Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Showrunner Teases More Returning Characters
Star Trek: Picard's third and final season is bringing back Star Trek: The Next Generation's core cast, but those aren't the only familiar faces that will show up in the coming episodes. Terry Matalas is the showrunner on Picard's final season and he stopped by the Inglorious Treksperts podcast to talk about how the new season, which has already wrapped filming, is shaping up. Matalas spoke about how, as a fan, the shock of getting to work with all of these iconic Star Trek actors is only now dwaning on him as he's working through the third season's post-production process.
"You had them all the time… there was one moment in particular… it's a legendary moment, let's just say," Matalas said (via TrekMovie's transcription). "I will say they're all reunited. And there's some things going on and I remember turning to my assistant, and saying, 'Right now, I should be in tears, but I'm too fucking stressed to get this right.' Because I don't want to fuck it up. That's the key.
"The moments really hit in post, when now I can watch that moment and it's not Patrick, Frakes, LeVar, and Gates, and Marina, and Michael. It's Picard, and Riker, and Geordi. And the music is up. One of the things I've been spending a lot of time on right now is the music. It is very much in the spirit of [Jerry] Goldsmith and [James] Horner… And so when you see those moments with the score, then that hits. You're like, 'Oh, my God, we did this!'"
That's when Matalas mentioned some other returning characters. He didn't name who in particular but said that, in a weird way, the less prominent character's return hit him even harder.
"And funny enough, there are moments that are–because there are some people who come back from Star Trek in this season that aren't just the Next Gen cast," he said. "There's one character who is in Next Gen who I was like, 'I really want this character to come back.' And when they did, that was weirdly more thrilling than everything else in totality."
Matalas previously express his excitement about reuniting The Next Generation's cast in a press release announcing their return. "I remember watching the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation almost 34 years ago with my father like it was yesterday. It was the spark that ignited my love for science fiction," Matalas said. "So, it's most fitting that the story of Jean-Luc Picard ends honoring the beginning, with his dearest and most loyal friends from the U.S.S. Enterprise. It would be an understatement to say that giving these characters a proper send-off is an honor. The entire Star Trek: Picard team and I can't wait for fans to experience this final, high-stakes, starship-bound adventure in season three!"
Star Trek: Picard is streaming now on Paramount+. The third season doesn't have a release date yet.