and he had the best exit from the franchise with second star to the right. Generations was not necessary. It wasn’t a TOS film, and it wasn’t fair to the TNG cast because they couldn’t stand on their own. Stewart and Shatner had good chemistry and i thought Malcolm McDowell was brilliant, and the Dennis McCarthy score was one of the best. But the nexus made no sense and Kirk’s second death was unworthy of the character. I’d say for me it only about 30% of it worked.

I have often wondered if Leonard Nimoy as Spock would have added some humanity to the movie, he obviously hated the script refused to star in it or direct it. Kirk by himself without Bones and Spock doesn’t work for me. Chekov and Scotty didn’t have that closeness to him, they were fine officers but i never felt like they were Kirk’s brothers like those others.

What’s often missed with Generations, is that the Kirk/Scotty/Chekov trio help launch the new Enterprise…a bookend of sorts to the same trio ordering the original’s destruction in Search for Spock (a theme of death and rebirth). The same goes with Kirk dying from a fall, which bookends his near death at Yosemite in Final Frontier (themes are reversed: “rebirth” in the sense of being saved from death and then his ultimate demise). He died alone in the sense his ‘family’ – Bones, Spock – weren’t with him. I don’t know if the writers intended to pull on these specific threads, or if it just worked out that way. These moments (though very controversial) compliment these earlier scenes nicely when viewed in that context.

I hate that GEN was his last movie. I wish they would bring him back for the Tarantino trek and give him his S3 Picard. But, judging by their promotional posters, they don’t want to look back.

Something fractured the relationship between Shatner and the studio. Really a shame they did not work something out to get him involved in this new era of Star Trek.

Couldn’t just be one thing, given how often the studio heads change and the studio itself morphs. Has to be a whole series of disses (and yeah, I’d include not ponying up money for Shat to try fixing TFF in there, though why he didn’t just pay for it himself, I’ll never understand … even an elaborate fix-up job would still quite literally be horsefeed for him.)

New year, new script. See you next year.

I do think if this is a streaming movie then they are much more serious. The S31 movie is actually moving. But that’s what happens when your TV movie is probably only 10% of what a theatrical movie will cost. ;)

It could be another theatrical movie but considering how much time they been ‘working’ on the last Kelvin movie script, I refuse to believe they knocked one out so fast if the plan is to put it on the big screen. But I been wrong before. ;)

Stewart has been chatting up wanting one more TNG big screen adventure, and many are connecting those dots. But yes, the announcement is vague, so it could be a streamer as well. Or maybe even something a buddy handed off to him, and Sir Pat is just having a Michael Dorn/Simon Pegg moment with it.

But that’s what happens when your TV movie is probably only 10% of what a theatrical movie will cost. ;)

I’m pretty sure the S31 movie won’t cost anywhere in the $150-200 million range but at the same time I also doubt it’s going to be only $15 million. Unless they make it using mostly existing assets from DIS and SNW.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it cost in the 50- or 60-million-dollar range. I still don’t understand it, no one was asking for section 31. Just like no one asked for Starfleet Academy.

I’m curious if they will be good or like those forgettable short Treks that weren’t necessary to the other Star Trek media. Other than Calypso that was excellent.

Sorry for the slight tangent, but…

I’ve seen this argument of “no one asked for this” quite a few times, and while I definitely get why these project ideas may not appeal to everyone and I won’t argue against that (I’m skeptical myself with the Section 31 movie), this specific argument may honestly be my least favorite argument against new ideas. Though granted, I may be a bit biased because:

• DS9’s my favorite Star Trek show, but I can’t imagine anyone watching TOS and TNG and saying “You know what would be a good spin-off for these? A show where they don’t work on a Starship and go out exploring.”
• Lower Deck is my 2nd favorite of the new shows, and it’s hard to imagine people looking at Star Trek as a whole and thinking that’s the perfect franchise for an adult animated comedy.
• Prodigy is my favorite of the new shows, and… OK, it’s much easier to see someone asking for a more family-friendly series, especially after the more adult Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks. But how many people expected it to turn out as well as it did?

So for me, yes I get why people may be skeptical of certain ideas, but I don’t agree that just because “people didn’t ask for this,” it means they shouldn’t try new things, because sometimes you’ll be surprised by how well these unique ideas will land.

