Patrick Stewart is returning to Star Trek

[Ome]

Patrick Stewart really is returning to Star Trek.

After previous rumours, it has been confirmed that a new CBS All Access series focusing on Jean-Luc Picard is happening, which "will tell the story of the next chapter of Picard's life".

Stewart confirmed the news at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention, saying: "I will always be very proud to have been a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course.

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"It is, therefore, an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over."

He added: "During these past years, it has been humbling to hear many stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership.

"I feel I'm ready to return to him for the same reason – to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often very dark times.

"I look forward to working with our brilliant creative team as we endeavor to bring a fresh, unexpected and pertinent story to life once more."

The new series will not be a reboot of The Next Generation, though the creative team will include Star Trek: Discovery's Alex Kurtzman.

"With overwhelming joy, it's a privilege to welcome Sir Patrick Stewart back to the Star Trek fold," he said (via The Hollywood Reporter).

"For over 20 years, fans have hoped for the return of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and that day is finally here. We can't wait to forge new ground, surprise people, and honor generations both new and old."

The team will also include James Duff, Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon and Kirsten Beyer, though a title and a release date are yet to be announced.

 

[Seaviewer]

As I said in another thread, I'm luke-warm about a return for Picard but I like that it will finally push the prime timeline beyond Nemesis.

 

[TJames03]

Well, we will be seeing the Federation nearly 1,000 years into the future in “Discovery” in Season 03, but I’m glad we will see Picard and 7 of 9 without the poison pen of Berman and Braga!

 

[Seaviewer]

Romulan Warrior Nuns!

I've long thought that the Romulans were potentially more interesting and more nuanced than the Klingons so I'm pleased to see them featuring here.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

I just hope they don't bend history again and it comes out that the romulans somehow "invented" the borg.
That would not only be very lame, but also (and again) not possible by the established timeline for various reasons.
What i like about ST: Picard is that it get's very soapy at times, for example with Raffi and her son or that stupid Legolas character and even 7 of 9. I love space soaps!

 

[Seaviewer]

I don't think that there'll be any bending of history - not intentionally anyway. It's very much set in the prime universe and the showrunners have an obvious love for Trek and - more importantly - the knowledge to back it up.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

Well, some of these people did that on Discovery almost weekly, and to such an extend that the only way out of their own mess was now a huge timejump. I hope they learned their lesson.
Don't mess with the past and instead concentrate on the present and create your own future, so you don't have to come up with parallel universes or multiverses or similar bs to back up the crappy writing.
At least with "ST: Picard" Trek finally came home to where it belongs: in the 24th century after so many years of bullsh*tty past-bending.

 

[Seaviewer]

I haven't seen Discovery. I lost interest when they said it was going to be a prequel. You're right - there's always a danger there when trying to fit something new into an established timeline. Going forward is always the best option.

 

[Seaviewer]

Just in case everyone hasn't seen the finale...

Spoiler

Picard's survival didn't really come as a surprise since season 2 had alraedy been announced and the golem solution was well telegraphed. His transformation into an android does make for a nice symmetry, though. The technology has evidently come a long way since Roger Corby tried to do the same thing in the original series.
I hope that Seven remains part of the team going forward. The final moments leave some interesting threads dangling.

 

[Zable]

Haven't watched ST Picard. Mulling it, but lukewarm. Is it worth an Amazon subscription?

With hindsight, I suspect Discovery being both prequel and sequel was planned from the get-go and not the result of correcting 'errors'; they didn't want to publicly give everything away at the beginning. Just a hunch, 'cos I haven't kept up with all the news since end season 2.

 

[Michael Torrance]

Haven't watched ST Picard. Mulling it, but lukewarm. Is it worth an Amazon subscription?

With hindsight, I suspect Discovery being both prequel and sequel was planned from the get-go and not the result of correcting 'errors'; they didn't want to publicly give everything away at the beginning. Just a hunch, 'cos I haven't kept up with all the news since end season 2.

I like Picard a lot more than I like Discovery, because it does have a very tightly woven narrative. At the same time, Picard is the farthest away from the Star Trek vision than any of the franchise's shows: I mean, it might as well be very well narrated fan fiction about a dark alternate universe where the Federation's altruism and all of that future humanistic optimism is gone. Some of Stewart's and others' interviews were trying to attribute that to "the current dark situation" but I find that laughable. Is this current situation darker than in the 1960s, the cold war, and the Cuban Missile Crisis that almost led to a nuclear holocaust? And yet the original Star Trek came out exactly then.

 

[Zable]

To your question, I say no.
And, I think it was no coincidence that the original series was made when it was. Gene Roddenberry was part of a group that was receiving messages from off planet. I know that because I stumbled across his name in a book which had transcripts of some of the conversations. I've forgotten the content as it's been 20 years since I read that book. I hope to lay hands on it again someday. I suspect there were a lot more such conversations in which he participated that weren't published. I believe it was that experience of non-human contact via channelled messages which lead Roddenberry to create Star Trek, except it wasn't all science fiction in his mind. The altruism and optimism for the future that he got out of those channelled Q&A sessions transferred to his work. The other developers of the franchise have never had a connection to the extra-terrestial group to which Roddenberry was connected, and didn't/don't desire to be steadfast to his envisionings.

 

[TJames03]

Gene Roddenberry was an absolute monster behind the scenes. This guy gave us some of the worst Star Trek episodes, ever.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I rather liked Picard season one.

I'm looking forward to the following season especially as Q is returning.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I've just seen a video on YouTube which has confirmed that the Enterprise E won't be seen in Star Trek: Picard season three although the sovereign class itself will.

There are rumours that the Enterprise D will make an appearance, with the explanation that the saucer section which crashed on Veridian III was salvaged on the orders of Starfleet Command.

 

[Seaviewer]

I just watched the season 2 finale last night. A genuine tearjerker.
There are rumours of a Seven and Raffi series. I'd love to see that.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

There are rumours that the Enterprise D will make an appearance, with the explanation that the saucer section which crashed on Veridian III was salvaged on the orders of Starfleet Command.

Wow, that would be really awesome, because the D is my alltime favourite ship!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Wow, that would be really awesome, because the D is my alltime favourite ship!

It's my all time favourite ship too.