Patrick Stewart Is 'Gently Pushing' To Make A Star Trek: Picard Movie – And He's Selected The Director
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Few living legends have done more to earn a happy and well-deserved retirement quite like Patrick Stewart, who devoted decades of his career to bringing Captain Jean-Luc Picard to life throughout various eras of the "Star Trek" franchise. (He did this even against the initial warnings of his bestie Ian McKellen, as we recently found out!) With age comes plaudits, a sense of fulfillment, and the comforting knowledge of a job well done ... and also, apparently, the ceaseless drive to keep the good times rolling.
The long-awaited final season of "Star Trek: Picard" only just wrapped up in a neat and tidy bow earlier this year, bringing the adventures of Picard and his beloved "The Next Generation" crew to a satisfying end, but don't tell that to the 83-year-old star of the show. Stewart may have guided the good Captain to what many Trekkies considered a proper conclusion, but he's as eager and willing as ever to tell yet another chapter in the story of Picard. This comes straight from the mouth of the actor himself — or, rather, his pen. Stewart recently published a new memoir of his life appropriately titled "Making It So: A Memoir" and, in one chapter, revealed that he's not quite ready to hang up the Starfleet uniform just yet.
When asked whether the finale of "Picard" truly closed the book on the fan-favorite "Trek" figure, Stewart had this to say:
"Most probably, but never say never. I am gently pushing Paramount to let us do one single 'Picard' movie. Not a 'Next Generation' movie, as we have already done four of those. This would be an expansion and deepening of the universe as we've seen it in 'Star Trek: Picard.'"
Oh, and he already knows exactly which director he'd prefer taking the reins.
To boldly go ... one more time
When "The Next Generation" series finale first aired back in 1994, the title "All Good Things..." sure seemed like a resounding statement on what many consider to be their formative era of the entire franchise. Of course, Picard and his Enterprise crew would return for several more adventures on the big screen and, ultimately, one massive reunion in the final season of "Picard." The Borg-heavy storyline and the full-circle final moments around a game of poker delivered everything nostalgic fans could've wanted, but perhaps that wasn't quite enough for Patrick Stewart himself. While fans have banded together to, ah, encourage Paramount to greenlight a "Star Trek: Legacy" series starring Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine, her ex-girlfriend Raffi (Michelle Hurd), and Picard's son Jack (Ed Speleers) that would pick up where "Picard" left off, Stewart is setting his sights even higher.
Of course, it's one thing to idly push for a whole new movie; it's quite another to get the gears turning in earnest. Stewart has done what he can to get the ball rolling on that front, at least, as he admits that he's already talked to his longtime co-stars about the idea and received their seals of approval. And to nobody's surprise, he wants none other than franchise veteran (on both sides of the camera) Jonathan Frakes to direct. As he explained:
"I've discussed this with Jonathan, Brent [Spiner], and LeVar [Burton], and they are all game. Jonathan is my first choice to direct it."
If it were up to me, anything Patrick Stewart wants, he gets. Of course, the reality is somewhat more complicated as "Trek" seems to have stalled out a bit on the movie side of things. But, personally, I'll take more of Stewart's Picard however I can get it.