So, the big (if already heavily rumoured news) from the Star Trek Las Vegas weekend is that Patrick Stewart is returning to Star Trek as Jean-Luc Picard. It's been 16 years since his last appearance in the role in Star Trek Nemesis and 24 years since The Next Generation went off the air. The new project is going to be a TV series streaming on CBS All Access, just like Discovery, and presumably also will be on Netflix for viewers outside the US. Alex Kurtzmann, who is now the new showrunner on Discovery as well as one of the scriptwriters on the reboot films, is the creator of this new series, so he is now the overall supervisor of the Trek universe.
A lot of fans, especially those who aren't keen on the new movies or Discovery, are enthusiastically calling this a return to the Star Trek they remember. I think they're going to be very disappointed. It's not 1994 anymore. Television and Star Trek have moved on, in ways that not everyone enjoys. Whatever this latest series turns out to be, it's going to be a modern series made with contemporary sensibilities. Stewart himself suggests something very different to what's gone before. Equally, lots of fans are excited about Trek travelling further into the future again, after over a decade of prequels, but this is still a revival of an existing character and will likely explore established parts of the universe.
According to the announcement, it's twenty years on from the last time we saw the character, and he is an older, very different man than when we left him. Stewart talks about how these are different times we live in, but also how he hopes Picard can shine "a reforming light" on them.
I suspect what we're going to get will be very much in the spirit of Star Trek Beyond, balanced between the optimistic view of the future of the originals and TNG and the darker, more problematic view of humanity of more recent series. Stylistically, we'll probably see something very like Discovery. If it's exactly twenty years since Nemesis (which it may not be) it will take place in the year 2399. Other than possible far future eras, the latest point we've seen in Star Trek onscreen has been flashbacks/forwards in Star Trek 2009, which saw the destruction of Romulus in 2387. We're going to be looking at a turbulent time at the beginnings of a new century.
There have been several potential looks at the later life of Picard and the fate of the Galaxy post-Nemesis. Any of these could offer a clue to where things might be going in this new series.
The novelverse
Events post-Nemesis are particularly brutal for the Federation in the books, with a massive Borg invasion leading to millions of deaths, before the Borg are finally defeated for good (it's all rather complicated and runs over many books). Picard is forced to make some tough decisions and comes close to abandoning his principles when he orders the creation of an outlawed superweapon to destroy the invaders. On the personal front though, things are rather better for Picard. He marries his long-time love interest Dr. Beverley Crusher, and they even have a son (rather late in life, but then it is the 24th century).
Following these events, Picard does everything he can to stay in the captain's chair, but his diplomatic skills lead him to more political missions. While he helps maintain peace in the galaxy, he finds himself on the wrong side of important political figures in the Federation. It's made abundantly clear to him that he'll never become an admiral.
Star Trek Online
The MMORPG is set in 2409 onwards, a good ten years after the proposed setting for the new series. The background to the game lays out that in the 2380s, Picard was positioned as head of an anti-Borg taskforce, recruiting Seven of Nine. He then resigns from Starfleet and becomes Federation ambassador to Vulcan. He retires in 2402, aged 97, and moves back to France.
Star Trek: Countdown
In the sort-of-nearly officially canonical comicbook prequel to the 2009 movie, Picard is also Federation ambassador to Vulcan, still working closely with Spock who is now a Romulan citizen working towards reunification. Then, in 2387, Romulus is destroyed and Spock is swept back in time, presumed dead. Incidentally, the Enterprise-E is now under the command of the resurrected Data. Given that Alex Kurtzmann was directly involved with the storyline for Countdown, it's a safe bet that at least some of these elements might be incorporated into the new series.
"All Good Things..."
The only glimpse of Picard's later life we've had onscreen was in the final episode of The Next Generation. A lot of what we see in the potential future cannot come to pass in the "real" timeline - the Enterprise-D is destroyed in Star Trek Generations, and Deanna Troi is distinctly not dead by the end of the 2370s - but some things might still be followed up. In this version of events (the year's uncertain but probably a few years earlier than the new series) Picard is now a retired ambassador, divorced from Beverley (now Captain Picard herself). The Klingons have conquered the Romulans, which could easily follow on from the destruction of Romulus described in the 2009 movie. Picard is also suffering from an Alzheimer's-like illness called Irumodic Syndrome.
Any of the above elements could make their way into the new series, or we could see something very different. One thing that has been made clear is that we shouldn't expect Picard to be captain anymore. This makes sense - if Picard was still captain he would have held the rank for over forty years. We could see him as admiral or even a fleet commander position. On the other hand, it's just as likely he'll have resigned from Starfleet. As described above, there's a general consensus that his diplomatic skills lead him to an ambassadorial role. Alternatively, Picard's other great love was archaeology, so perhaps he'll have moved into that field - either academically or even exploring the ruins of lost civilisations on other planets. I don't think we can expect anything too action oriented - Stewart is nearly eighty and his character is in his nineties. Perhaps, however, his years of experience result in his being called back into Starfleet when there's a new crisis.
