Star Trek: Legacy Would Have Featured Patrick Stewart's Picard In A Supporting Role

Terry Matalas, the showrunner of the third season of "Star Trek: Picard," recently appeared on "Dropping Names with Brent and Jonny," a show co-hosted by Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes, who both appeared on "Picard." Matalas got to talk briefly about his proposed (but unmade) series "Star Trek: Legacy," and he revealed that "Picard" star Patrick Stewart was keen to take part. How was this series never made? 

/Film has written about the would-be show at length, explaining what "Legacy" was going to be and how it eventually lived on in comic book form. In brief, Matalas ended the third season of "Picard" with the launch of the USS Enterprise-G, captained by the newly promoted Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Seven's ex-girlfriend Raffi (Michelle Hurd) was to serve as her first officer, and Jack (Ed Speleers), the long-lost son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher, was to serve as a newly minted ensign. "Picard" even ended with a cameo from Q (John de Lancie), linking everything to, well, a "Star Trek" legacy. There was every reason to believe this would become a weekly series on Paramount+.

By 2024, though, Matalas knew that "Legacy" was dead in the water, which was not the news he wanted to share, nor what Trekkies wanted to hear. The show was never to be. 

But on "Dropping Names," Matalas got to talk about his plans for the series a little bit more, and how Patrick Stewart was interested in reprising his role as Jean-Luc Picard to give Seven of Nine her mission briefings. Noting Stewart's interest, Matalas, Spiner, and Frakes all become baffled as to why "Legacy" was never greenlit. 

Terry Matalas recalled some of his ideas for "Star Trek: Legacy," which he described in broad strokes. It seems that legacies were all over the show. In addition to Picard's son serving on the Enterprise-G, Geordi La Forge's daughter Sidney (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) was going to be a regular on the series, and Matalas even said that he planned on including Alexander, the son of Klingon Worf (Michael Dorn). He also related his conversation with Patrick Stewart on the matter, saying: 

"'Legacy' wasn't supposed to be, 'We'll just keep doing NextGen.' It was supposed to bring in new people, young, and switch off. We had a great idea for Worf and Alexander and the Klingons. But it was going back to feeling like NextGen. [...] Patrick was like, 'I want to come and be the one who gets on the screen and tells them missions!' I was like, 'I don't know why we're not doing this!'"

Trekkies might be able to tell you about how many "Star Trek" episodes begin with a starship captain receiving orders from an admiral seated back at Starfleet Command. Stewart, it seems, wanted to take his turn being that admiral. He was likely open to the idea, as it would provide Stewart, now 86, with regular work. Sadly, Matalas gave no further details, as there likely weren't any beyond that conversation. 

"Legacy" never manifested, but Matalas said that "everything happens for a reason." The showrunner moved on to the Marvel Cinematic Universe series "VisionQuest," which, by the judgment of /Film's Jeremy Mathai, is a digital delight. So Matalas is doing well for himself.