It’s true, Patrick Stewart has been cast to reprise his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in an upcoming Star Trek series centered around the iconic character.
The show will be a CBS All Access program and “will tell the story of the next chapter of Picard’s life.”
In a surprise appearance at the recent Las Vegas Star Trek convention, Stewart announced the big news himself to a mass of excited Trekkies.
“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,” Stewart said. “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.”
Stewart added that in today’s current state of affairs, it seems like an appropriate time to bring back the calm and rational leadership qualities of Jean-Luc Picard back to the small screen. “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,” he said. “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.
