Patrick Stewart isn’t ready to give up being Jean-Luc Picard.
The third season of the “Next Generation” spin-off “Picard” centered around the titular Starfleet captain ended in April of last year after successfully polarizing “Star Trek” fans. Many were turned off from the final season because it was very much a cookie-cutter carbon copy of the last two, relying heavily, once again, on attempting to remain suspenseful by applying a what’s-in-the-box?! style of storytelling.
But it turns out we may be seeing more of Jean-Luc. Stewart appeared recently on an episode of the podcast Happy Sad Confused, hosted by Josh Horowitz to discuss the experience of playing the role of Jean-Luc Picard.
“After we finished recording our seven seasons of ‘Next Generation’ we made four Star Trek movies of varying qualities, the best one being [‘First Contact’], directed by Jonathan Frakes. He was one of the people who had the most influence on me on the show because of his experience and his understanding of the complexities and how bringing different qualities onto the stage was very, very important in diversity and change,” Stewart said.
As he continued, however, Stewart made a surprise statement, saying that there was a “Star Trek” movie script being written with him in mind.
“So it’s an ongoing procedure for me. I heard only last night about a script that is being written, but written specifically with the actor, Patrick [Stewart], to play in it. And I’ve been told to expect to receive it within a week or so. I’m so excited because it sounds like the kind of project where the experimentation that I want to do will be essential for this kind of material. It’s good at 83…”
Related: Star Trek streaming guide: Where to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows online
The recording took place in November at about the time that Stewart was promoting his new memoir, “Making It So” and this is the latest “Star Trek” movie rumor to circulate as The Hollywood Reporter ran a story just a day or so ago that Toby Haynes, who directed episodes “Andor” will helm a new feature, with Seth Grahame-Smith writing.
The plot is said to take place within the Kelvin Universe, decades before the events of 2009’s Star Trek, which J.J. Abrams directed and Bad Robot will produce the movie.
Then there are the circulating rumors involving the new TV shows, like the Section 31 and Starfleet Academy spin-offs.
“What was so interesting about Picard, and the main reason why I decided to commit to three seasons of it was that Akiva Goldsman talked to me about the changes that had happened in my life in the last 20 years. And he said, ‘Were there any?’ and of course, I said yes there were lots and lots and new journeys and new experiences and relationships,” said Stewart.
“And he said, ‘Exactly! Well that has also been Jean-Luc’s experience.’ He’s not the same man. He’s no longer captain of the Enterprise. He was made an admiral. It became really desk work, which is not what he ever wanted to do. And now he’s back at home, living on his vineyard and seeming to be reasonably content. All that was an act. All that was Jean-Luc trying to pretend, as I think my father did, that everything was all right. But it wasn’t,” Stewart added.
The full interview is on YouTube here.
The fifth and final season of “Star Trek: Discovery” airs sometime in April and “Discovery” and every episode of every “Star Trek” show — with the exception of “Star Trek: Prodigy” — currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the U.S. “Prodigy” has found a new home on Netflix.
Internationally, the shows are available on Paramount Plus in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.