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Patrick Stewart Reveals He Initially Did Not Want To Return

A look at Patrick Stewarts' decision to return to Star Trek on TV Screens.

By Chris Wilkinson Sun 24 Nov, 2019 9:57 AM
When it comes to the best captain that we’ve seen in the 53 years of Star Trek, one of the most common choices I think would be Captain Jean-Luc Picard (I know that alone is divisive with the whole Kirk vs Picard), especially after a poll run by startrek.com which showed a majority felt he was the best captain. Link Here.

Due to this, I know I personally felt a great shame when Patrick Stewart left our screens in 2003 after playing this iconic character for the last time, considering he’d been with us for approximately sixteen years, exploring the Alpha Quadrant and completely owning the Sheliak with pure diplomacy (I don’t think any other actor could have made that scene more epic).

However, Patrick Stewart when originally approached to do Star Trek Picard had planned to turn down the role completely as in his own words “I had absolutely no intention of returning to Star Trek. [I was] very proud of the seven seasons of Next Generation and of the four movies that were made. But... I had resisted numerous invitations to bring it all back to life again.” which suggests that there have been approaches in the past about his return.

Looking back, a few people didn’t like Nemesis as a film and there was a lot of franchise fatigue with Star Trek at the time, as we had 3 series, which besides some small changes (Space Station, Stranded) were identical shows. This could easily have led to a degree of reluctance for Patrick Stewart to return, for fear of ruining those great years he had playing a character that was well-liked.
When he went to the meeting with the producers of Discovery, with his mindset on refusing the deal, and explaining to them in detail, he let them speak to him about why his world was important to them. This discussion, although we don’t know what the specifics were, was clearly enough for Patrick Steward to change his mind, at least away from an outright refusal as he agreed to look over some of their materials so he could make his mind up in an informed way.

Through this action, he was sent 35 pages of information by the producers, he was intrigued and agreed to a second meeting with the group, part of which was based on the foundations that he would set down regarding his return to the franchise. This main requirement was that the world that he was due to appear in, would be different to what had come before, which was similar to what he’d done for Logan which was the last X-Men film he’d appeared in.

Due to what we’ve seen of Star Trek Discovery, the producers of that show have no problems from making a world that’s different to what is expected. For example, the Klingon War was much more brutal and realistic that that which we saw even in Deep Space 9, so they were able to offer this, with what I personally think, was ease.

The new Star Trek so far has shown us this more, down to earth version of the future where people are still having to fight for what they want at times, rather than the rather, more peaceful elements we saw in TNG and Voyager. Whether they’ll be able to bring this to Picard, especially when canonising the destruction of Romulus and having to show a United Federation of Planets where it will be most likely, the strongest superpower in the Alpha Quadrant (perhaps, with the exception of the Klingon Empire).

From the trailers we’ve seen so far, it’s clear that there was enough for one of our favourite captains (or should I say Admiral at this stage) back with several the previous cast like Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes. Although he had made it clear that he also didn’t want this new show to simply be a case of “This is your life” for Jean-Luc Picard. Due to this, they made sure that each returning cast member, had a part to tell in the story instead of simply being fan-service.

Whether this means we’ll see Worf getting knocked down some more or Guinan giving more of her sage advice (I won’t lie, I’m rooting for Whoopi Goldberg to make a reappearance here) or the notable antics of Q who we know followed Picard a lot throughout his career and I can’t imagine he’d have stopped just because he retired. However, nobody knows except the writers of Star Trek Picard. All we can do is wait for January so we can give our views on what I can expect, is a highly anticipated show.

What did you think of this article? Are you excited to see Patrick Stewart back in Star Trek? Let us know by posting below!

WRITTEN BY Chris Wilkinson
EDITED BY Infinity
7 Comments
Sun 24 Nov, 2019 9:59 AM
Good read!
Sun 24 Nov, 2019 12:48 PM
With Picard back on the screen, you know the others will at least make guest appearances at some point down the road to sprinkle some nostalgia and make it more Trek-like especially when the lead comes back into the main gig that really made you.
Sun 24 Nov, 2019 3:09 PM
Good article. I'm thankful that he decided to return to the role and I'm excited for Star Trek Picard - especially after the latest trailer with a good portion of the TNG Cast!!
Thanks Jordan ^_^ I have to agree that it's great to see him coming back, I just hope that they do the character and the rest of the cast returning justice.

With Picard back on the screen, you know the others will at least make guest appearances at some point down the road to sprinkle some nostalgia and make it more Trek-like especially when the lead comes back into the main gig that really made you.
I do agree with you to a degree, however he did make it clear he didn't want it to just be a TNG Reunion. I do hope that they manage to work in some of the old cast in such as Q as I mentioned, even if it's just a quick glance. I suspect that if season 1 goes well, we could see them going more nostalgia in season 2 once people are hooked.
Sun 24 Nov, 2019 6:24 PM
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I can't wait for Picard to start! Great article Chris, he definitely owned the Sheliak and probably did the shirt tuck after!
Mon 25 Nov, 2019 8:33 PM
Would love for Q to make meta commentary of current trek lol.
Wed 27 Nov, 2019 2:52 AM
The fact that Brent Spiner is back as data (b4 i assume) is a clear testement as to hiw good makeup artistry has become
Wed 27 Nov, 2019 9:58 AM
It wouldn't surprise me if some CGI is at work too. Look at Samuel L Jackson and Clark Greggbin Captain Marvel