Last summer it was announced that Patrick Stewart is set to reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard for a brand new Star Trek series on CBS All Access, and during a panel at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, executive producer Alex Kurtzman has offered an update on the progress of the Picard show and how they are approaching it in terms of tone.
“We’re asking how do we live to the spirit and tone that Star Trek: The Next Generation set and also make it different,” said Kurtzman (via Deadline). “Patrick was very clear that he did not want to repeat what he had already done. Patrick didn’t want to put handcuffs on us, he wanted us to have the freedom to explore the character and he said, ‘I will always know if it’s something that he would or would not do,’ and that’s the kind of conversation that we’re having as we build it scene by scene.”
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“It’s been 20 plus years so he couldn’t possibly be the same person — what has happened in that time?” Kurtzman continued. “Has there been occurrences that have forced him to reckon with choices he has made? How do you hold on to being the person that everyone loved when the circumstances may have changed? So those are the questions that we’re asking.”
Assuming everything goes to plan and there are no Star Trek: Discovery-style delays, those questions will be answered later this year when Star Trek: Picard premieres on CBS All Access.