According to a recent interview with Star Trek: The New Generation actor and director Jonathan Frakes with Deadline, Captain Jean-Luc Picard will no longer carry that abbreviated title next to his name when the character makes his return in the much-anticipated Star Trek spinoff series on CBS All Access. When asked what he knows about the new show, and whether he’d like to be involved, Frakes responded:
“The feeling is [the Next Generation cast] would love to be part of it. But the feeling is also that it’s Patrick [Stewart]’s show. [Laughs.] Having said that, I can’t imagine a world where there’s no reference to what happened to the rest of the Next Generation cast. Patrick isn’t playing Capt. Jean-Luc Picard this time, he’s done with [that phase of his career in] Starfleet in this show. That’s about the only thing I do know about the show.”
The new streaming networks inaugural Trek series, Star Terk: Discovery, is currently in its second season has already spun a number of shorts featuring various characters from the show. CBS is also, currently, planning a spinoff featuring Discovery captain Philippa Georgiou, played by Michelle Yeoh, and at least two animated Trek series, one of which will be developed by Rick and Morty writer Mike McMahan.
But the most-anticipated series is arguably the upcoming Picard series, portrayed by Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in four movies featuring the same cast. The series will see Picard having moved on to a new phase of his life, where he will in fact no longer be a Starfleet captain. Given Stewart’s wish to present a very different perspective of Jean-Luc Picard, it’s likely the new series will see the former captain living a life far removed from the adventures of the series’ past. That said, the series is sure to center itself around the Star Trek formula still, which means advanced technology and major drama, so no need to fret — yet.