Patrick Stewart is returning to Star Trek. The man behind the legendary Captain Picard made the surprise announcement in Las Vegas at a Star Trek convention. His return will come nearly twenty years since his last outing as Picard in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis. He joined Alex Kurtzman on stage and confirmed rumors that have been swirling for months about his return to the franchise.
“With overwhelming joy, it’s a privilege to welcome Sir Patrick Stewart back to the Star Trek fold. 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,” said Alex Kurtzman who is now the man behind Star Trek for CBS.
“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,” said Stewart, who will also be an executive producer for the new series. “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. 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.”
Patrick Stewart first joined Star Trek: The Next Generation as Captain Picard in 1987. He continued in this role on television for all seven seasons of the show. During this time the show earned 19 Emmys and a Peabody Award. He would then continue with the role in four feature films.
Stewart will be joining Kurtzman, James Duff, Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth as executive producers. At this point, no scripts have been written yet. Ideas are just being discussed. The series will take place approximately 20 years after the events originally portrayed by Stewart. What he will be or be doing at that point remains to be seen. There are lots of possibilities that could be explored.
Alex Kurtzman just was signed to a $25 million overall deal with producers CBS Television Studios that included expanding the Star Trek world. This, on top of the announcement for this new show, appears to give a lot of hope for the future of Star Trek. What do you think of this announcement? What do you hope they will do with Picard as a character? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
