Star Trek: Nemesis Deleted Scene May Hint at What’s to Come in Picard

During the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, CBS All Access revealed the first full trailer for Star Trek: Picard. The new series sees Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stewart last played the role in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. A deleted scene from that film may offer a hint of things to come from Stewart’s return.

The Star Trek: Picard trailer revealed that Brent Spiner will return also return as his The Next Generation character, Data. Spiner also last played Data in Nemesis, and the deleted scene has Picard and Data early in the film reflecting on themes that play throughout. Here’s how Stewart introduced the scene when it was included in the home media release.

“Picard and Data, over a glass of Château Picard, talk about those aspects of life that are about change, necessary change, evolution, loss, friendship, and family, of course,” Stewart says. This is particularly poignant for Picard because, presumably, Riker and Troi will have children — what a thought — and of course Picard never married, never had children. His life has been the Federation, Starfleet, and the Enterprise. His children are his crew. I don’t mean to be sentimental about that, but it’s true. And I think he has a somewhat paternal relationship with every member of his crew, and now it’s changing, and they are going on to new adventures whereas Picard is staying where he is, and… perhaps a feeling that life is passing of him by. Of course, he has to talk like this to Data because, in many respects, Data doesn’t understand these feelings. He’s a machine and cannot be expected to have that sort of sensitivity to the changes of life. But, the conversation that Data and Picard have here is one that will resonant through the movie and become very, very potent in the last 10 or 15 minutes of our film.”

It resonates in part because Data doesn’t survive to the end of the film. He sacrifices himself to save Picard, something Picard references in that new trailer from Comic-Con. They’re also drinking from Château Picard. We know from the trailer that Picard retired to his family’s vineyard after leaving Starfleet. The vineyard once belonged to Picard’s brother Robert. After Robert and his son Rone’s deaths in a fire, Jean-Luc became the sole inheritor of the Picard name. The trailer suggests that Jean-Luc is again plagued by that feeling that life is passing him by. He seems to seek out Data, somehow reassembled after his destruction. As he says in the trailer, Picard does not want the game to end.

There’s also Stewart’s note about Riker and Troi having children. We know that Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis will return to those roles in Picard. According to Frakes, their situation is “non-military” these decades later. They may be living a more family-oriented life now.

Whatever else, Star Trek: Picard presents an opportunity to give Picard a more satisfying conclusion than the one he got in Nemesis. The film left fans with that feeling that Picard was being left behind, a strange, morose note for The Next Generation captain to go out on. Star Trek: Picard offers the franchise a chance to revisit those same themes and to find a more suitable resolution for them.

Are you excited about Star Trek: Picard? Let us know in the comments. Star Trek: Picard comes to CBS All Access in early 2020.