That complaint was well stated about Deep Space Nine, the show was so much better when they added the Defiant and Worf. Season 3 was an improvement 4 was when the show got good. I liked Captain Sisko over Commander Sisko.

No, DS9 was the one Trek show from that era that was hitting on all cylinders from day one. I can count the number of clunker episodes on one hand. Avery Brooks remains the single best actor in Trek from that era.

Not only that, I’ve been “asking” for an academy series since Harve Bennett first brought it up in the 1980’s, and I have other fan friends who also have expressed an interest in that concept over the years.

So there, I have just disproved completely that statement. :-)

Yeah, it could very well cost as much. Georgiou has her fans. Michelle Yeoh definitely has her fans. Plus, she’s now an Oscar winning, highly in-demand actress – who wants to do a Star Trek project. So I can definitely understand that P+ is eager to have S31. That said, the project has been in development for years and at some point switched from a full-fledged TV show to a single TV movie. So chances are they had trouble developing S31 into a concept that would sustain an ongoing series. Or maybe Yeoh no longer wanted the time commitment of a full series.

As for Short Treks: Especially the first badge was done to tide fans over the long wait between seasons. This was back when CBS All Access had far less content to keep people subscribed. Also, the first badge was done on the cheap, basically shot on the side between scenes of the actual production all on existing sets. They probably spent a little bit more on the second badge. They also used Short Treks testing bed to try out things. Mike McMahan first got to write a Short Trek before they gave him his own show. Short Treks also tried out going animated before Lower Decks and Prodigy did it as full shows (of course, TAS had come before any of it). Funnily, a friend of mine enjoyed the Short Treks more than Discovery back at the time.

I have been “asking” for an academy series since Harve Bennett first brought it up in the 1980’s, and I have other fan friends who also have expressed an interest in that concept over the years.

Speak for yourself. I’m perfectly good with S31 and Academy moving forward.

Wow very interesting news! I am on the fence over the idea. On one hand I agree with people that Picard got a great ending in The Last Generation. Matalas specifically said he wanted to do that season just to wipe away the buzzkill Nemesis turned out to be and why mess with that? Fans seem to still love it. I just checked IMDB and it still has a 9.4 rating. That’s the rating it got after it aired almost 9 months later. Same time though, that’s probably another reason why it’s being considered BECAUSE what great fanfare season 3 got obviously. If people hated it, I doubt we would be here. And I was NEVER convinced that would be end regardless and that they would always try to find a way to bring him and the others back. If so, I just cross my fingers it will be worth it.

But reading some of the posts, I’m always surprised other people are surprised over these type of announcements lol. I’m certainly not claiming I thought another TNG/Legacy movie was in the works, but I have always been under the belief that nothing is off the table either. I have a feeling everything under the sun is being considered one way or the other. Maybe some more serious than others but they are probably constantly thinking up proposals that would get fans interested or excited about what’s to come. I wouldn’t be shocked if a Janeway movie is being knocked around or an Enterprise revival or a Bashir show. I bet lots of ideas are thrown around all the time, but this is one of the few that made it to script stage which means they are at least serious about it, but how many Kelvin scripts are collecting dust somewhere lol.

That said, Chris Pine has said he’s never read a single script for the next movie while they are sending Stewart one to read and get his input on. That tells you how clout Stewart has AND that they are actually serious at least.

But yeah, who knows? And I think it will ultimately be a streaming movie because they wrote one mighty fast lol. And I doubt Paramount has the motivation to produce any Trek movie on the big screen, but I’m prepared to be proven wrong if this is meant to go to the theaters. Maybe we will get a movie for the 60th after all!

They aren’t serious about making a movie in July of 2026 it will have been ten years since the last one. I’m sick of the news every 2 months, the mountain of screenplays and then they go off and make another Transformers or Mission Impossible instead.

No they aren’t. I’m so sick of even discussing it. I’m discussing this because at least it’s something different lol. And we know nothing about it, so who knows? But at least they haven’t announced it over a pressed conference just to troll everyone. That was the great thing about Picard season 3, not only did they surprise us the TNG cast was actually coming back, but they had already shot it so we weren’t just being fooled over it like the movies.

I’m not going to overthink this idea until we learn something beyond they sent Stewart a script to read. Writing one isn’t the hard part, it seems to be everything else these days.

In the end, even though they want to talk about a Trek movie, Paramount knows in general, Trek series will succeed, and Trek movies are so-so at best. The shows generate merch sales, the movies not so much.

