Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Star Trek are two things that practically go hand in hand, and yet, we never thought we’d be lucky enough to have them in the same vicinity ever again.
Nevertheless, for the first time since The Next Generation retired from the airwaves in 2002, Patrick Stewart’s Picard is making a comeback in what is arguably the best Star Trek news we’ve heard since Quentin Tarantino began pursuing his own R-rated spin on the classic franchise.
That project’s still a ways away from seeing the warm light of day – five or six years, based on early estimates – though Trekkies can at least take solace in the fact that Alex Kurtzman (Discovery) is pushing full steam ahead on Patrick’s Stewart’s Star Trek series. Mind you, it’s currently draped in a thick veil of secrecy, but let’s recap everything we know so far to ensure everyone’s up to speed.
First things first: this new-fangled Star Trek series will set up shop at CBS All Access, where it’ll share a roof with the ongoing Discovery. There are seemingly multiple Trek series in development, too, as Alex Kurtzman looks to dramatically expand the franchise’s horizons over the next two-to-three years.
There’s no known showrunner at the moment, either, though Kurtzman will likely have a big say in who gets the job. Akiva Goldsman, Discovery scribe Kristen Beyer, Michael Chabon, Heather Kadin, Trevor Roth, and The Next Generation‘s Rod Roddenberry are among the very long list of executive producers, as is Patrick Stewart himself.
Story-wise, there’ve been rumblings that Stewart’s second coming will follow Jean-Luc Picard as he takes his next steps in Starfleet, perhaps rising through the ranks to become a senior official like an admiral or a diplomat. And as The Daily Dot so rightly points out, while CBS is yet to name any directors for this newfangled series, Jonathan Frakes is practically a shoo-in, with characters from Deep Space Nine and Voyager expected to feature.
This is merely a tip of the iceberg, of course, as CBS is expected to roll out more details about Patrick Stewart’s return to Star Trek in the coming months. And we’ll be bringing you all the latest right here on WGTC.