The second season of Star Trek: Picard recently ended its run and fans are now looking forward to the third season as it will feature the highly-anticipated reunion of the entire Star Trek: The Next Generation main cast. However, before they decided to go in that direction for the upcoming season, there was a hesitation at first from Picard himself.
Speaking with Variety, Patrick Stewart was asked whether his colleagues from The Next Generation will appear in the upcoming season as a series regular. While he didn't give a definitive answer, he did share that he had initial doubts about bringing them back as he believes that it would just be for the sake of fan service.
"But every single one of my leading colleagues from Next Generation will be in Season 3 at different times," Stewart said. "It was something which initially, I had my doubts about. It would seem to me that it would be paying too much attention to the fan appreciations of what Next Generation had meant to them. I know how intense the social reconnections can be."
He continued, "But when we talked about it, when I talk to Akiva [Goldsman] about it and my fellow producers and the other writers, I could see that it could be done without rewinding the clock. There was no reason for us to walk down memory lane in every scene. Not at all. And the brilliant thing the writers did in Season 3, is that they engaged the cast of Next Generation. But that’s as much as I’m allowed to say."
It is understandable to hear Stewart's initial doubts about reuniting with The Next Generation crew since he wants to avoid the overreliance on nostalgia at fan service instead of moving forward with new stories. However, it looks like they found a way to naturally include them without doing too much fan service or going back to the formula of The Next Generation.
The question now is whether the fans will be satisfied with the reunion in the third season, which has already finished production. It will take a while before we get to know the answer to that. Hopefully, The Next Generation characters will appear in a satisfying way and they won't just be a throwaway for the sake of having a cheap pop that could attract viewers.
Also Read: Jeri Ryan Confirms She's Returning in Star Trek: Picard Season 3
The first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard are streaming on Paramount+. The third season is expected to premiere early next year.
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