Even the streaming movies – they have spent years talking about S31, and going to spend a year making it, – and we will watch it on Paramount + and maybe watch it a couple times – meanwhile people will be on the 3-4th rewatch of SNW. The movies will be forgotten- none will be as good or remembered as the first 4 TOS movies.

People love nostalgia and fan service, that’s the only reason Picard S3 has a high user rating. Strip that away and there’s very little if anything left.

Saw the interview, nothing is stated that this is a new Star Trek script with Picard. Patrick was talking about what it was like to bring his performing to the television stage and while Star Trek was the context, it wasn’t his topic. From there he segued into getting a new part to play that was written for him specifically. No mention of Picard, the character. The podcaster wanted to stay focused on Trek, but Patrick was taking about his career. Naturally, a non-Trek script would be “a little bit different from what we’ve seen with Picard”. Truth remains to be seen, but this article’s author merely interpreted what they wanted to hear.

It’s possible all the click bait sites are jumping the gun a bit.

Let me guess… Jean-Luc Picard has to take on the Borg. Again.

It’s either Borg or Soongs. Take your pick.

“After we finished recording our seven seasons of Next Generation we made four Star Trek movies of varying qualities, the best one being directed by Jonathan Frakes.”

That’s what Stewart said. People assume he’s referring to First Contact but Frakes, of course, also directed Insurrection ;-)

It’d be hard to top S3, but I’m okay with it as long as it’s just part of my Par+ sub. Bring it on… I think it’s also a business move on Par + as well. Producing some movies throughout the year may be cheaper vs. three separate series at 10 eps each.

Don’t do it, Patrick! It’s a trap!

Ah, dont like it. Its enough old Trek now. Lets do new things.

Star Trek XIV: The Search for the Enterprise-E.

Just give us Legacy.

Make it about the Enterprise exploring the galaxy and the human condition. There, that’s the foundation of all good Trek in my humble opinion.

Forget epic space battles, and fakaxy ending monsters. That’s for you know, Star Wars.

Jean-Luc Picard, don’t you mean the Patrick Stewart show.

Yes, exactly.

What might get me excited at this point is if they got a fresh batch of scriptwriters who are proven to be particularly good and creative (for whatever new project). Maybe some successful science fiction book authors. And add some passionate Star Trek geeks from the internet into the mix, to guard the canon cohesion.

Michael Chabon has more awards than most. Pulitizer, Nebula and Hugo. Fans hated his work on Picard.

I don’t think we saw what he wanted us to see. Or not the way he wanted us to see it. That’s what happens in someone else’s sandbox, quite unfortunately.

Especially when production is such a shambles that scripts are being written before the actual story has been hammered out. I suspect we were seeing no one at their best under those circumstances.

There were a few interviews back at the time where it sounded like the show had too many cooks trying to pull the show into different directions. Chabon owned some of the controversial decisions (e.g. I think killing off Picard was his idea) but for others it seems his hand was forced.

The problem with getting famous/successful science fiction authors to write for Star Trek is that playing in the Star Trek sandbox comes with a lot of rules. There’s a whole lot of “canon” that is more important to some fans than getting a good story. So I can imagine many authors simply don’t want to limit themselves to fitting into that box and will rather write something else where they have more freedom. TOS hired some famous sci-fi writers at the time but that was when Star Trek was still very much an open book and very little had been established about the world. And even those people got their stories rewritten, which a famous author probably would simply accept today.

I guess we also see that more and more with the shows. Many of the canon violations that happen are probably not mistakes because the writers didn’t know better but they are conscious decisions because the writers thought it would make their stories better.

I love Patrick as an actor. I love Picard the character and I love TNG cast, but this is a bridge too far for me. For waaaaayyyy too long now Star Trek as a franchise has been stuck in the past and unable to grow and tell new stories. The stories of the future worlds and adventures in which these characters exist are being diluted by fan service, and fans who frankly can’t grow up, or are mentally stunted by the desire to live by canon. It’s not just Star Trek drowning this way. Star Wars, DCU, MCU they’re all eating themselves because they simply can’t challenge the status quo, and try tell new stories in new settings.

YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! BRING BACK DATA TOO PLEASE WITH THE ENTIRE TNG CAST!!! And please answer the question if Data still got his super physical strength…This remained unanswered. I hope he still got it

I agree. We need more Data. Maybe the bad guy can be a relative of Data, and be played by Spiner.

