Patrick Stewart Turned Down Star Trek: Picard Return at First

There has been so much news around Star Trek: Picard this week at New York Comic-Con. One interesting tidbit that was revealed is that Patrick Stewart was not going to initially do the show. During a panel with the cast and crew, producer Alex Kurtzman said that was actually the case. He told the collected media that the star was going to take some convinving when the plans were first unveiled.

Putting together a series like this is never easy with so many moving parts. The biggest factor being Stewart’s presence, because the storytelling obviously hinges on that inclusion. This was going to have to be a group effort if the show was going to get off the ground. Luckily the crew was able to convince the star that there were more stories to tell in this universe.

“We were sitting in a room,” Kurtzman began, “and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to do one of the Short Treks about Picard?’ We said, ‘A Short Trek would be great, but wouldn’t it be great to bring him back?’”

Luckily with all the convincing, things worked out. Michael Chabon wrote the series star a 30+ page document outlining how much more story there was to tell around Picard. Fans are going to have to wait until 2020 for Star Trek: Picard. But the show is keeping interested in the property sky high with all the teasers and photos from this week. The clip showcased how relationships with the titular character are going to end up powering this series. Of course, Patrick Stewart will be right in the thick of all these stories.

Picard being bumped back to 2020 might be a bummer for some fans, but there is a good reason for such a careful approach. The creative team is making sure that this entry absolutely shines. The Jean-Luc Picard actor has said that fans will be really surprised by the episodes. That’s a good sign heading into a series that will differ greatly from some of the more modern output like Discovery.

A recent interview also featured Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman about how the show will be a psychological look at Picard as a character. He said, “The mandate was to make it a more psychological show, a character study about this man in his emeritus years. There are so few shows that allow a significantly older protagonist to be the driver.”