STAR TREK Producer Alex Kurtzman Talks PICARD and Says the Character Has Made Some Regrettable Decisions
Thanks to Star Trek producer Alex Kurtzman, we have some new details to share with you regarding the upcoming series Picard. He discusses how important Patrick Stewart’s involvement and creative input with the show is and teases that Jean-Luc Picard has made some regrettable decisions in the time between Nemesis and when this new series takes place.
In an episode of the Crew Call podcast, Kurtzman discusses Stewart being involved saying:
“It was essential. We spent a lot of time with Patrick, and you know what? He’s incredibly brilliant just as a human, and very warm, and obviously he knows Jean-Luc Picard better than anybody — and you know, he was really the one who from the outset said, ‘I don’t want to do this unless we’re breaking new ground. I don’t want to just play the character I played, why come back to that? We did that already.’
“So it’s been a really wonderful give-and-take in our collaboration with Patrick where he very quickly came to trust that we were both going to do exactly what he said in taking Picard to a new place, but also — and he doesn’t look at himself this way — we’re reverent of him, you know? He’s Patrick Stewart! When we’re in a room with him, his opinion really matters to us, and his happiness really matters to us, and ultimately, we couldn’t do this show the way we’re doing it if he wasn’t excited about it and excited to play it.”
We really don’t have any concrete details regarding the plot, but one thing we know is that Picard has changed and regrets some of the choices he’s made over the years. Kurtzman explains:
“I think we’ve found a story that honors everything that people love about the character, but in ways that are not what you expect — and yet, become more and more familiar as the show goes. And that’s what’s exciting. A lot has happened to Jean-Luc Picard in the intervening years [since Nemesis]. There’s been a lot going on and he’s had to deal with some new things, he’s had to deal with some old things, and both of those things kind of come colliding together.
“He’s made choices that he’s not necessarily feeling great about — and yet I think the audience will understand exactly why he made them.”
What we know so far is that the show will be a continuation of Picard’s story set 19-20 years after the events of the The Next Generation finale. According to reports, the ten episode story “will be playing into Picard’s interest in archaeology, and his main mission will revolve around some sort of artifact that’s been discovered.” It’s also been said that Picard will be affected by their destruction due to his close involvement with building a bond between the Romulan Empire and the Federation. Stewart also said that it would “explore new dimensions within [the character].”
Showrunner Hanelle Culpepper will direct the first two episodes of the series, and it also stars Alison Pill (The Newsroom), Harry Treadaway (Mr. Mercedes, Penny Dreadful), Isa Briones (American Crime Story: Versace), Santiago Cabrera (Salvation), Evan Evagora and Michelle Hurd (Blindspot).
Star Trek: Picard is going to premiere in late 2019 on CBS All Access. Are you looking forward to watching this series? Do you like what you’ve learned about it so far?
Via: Trek Core