It should be a movie sequel to the episode ‘A Fistful of Data’s’. A Few Data’s More.

As soon as they announced a sequel to 48HRS (which was something like the weekend after it hit theaters), I was CERTAIN that they would call it FOR A FEW HOUR MORE. Was bitterly disappointed when the sequel showed up years later with a lame ANOTHER 48 HRS title (then I saw the movie and was even more disappointed.)

If you listen to the end of the (very good) interview, Stewart confirms the film will feature the whole TNG cast.

NOW I KNOW WHY PARAMOUNT DID NOT THROW AWAY THE ENTERPRISE D BRIDGE 😁😁😁😁🙏🙏🙏🤠🤠🤠🥳🥳🥳

I really enjoyed PIC S1. There were elements of S2 that I really liked. S3 I loved, and not just for the nostalgia; I really felt it moved all of the TNG characters forward in time in some unexpected and satisfying ways. After the Borg are destroyed, we skip ahead a year. Picard gets to watch his grown son take his first post aboard Captain Seven’s Enterprise . When I watch the ending, I don’t picture a Picard movie, or even another TNG movie.

Sure, I’d love to see a few of them again, maybe working with legacies from DS9 and VOY … but I’d really rather see a Captain Seven series (hopefully not titled Legacy ). Jack and Sidney are on the Ent-G, so they could see Stewart, McFadden, and Burton guest star in the pilot episode. Otherwise, let’s move on. “… All Good Things” and “The Last Generation” were very satisfying conclusions for the TNG crew as a whole.

I believe it was Kurtzman who said he would like to do future one-off P+ exclusive Trek films (like the upcoming S31 project) … maybe they can stick this project there.

It all sounds so desperate, unnecessary and a little bit sad.

Am I the only one who felt like Picard s3 was overrated? I mean, yeah, it was decent and mostly enjoyable, but people talked about it like it cured cancer or something. It was a step in the right direction but it certainly wasn’t some peak of quality.

…I believe it to be the peak of quality for these showrunners. What Trek could be in the hands of a company other than SH, we can only guess.

I enjoyed it mostly for being a TNG reunion which is what I wanted to see since S1 of the show.

If this new script that Patrick Stewart mentioned is for a P+ movie, then I am enthusiastic for that. In addition to that, I would also like to see a “Project Phoenix” movie with a Kirk. Not necessarily Shatner’s Kirk.

They should definitely follow up on this. Project Phoenix could be so much more than just a PIC S3 Easter egg. I would throw Shatner in if possible.

No, you’re not. It was well done as fan service, but there really isn’t much more to say about it than that.

lol no you’re not the only one.

Screen Rant

Picard almost let a planet be destroyed to preserve star trek: tng's prime directive.

Data helps Captain Picard see that even Starfleet's most important rule sometimes needs to be broken on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

• It's not always easy to follow the Prime Directive, especially when lives are at stake.
• The crew of the Enterprise must grapple with moral dilemmas that challenge Starfleet's rules.
• Sometimes, the right thing to do may mean breaking the Prime Directive for the greater good.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) always strives to uphold the Prime Directive on Star Trek: The Next Generation , and he once almost destroyed a planet to avoid violating Starfleet's most important rule. The Prime Directive has been around since Star Trek: The Original Series and states that Starfleet officers must not interfere with developing pre-warp cultures. While this rule has been interpreted in many different ways throughout Star Trek's history, it remains an important rule that every Starfleet Captain must do their best to adhere to. Although the Prime Directive sounds good in principle, it often raises complicated questions.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 15, "Pen Pals," Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) violates the United Federation of Planets' Prime Directive by communicating with a young alien girl named Sarjenka (Nikki Cox). When Data realizes that volcanic activity will soon render Sarjenka's planet, Drema IV, uninhabitable, he tells Captain Picard about the situation. Picard questions Data's decision to contact Sarjenka and then calls his senior officers together to review their options. While some of the crew members argue that they must do everything they can to save the planet and its people, Picard points out that the Prime Directive would suggest they let nature take its course.

10 Times Star Trek Was Right To Break The Prime Directive

Captain picard almost put star trek's prime directive above saving a planet, it all started with a simple question from a little girl: "is anybody out there".

