Star Trek: Jonathan Frakes on the Franchise's Future

Paramount+ released the final trailer for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 on Sunday night but star Jonathan Frakes is hoping this isn't the last time fans will see the Enterprise crew together. Star Trek: Picard's final season reassembles the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast to close out this chapter of Jean-Luc Picard's life. Frakes reprises his role as William Riker, Picard's former first officer who is now a Starfleet captain. While Star Trek: Picard's story may be coming to an end, Frakes tells SFX Magazine that he thinks it leaves the Next Gen crew poised for another adventure. 

"I hope the road leads to another series," Frakes says. "The setup is there clearly, as you'll see, by the end of the season. It all seems to me that the characters in this final season of 'Picard,' should it work out, are primed for another journey. I'm certainly optimistic. I think it may be the end of the Picard story, but I'm not sure it's the end of the Next Generation story. That's the vibe. I'm an eternal optimist. I'm sure it's what [showrunner] Terry [Matalas] would like!"

At New York Comic Con, Stewart said he'd like to make one more movie featuring the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast. Frakes thinks that might be a tall order, especially considering the delays and development false starts that have hit Paramount Pictures' next cinematic Star Trek project.

"Movies are tough!" he says. "Even JJ [Abrams] can't get this fourth movie off the ground. All those wonderful rumors? Noah Hawley was attached to a Star Trek movie, and Quentin was toying with people's emotions about doing a movie. If those two names can't get a f****** movie made, I don't know. TV is the future, it seems to me."

According to the official synopsis, "In the epic, thrilling conclusion of Star Trek: Picard, a desperate message from a long-lost friend draws Starfleet legend Admiral Jean-Luc Picard into the most daring mission of his life, forcing him to recruit allies spanning generations old and new. This final adventure sets him on a collision course with the legacy of his past and explosive, new revelations that will alter the fate of the Federation forever."

Star Trek: Picard's third and final season debuts on Paramount+ on Thursday, February 16th. New episodes of the 10-episode season will debut weekly on Thursdays on the streaming service.