Star Trek: How Not Being a Captain Changes Picard’s Fight Against Injustice

Star Trek: Picard see Patrick Stewart returning to his role as Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Picard was the captain of the USS Enterprise and achieved the rank of admiral before leaving his Starfleet carer behind him. Picard may have given up his rank, but he hasn’t lost his sense of justice. But how do you fight the good fight when you don’t have the might of Starfleet behind you?

That is one of the questions at the heart of Star Trek: Picard, as executive producer Alex Kurtzman explained to Entertainment Weekly. “Because he’s no longer in Starfleet, he no longer carries the weight of that behind him,” Kurtzman says. “In some ways, it’s easier to be [a great man] when you’re a captain. But it’s an entirely different thing when you don’t have an army behind you. When you want to get something done and fight an injustice, how do you do that when you’re really only one man?”

Based on the trailer for the series released at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, it starts by assembling a crew. The trailer, seen above, revealed Picard going on a mission to protect a mysterious young woman named Dahj (Isa Briones) who shares a connection with him. The ship he finds himself on isn’t a top-of-the-line, Galaxy-class or Sovereign-class flagship like the Enterprise, but it’s what he has to work with. His new 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 revealed that some familiar faces, both friend and foe, will return in the new series. Brent Spiner reprises his role as Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation (or is it B4?). Star Trek: Voyager‘s Jeri Ryan returns as Seven of Nine. The Borg will also play a role in the series. Also, while not featured in the trailer, Comic-Con confirmed the returns of Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi.

Kurtzman also suggested that Picard’s past will follow him in the new series. “There are many things that haunt Picard,” Kurtzman said. Showrunner Michael Chabon added, “He’s a lot older and we’re not shying away from that at all — we’re dealing with a man who’s in a very different place in his life.”

Are you excited to see how Picard handles himself without Starfleet? Let us know what you think in the comments. Star Trek: Picard comes to CBS All Access in early 2019.