In a captivating Star Trek: The Next Generation discussion in Picard's quarters regarding Sarjenka's situation, Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) argue that they cannot allow the people on her planet to die. Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) stands firmly on the side of noninterference, and Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) points out that it would be the "height of hubris" to interfere with a potential "cosmic plan." Because of his friendship with Sarjenka, Data may have a personal stake in the matter, but he rightly points out that "the Dremans are not a subject for philosophical debate. They are a people."

'Oh, Data. Your whisper from the dark has now become a plea. We cannot turn our backs.' - Captain Picard

The conversation goes in circles, but in the end, and despite the fact that it will mean the death of millions of people, Captain Picard orders Data to stop communicating with Sarjenka and her planet. However, just as Data is about to sever the connection, Sarjenka's young voice comes through the speaker. Picard cannot ignore the little girl's cry for help, and he reverses his decision saying: "Oh, Data. Your whisper from the dark has now become a plea. We cannot turn our backs." While TNG's understanding of the Prime Directive has improved since season 1, saving Drema IV should have been the obvious course of action from the beginning.

After Data's interactions with Sarjenka and her brief visit to the USS Enterprise-D, Dr. Pulaski erases the young girl's memories. While this decision, too, is somewhat questionable, it ensures Drema IV remains unaware of the Enterprise's interference.

Star Trek's Prime Directive Works Best As A Guideline, Not A Strict Rule

Even if data's interference changed drema iv, is a changed civilization not better than a destroyed one.

While it makes sense in certain situations, the Prime Directive does not work when strictly applied to every planet and scenario. In the situation with Drema IV, for example, Data had already muddied the waters by communicating with Sarjenka in the first place , and averting a natural disaster hardly seems like something that would negatively change the course of a civilization. "Pen Pals" marks one of the few times in TNG when Data and Picard are even temporarily on opposite sides of an argument, and it's difficult to believe Picard would have gone through with his decision to let the planet die.

In the end, Picard does acknowledge that Data reminded him "that there are obligations that go beyond duty."

Understandably, Starfleet would want to prevent officers from interfering too much in pre-warp cultures, as futuristic technology would likely seem like magic to them. Later TNG episodes, such as season 3's "Who Watches the Watchers" will tackle this idea when a primitive civilization comes to view Captain Picard as a god. The situation in "Pen Pals," however, should not have been up for debate, as it was fairly easy for the Enterprise to interfere without alerting anyone from the planet. Star Trek: The Next Generation often tackles complex moral issues and "Pen Pals" represents one of the few times Captain Picard almost ends up on the wrong side.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+

Star Trek: The Next Generation

What Happened To Star Trek: Picard's Other Borg Queen Explained By Showrunner

• Agnes Jurati's Borg Queen created confusion in Star Trek: Picard season 2, but they weren't the evil Borg Collective, just a small and separate group.
• Initially intended as a payoff for Picard season 2, Jurati's Borg wasn't meant to be a long-term storyline.
• Ideas of Jurati's Borg Queen appearing in Picard season 3's finale were considered but ultimately scrapped.

Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas delved into the confusion about Picard season 2's benevolent Borg Queen, formerly known as Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill), and how she was considered for a Picard season 3 appearance. Picard season 2 saw Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his friends travel back in time to the 21st century to repair the past that had been altered by Q (John de Lancie). After the original Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) helped Picard and his motley crew travel back in time, she assimilated Jurati. The Borg Queen and Agnes merged into a hybrid Queen and formed a new kind of Borg Collective to protect the United Federation of Planets.

As reported by TrekMovie , Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas joined the Master Replicas Collectors Club for a Zoom chat where he discussed, in-depth, the confusion surrounding Agnes Jurati's Borg Queen and her Borg Collective in Star Trek: Picard season 2's finale . Read his quotes below:

Jurati’s Borg, there is a misconception that they are the Borg in general, that the Borg were good [after season 2], which would have undone Wolf 359, which would have undone Picard, and none of the future they came back to would have looked the same. I was off working on season 3 as those final [season 2] episodes were written. And so we were reading scenes that didn’t end up getting shot. There was a brief scene with Jurati in which she explained that she stayed out of history’s way, and they were a small collective of Borg, but they’re not the Borg of tens of billions of drones or anything like that.