Picard's links to Spock and the Romulan reunification project provide a possible situation for the new series. Romulus and Spock are both gone, likely leaving the Star Empire in turmoil and providing a very personal loss for Picard.
Whatever direction Stewart and Kurtzmann take for this series, there's one thing everyone agrees on: having Picard back is something to look forward to. At the very least, Patrick Stewart will make this series something worth watching.
A lot of fans, especially those who aren't keen on the new movies or Discovery, are enthusiastically calling this a return to the Star Trek they remember. I think they're going to be very disappointed. It's not 1994 anymore. Television and Star Trek have moved on, in ways that not everyone enjoys. Whatever this latest series turns out to be, it's going to be a modern series made with contemporary sensibilities. Stewart himself suggests something very different to what's gone before. Equally, lots of fans are excited about Trek travelling further into the future again, after over a decade of prequels, but this is still a revival of an existing character and will likely explore established parts of the universe.
According to the announcement, it's twenty years on from the last time we saw the character, and he is an older, very different man than when we left him. Stewart talks about how these are different times we live in, but also how he hopes Picard can shine "a reforming light" on them.
I suspect what we're going to get will be very much in the spirit of Star Trek Beyond, balanced between the optimistic view of the future of the originals and TNG and the darker, more problematic view of humanity of more recent series. Stylistically, we'll probably see something very like Discovery. If it's exactly twenty years since Nemesis (which it may not be) it will take place in the year 2399. Other than possible far future eras, the latest point we've seen in Star Trek onscreen has been flashbacks/forwards in Star Trek 2009, which saw the destruction of Romulus in 2387. We're going to be looking at a turbulent time at the beginnings of a new century.
There have been several potential looks at the later life of Picard and the fate of the Galaxy post-Nemesis. Any of these could offer a clue to where things might be going in this new series.
The novelverse
Events post-Nemesis are particularly brutal for the Federation in the books, with a massive Borg invasion leading to millions of deaths, before the Borg are finally defeated for good (it's all rather complicated and runs over many books). Picard is forced to make some tough decisions and comes close to abandoning his principles when he orders the creation of an outlawed superweapon to destroy the invaders. On the personal front though, things are rather better for Picard. He marries his long-time love interest Dr. Beverley Crusher, and they even have a son (rather late in life, but then it is the 24th century).
Following these events, Picard does everything he can to stay in the captain's chair, but his diplomatic skills lead him to more political missions. While he helps maintain peace in the galaxy, he finds himself on the wrong side of important political figures in the Federation. It's made abundantly clear to him that he'll never become an admiral.
Star Trek Online
The MMORPG is set in 2409 onwards, a good ten years after the proposed setting for the new series. The background to the game lays out that in the 2380s, Picard was positioned as head of an anti-Borg taskforce, recruiting Seven of Nine. He then resigns from Starfleet and becomes Federation ambassador to Vulcan. He retires in 2402, aged 97, and moves back to France.
Star Trek: Countdown
In the sort-of-nearly officially canonical comicbook prequel to the 2009 movie, Picard is also Federation ambassador to Vulcan, still working closely with Spock who is now a Romulan citizen working towards reunification. Then, in 2387, Romulus is destroyed and Spock is swept back in time, presumed dead. Incidentally, the Enterprise-E is now under the command of the resurrected Data. Given that Alex Kurtzmann was directly involved with the storyline for Countdown, it's a safe bet that at least some of these elements might be incorporated into the new series.
"All Good Things..."
The only glimpse of Picard's later life we've had onscreen was in the final episode of The Next Generation. A lot of what we see in the potential future cannot come to pass in the "real" timeline - the Enterprise-D is destroyed in Star Trek Generations, and Deanna Troi is distinctly not dead by the end of the 2370s - but some things might still be followed up. In this version of events (the year's uncertain but probably a few years earlier than the new series) Picard is now a retired ambassador, divorced from Beverley (now Captain Picard herself). The Klingons have conquered the Romulans, which could easily follow on from the destruction of Romulus described in the 2009 movie. Picard is also suffering from an Alzheimer's-like illness called Irumodic Syndrome.
Any of the above elements could make their way into the new series, or we could see something very different. One thing that has been made clear is that we shouldn't expect Picard to be captain anymore. This makes sense - if Picard was still captain he would have held the rank for over forty years. We could see him as admiral or even a fleet commander position. On the other hand, it's just as likely he'll have resigned from Starfleet. As described above, there's a general consensus that his diplomatic skills lead him to an ambassadorial role. Alternatively, Picard's other great love was archaeology, so perhaps he'll have moved into that field - either academically or even exploring the ruins of lost civilisations on other planets. I don't think we can expect anything too action oriented - Stewart is nearly eighty and his character is in his nineties. Perhaps, however, his years of experience result in his being called back into Starfleet when there's a new crisis.
Picard's links to Spock and the Romulan reunification project provide a possible situation for the new series. Romulus and Spock are both gone, likely leaving the Star Empire in turmoil and providing a very personal loss for Picard.
Whatever direction Stewart and Kurtzmann take for this series, there's one thing everyone agrees on: having Picard back is something to look forward to. At the very least, Patrick Stewart will make this series something worth watching.
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