Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Confirms an Unexpected Star's Return in Legacy Spinoff

By Jamie Lovett

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 introduced a new fan-favorite character and tragically took them away, but it may not be the last fans see of the actor if showrunner Terry Matalas has his way. Captain Liam Shaw of the USS Titan-A, played by Todd Stashwick, died in Star Trek: Picard's penultimate episode. Fans likely assume that's the last they'll see of the character, but it doesn't mean it's the last they've seen of Stashwick, who did previously play a different character in Star Trek: Enterprise. Speaking to SFX for the magazine's cover feature on Star Trek: Picard, Matalas hinted that Stashwick would return if his idea for a Star Trek: Picard spinoff, which he and fans are unofficially calling Star Trek: Legacy, gets developed.

"Shaw does not make it out alive," Matalas said. "However, we do have plans for a Shaw character -- specifically Todd Stashwick -- to be a part of Legacy that I can't talk about, but we always knew we would never do that show without Todd. So we had plans in place for that, should it ever happen. But there's nothing in development, unfortunately."

Could Captain Shaw have survived Star Trek: Picard Season 3?

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Stashwick notes that, though he's content with the roles he's played in Star Trek, there are always ways for supposedly dead characters to make a comeback in sci-fi. "Look, it's science fiction, so if they ever narratively need to have Shaw show up again, they know where to find me," he said. "But there are a million ways they can find a way to see this man again if they saw fit if the story broke that way. The fans are powerful, they're able to do many things, but if all I get in my Star Trek experience, I've said this before, is my time on Enterprise and then this season of Picard, man alive, what a gift already. Anything else would be icing."

He later added, "So again, it's science fiction. There are a million ways that we could see Shaw again. The joke I make is I am Aragorn and they have my sword. Anytime that they need it, I am ready and willing to show up and do whatever it is that they need for me. I belong to Star Trek."

Star Trek: Legacy would bring back the spirit of Star Trek: The Next Generation

ComicBook.com also spoke to Matalas about his hopes for Star Trek: Legacy. He explained that where Star Trek: Picard Season 3 was a 10-episode Star Trek movie, Star Trek: Legacy would draw more from Star Trek: The Next Generation directly.

"I think it could be a mix-and-match," he said. "Again, let me be clear: there's nothing in development. It's just an exciting pie-in-the-sky idea. But it would mix and match. But I would love to go back to the spirit of Star Trek: The Next Generation quite a bit. This last season of Picard is not Season 8 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's more Star Trek 11. It's a movie. The characters are much closer to their cinematic versions than they are Star Trek: The Next Generation versions of their characters. I would love to go back to the spirit of Star Trek: The Next Generation as much as you can, but we'd have to see if it would be possible. Who knows?"

Related:

How to watch Star Trek: Picard

The Star Trek: Picard Season 3 is streaming now in full on Paramount+. All previous Star Trek: Picard episodes, as well as all episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and every other episode of Star Trek television) are streaming now on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Picard streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

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