So while Jurati Borg was always going to be the payoff to [season 2], it was never really intended to be a longer-running thing. At the last minute, we added the thing where there was the hole that was going to open up and destroy—they added that to give a burst of action to the [season 2] finale, to give her a reason to do all of this. So that started to become retrofit into, 'Hey, could this be something for season 3?' But we were already way down the line on what we were doing with [season 3]. So you could say that she was guarding this thing. We did have a line on the Enterprise-D from Riker—when he talks about the Borg transwarp conduit at Jupiter and that the one that Jurati was guarding was a distraction, the Queen’s way of saying, 'Go over here.'… We had a whole thing about it. But when we got to the cut, it was just like this big exposition dump that was like, nobody cares. His son is on board, Starfleet is assimilated. There’s this giant thing, and now we are retrofitting and explaining the Jurati Borg.

Star Trek: The Full History Of The Borg Queen Explained

Jurati's borg queen almost returned in star trek: picard season 3 finale, picard's season 3 finale could have had a battle of the borg collectives..

Terry Matalas also revealed that one plan for the Star Trek: Picard season 3 finale involved Agnes Jurati's Borg Collective arriving to save the day. In another quote from the interview mentioned above, Matalas said:

Let’s say you want to do it in the final sequence—and we talked about it, having Jurati and her Borg show up. Well, you have to get Alison [Pill]. Alison is not free. You’ve got to now build those Borg assets. And it sort of took away from what we were doing with Seven of Nine and what we were doing with the Enterprise-D and how they’re the last resort, and to then have the Borg cavalry show up and fight other Borg just seemed bad to us.

Ultimately, Star Trek: Picard was a story not just about Jean-Luc Picard, but also about the journey of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) from former Borg drone to Starfleet Captain. While it would have been cool to see two opposing Borg Collectives fight one another, the arrival of the "Borg calvary" would have undermined the importance of the USS Enterprise-D, and taken away from Seven's journey. Regardless, Agnes Jurati and her Borg Collective are out there somewhere and the possibility remains open for them to appear in a future Star Trek project.

Source: TrekMovie.com

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Terry Matalas

Why Hasn't 'Star Trek: Legacy' Been Greenlit? CBS CEO Explains Paramount's Plans

CBS' CEO George Cheeks isn't ruling it out, but "it’s really about the cadence and the timeline of it."

The Big Picture

• Star Trek: Picard spin-off of Legacy has not been greenlit yet.
• CBS CEO George Cheeks confirms Star Trek is still a priority for Paramount.
• Cheeks is not ruling out the possibility of a Legacy series but explains that it's all about timing.

Paramount+ has a number of Star Trek projects in the works, but the proposed Star Trek: Legacy spin-off of Picard has yet to get the green light — despite the wishes of fans and creatives. A new interview with CBS CEO George Cheeks sheds some light on the matter, suggesting that the go-ahead for any future Trek projects is all about timing. In a conversation with Vulture , when asked about an official go-ahead for Legacy and the future of Trek at the streamer, given the recent cancellation of Star Trek: Discovery and the reassignment of Star Trek: Prodigy to Netflix, Cheeks gave the following answer:

"Star Trek remains one of the most important franchises for Paramount Global, and Paramount+ specifically. There’s so much great opportunity with the franchise, and it’s really about the cadence and the timeline of it. We don’t want to offer up all these amazing premium drama series at once. We want to time it out appropriately. Luckily, we have this incredible partner in Alex Kurtzman , and we all work together to sort of manage long-range planning across many years, to figure out what’s the right cadence for dropping new Star Trek series. So there’s a lot we’re focused on, but it should not suggest to you [a scaling back]. There is a tremendous amount of focus and prioritizing of the Star Trek franchise."

There are currently more official Star Trek projects in the works than ever before. Two live-action series are in production; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently filming its third season , and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is in the pre-production stage. The fifth season of the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks is in the works , as is the first-ever Star Trek TV movie, Section 31 . Prodigy , although it is no longer available on Paramount, is currently completing post-production on its second season, which will be released on Netflix this year.

What Is 'Star Trek: Legacy'?

While much of Picard 's final season focused on reuniting the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation for one final adventure to save the Federation, the series also set up a potential "next Next Generation " of characters who could propel the franchise into the future.

