Star Trek: Patrick Stewart Thinks Fans May Be Shocked By Picard

Patrick Stewart returns to the Star Trek universe in Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access. The series, set to debut in 2020, sees Stewart reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard, former captain of the USS Enterprise. The first season of the series wrapped in August and Stewart returning home to the United Kingdom. During a visit to the University of Huddersfield, Stewart admitted that the decision to return to his Star Trek: The Generation character was a challenging one to make. "I don't regard it as going back," he said, according to Examiner Live. "In fact, we are definitely moving the series forward and that's what made the difference for me. It was a very difficult decision."

Stewart goes onto say that the story reflects the reality we all live with now. He expects some fans may be surprised by what Picard has in store for them. "We are looking at a new world with new objectives, problems and issues that could not have been raised when we were making The Next Generation and I found that very exciting," Stewart says. "It's very exciting and people will be surprised and perhaps even shocked."

The trailer for Star Trek: Picard released at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. The show sees Picard assembling a crew for a mission to protect a mysterious young woman named Dahj (Isa Briones) who shares a connection with him. The ship's crew includes cast members Santiago Cabrera (Cristobal "Chris" Rios), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Harry Treadaway (Narek) and Evan Evagora (Elnor).

The trailer also reveals that some familiar faces will return in the new series. Brent Spiner reprises his role as Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan returns as Seven of Nine. The Borg will also play a role in the series. While not featured in the trailer, the series will also see the returns of Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi.

Julie McNamara, head of content for CBS All Access, described the show as a hybrid of classic Star Trek: The Next Generation and the newer Star Trek: Discovery. "I would say that it is in production, sort of size and scope, probably more similar to Discovery," McNamara said, speaking to press at the TCA press tour. "In terms of the characters and the nature of the storytelling, probably more like Next Generation. But of course, we're a number of years later now so there are some shifts in the storytelling style but I think it's a really nice hybrid of the two."

Are you excited the first season of Star Trek: Picard? Let us know what you think in the comments. Star Trek: Picard comes to CBS All Access in early 2020.