The series ended with Seven of Nine ( Jeri Ryan ), a former Borg drone introduced in Star Trek: Voyager , being given command of the newly-rechristened USS Enterprise-G . Other crew members include Picard characters Raffi Musiker ( Michelle Hurd ), Jack Crusher ( Ed Speleers ), the son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher; and Geordi La Forge's daughter, Sidney LaForge ( Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut ). The series' final episode ended on a potential teaser, as the godlike Q ( John De Lancie ) appears before Crusher , telling him that his "trial," much like the one he subjected Picard to over the course of Next Generation 's seven seasons, had just begun.

Picard's third-season showrunner, Terry Matalas , has noted his eagerness to continue the story with a Legacy spin-off, as have members of the show's proposed cast . Fans, likewise, have responded with a letter-writing campaign to Paramount. Speleers is also confident that the series will happen if fans stay "noisy about it."

Star Trek: Legacy 's future at Paramount remains unclear. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Star Trek: Picard

Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.

Watch on Paramount+

Star Trek Theory: Picard Retconned the Divisive Enterprise Series Finale

One shot of the NX-01 in Star Trek: Picard suggests the Star Trek: Enterprise series finale didn't happen the way fans think - and that may be good.

• Picard Season 3 slyly changes Star Trek history by introducing an NX-01 redesign, challenging Enterprise's controversial finale.
• The inclusion of the NX-01 refit in Picard hints at a major retcon in Enterprise's finale, suggesting a different fate for Trip Tucker.
• The theory that Trip survived the final mission creates a fresh perspective on the Star Trek universe, potentially altering canon.

With all the big action and high emotions in Star Trek: Picard Season 3, fans can be forgiven for missing a detail in Episode 9, "Võx" that could retcon the divisive series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise . The last series of "second-wave" Star Trek , its sudden cancelation led to an ignominious end not just for the show but for that entire era of the franchise.

During Picard Season 3, Episode 6 "The Bounty," a number of ships appeared in the Fleet Museum, including the NX-01 from Enterprise. However, when the heroes returned to the Fleet Museum in "Võx," pop culture critic and YouTuber Jessie Earl noticed something about that early-era Starfleet vessel. Rather than the design seen in the series with a saucer section and two nacelles, it was the "NX-01 refit," a redesign meant to debut in Season 5 if the series hadn't been canceled. This means the new NX-01 is as officially canon as anything in Star Trek can be. Since the NX-01 hadn't been redesigned by Enterprise 's finale, Earl suggested Picard implies that episode was not the true end of the first Enterprise 's mission. This theory is critical because it's about more than which ship was correct; it's about saving the life of a fan-favorite character.

Updated March 18, 2024, by Joshua M. Patton: In the year since Picard's final season debuted, there has been no more information released about what the inclusion of the NX-class refit means to Star Trek canon. So, the notion that "Trip Tucker lives" is still very much in the realm of "fan theory." Yet, the idea the NX-01 Enterprise refit means the ship seen in the series finale is inaccurate is a strong theory. This article has been updated to include more information about the Enterprise finale, "These Are the Voyages" and comport to CBR's current formatting standards.

Why the Star Trek: Enterprise Finale Was Controversial Among the Fans and Cast

The best star trek legacy character returns in 2023.

Star Trek: Enterprise producers tricked UPN into greenlighting a fourth season, so it wasn't really a surprsie the series was canceled that year. While Enterprise was the network's highest-rated show, UPN just didn't have enough reach to bring in the advertising dollars needed to sustain it. Since the finale for this series was going to be the end of an unprecedented 18-year run for Star Trek under Rick Berman, the producer wanted to make "a valentine" to the whole endeavor and the fans , according to a conversation he and Brannon Braga shared on the complete series home release. The only way to bring the 22nd Century cast into the 24th -- without time travel and changing Star Trek canon -- was to use the holodeck. However, this irked many of the Enterprise cast who felt they were being sidelined in their own finale. In another special features conversation, Braga and Bakula discussed the fight they had about this very subject.

Other actors, including Jonathan Frakes, felt uncomfortable with the decision, too, according to The Fifty-Year Mission - The Next 25 Years by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. Frakes said he agreed because he "always says 'yes'" to Star Trek , and that Scott Bakula was a gentleman on set. "I would have been so insulted. I don't think that was our finest hour," Frakes said. Actor Jeffery Combs, a mainstay in the universe but most notably the Andorrian commander Shran on Enterprise was less charitable. He said he believed Berman's choice to include The Next Generation was a way to remind the studio and the fans that he "had a successful" show in TNG . In the Enterprise special features, Braga apologizes more than once for the finale, though he admits he thought it was a "cool" idea at the time, including the death of Trip Tucker.

Still, the actors held no grudges. Along with Bakula's grace in welcoming the guest stars, the others in the cast spoke highly of their TNG co-stars. On an episode of The Shuttlepod Show with Frakes , former host and Malcom Reed actor Dominic Keating told the Riker actor he enjoyed working with him. He told him "one of the funnest days [he] had shooting [on the series] was with [Frakes] in that galley." While Star Trek is lousy with time-travel, there are no do-overs in real life. However, "The Bounty," may have stealthily retconned the Enterprise finale and Trip's death.

Theory: The Enterprise Finale Was Based on Faulty Historical Information

'keep being noisy': picard star provides star trek: legacy update.

Star Trek: Enterprise ended its voyage in 2005, but the NX-01 refit didn't debut until six years later in Doug Drexler's official Ships of the Line calendar. The redesign added the round deflector dish and body of the ship to the original -- bridging the gap between the NX-01 and the NCC-1701 Enterprise . That this version of the ship was at the Fleet Museum suggests the changes were made before the NX ships were decommissioned. As Earl explains , this means the ship the crew occupied in the finale was not the correct ship. It was a work of historical fiction.

What made the Enterprise finale so divisive was that it was technically an episode of The Next Generation . Riker and his wife Deanna Troi appeared, sharing scenes that take place during TNG Season 7, Episode 12, "The Pegasus." Troi suggested Riker use this holodeck program of the last mission of the original Enterprise to help make a tough decision. While the ship had undergone changes from what viewers were used to seeing, it didn't have an entirely new section. The NX-01 wasn't actually seen in the finale except on display monitors, but there was a scene in its shuttle bay. Since it wasn't redesigned, that suggests the ship in the holodeck program was not the accurate ship .

Earl also pointed out how Riker influenced events when he appeared as the ship's chef -- a character mentioned but never seen during the run of Enterprise . At the end of the episode, the vessel was boarded and Chief Engineer Trip Tucker died saving everyone. However, Earl noted a Star Trek novel called The Good Men Do , by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin, introduced the idea that Trip faked his death to go on an undercover mission involving Romulans. A simpler retcon of Trip's death is the holodeck program was just historical fiction or somehow inaccurate. Whatever the case, the redesigned ship means the holoprogram could've gotten more things wrong. It's a possibility Troi acknowledged when Riker noted that security officer Malcolm Reed was shorter than he expected.

Why Picard May Have Stealthily Retconned the Enterprise Finale

How liam shaw challenges war veteran tropes in star trek: picard season 3.

Star Trek: Enterprise was the second of the franchise's second-wave series to not be made for syndication. It debuted on the United Paramount Network (UPN), which failed and became half of The CW five years. Brannon Braga, showrunner for most of Enterprise , said in a conversation with the cast on the complete series home release that he regrets the story they told. He was a bit too hard on himself. It was a good episode of Star Trek , it was just a poor series finale for Enterprise . In their last episode, rather than actual human beings with agency, the crew of the NX-01 were just holographic action figures.

In "Võx," Worf made a casual reference to the USS Enterprise -E's destruction by saying, "That was not my fault." Picard showrunner Terry Matalas tweeted that this was essentially a layup for Star Trek novel writers. Perhaps the NX-01 refit inclusion was another or, as Earl suggested, a nod to The Good Men Do . Matalas worked on Enterprise and had an on-camera appearance in the series finale as an Enterprise-D crewman, walking past Troi as she got on a turbolift -- so he may like the Enterprise series finale just as it is.

Since this is all an off-screen story and headcanon, it is possible that the NX-01 refit was a different ship than the first Enterprise . It might be in the Fleet Museum just so Doug Drexler's amazing design made it on-screen just once. Yet if any Star Trek series finale could use a do-over, it's Enterprise , and even the guy who wrote it agrees. As Earl says, this Picard theory is a great way to live life knowing Trip survived the final mission. But, if a fan happens to love the finale? Then it would take more than the appearance of a ship to change that. It's been a long road from Enterprise to Picard , and it's nice the NX-01 refit design got to make the journey.

Star Trek: Picard

Aided by the crew of the U.S.S. Titan, Seven of Nine, and other old friends, Picard makes a shocking discovery that will alter his life forever and puts him on a collision course with the most cunning enemy he's ever encountered.