The huge ‘Star Trek Universe’ panel at San Diego Comic Con arrived showcasing new information on the next chapter of Star Trek, but at the crowds gathered and excitement buzzed through the infamous Hall H, all eyes were on the main event of the day: Star Trek Picard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhBBXHwEsIo
The Next-Next Generation
While it has been noted before, executive producer Alex Kurtzman again told the crowd that the key to Picard was ensuring it was different; that they didn’t want to repeat The Next Generation, and use Patrick Stewarts own personal take on the character to ask questions of Picard; to find wat he’s proud of, what decisions he regrets and how he feels he’s impacted the world around him in the new series.
Showrunner Michael Chabon lamented on the excitement and challenge of writing the show, noting that the differences between Picards life as Captain and his life now had to be justified in it’s existence and take his journey to a new level; thanking Stewart for his impact in the writers room as he works closely with ensuing the Picard we’ll see is still true to the Picard we knew all those years ago.
Akiva Goldsman added, that “it’s a new kind of Star Trek show made by people who love old Star Trek shows,” describing Picard as a hybrid of styles.
As expected plot and character details that we don’t already know were kept under wraps. The only insight the cast could give was that Michelle Hurd’s character was an old acquaintance of Picard; Santiago Cabrera will be in the role of a former Starfleet officer who’d since lost his way and Isa Briones’ character – featured prominently in the trailer above – plays an important role that acts as a catalyst to Picard’s next adventure.
More Data Required!
As seen in the above trailer, the big surprises were two former cast members returning to the fold. The most anticipated was Brent Spiner, reprising his role as Data. A secret he’d apparently kept for a year as he joked with the audience about asking the producers if he could play Picard! Long rumoured to be appearing, it’s uncertain how much time Data will serve in the show, or if he’ll fully be Data or his lower-quality copy B4 re-manufactured with his ‘brothers’ memories. Whatever the answer, it’ll be interesting to see what role he has to play going forward.
While Spiners return is big news, the shock tot he system came in the form of Jeri Ryan who’ll be reprising her role as Seven of Nine alongside Jonathon Del Arco, who’s returning as the disconnected Borg ‘Hugh’. Much like Spiner, Ryan pointed out that she’d kept the secret for over a year as well and was excited to be back on screen beside Del Arco!
If that wasnt enough, it was confirmed that Mr “Shields Up! Red Alert!” himself, Jonathon Frakes, wasn’t just directing, but will also appear in the series as Wil Riker alongside Mirina Sirtis as Deanna Troi!
More Questions Than Answers
Delivering just enough to keep our eyebrows raised, the panel offered more questions than answers. How dd Data survive the Scimitar? How will Mr & Mrs Troi be involved? What’s Hugh up to these days with Seven? Do they have their own Borg Cube? And most importantly of all – why haven’t we seen the new Starfleet pin yet!?
Overall it was a delight to see the new cast make their first appearance together, to see old cast members make a dramatic return and to get a sense of what Picard’s new adventures may involve.
Set twenty years after his last on-screen appearance, Star Trek Picard will see Patrick Stewart return to centre stage in his life after the Captains Chair. Long retired after a mission that seemingly went wrong, Picard must face his regrets and the weight of his actions as a Starfleet Officer as a young mysterious woman asks for help and sets him on course for a new adventure out of Starfleets reach.
Initially announced to make it’s debut this October, the SDCC panel confirmed that, as previously reported in Comms, the show will make it’s debut early 2020. The series will launch on CBS All Access in the US with UK and International fans being able to view through Amazon Prime Video.
About the author
Under Pressure: ‘Orders Of Magnitude’, Strange New Worlds S4E08
Boarding as a hero and legend, Admiral Joe Reeger arrives, take command and leaves Pike stranded as he leads the remaining Enterprise crew on an urgent mission. With a visiting (again!) James Kirk picked out as first officer, Reegers mission and motivations come into question and puts Kirk's leadership to task... Writers: Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis One thing about season four that's been a highlight through some uneven episodes is how it's guiding it's characters form our first contact with them in this series, and how we originally met them sixty years earlier. While it's been more obvious with Spock's pivot towards being closer to his logical side, we've had Chapel make the choice to become a permanent part of the Enterprise and Scotty's move towards being the 'miracle worker'. Even Pike seems to be on the […]
Days of Our Unreal Lives: ‘Like Chronitons Through The Hourglass’, Strange New Worlds S4E07
Waking up in sickbay with a comical bandage on his head following a shuttle accident, Pike quickly notices things are a bit off. The lights are too bright. The medical staff are behaving oddly with dramatic pauses aplenty. And he's fairly certain space madness isn't a genuine diagnosis. As the hour continues with devious secret siblings, dramatic feats of medicine and family drama aplenty, Pike is drawn further into the strangest of all worlds; the soap opera. Writers: Dana Horgan and Bill WolkoffDirector: Anna Dozoka Soap opera's are mental. And for a theme it's even more mental than it seems. But considering soap opera's are basically just overly dramatic premises with long lost relatives you'd never before heard of, absolutely insane scenario's that make Maggie Simpson shooting Mr Burns seem normal and plot twists so insane you genuinely have to […]
Star Trek Day 2026: Celebrating 60 Years of the Final Frontier!
Sixty years ago the world was introduced to a sci fi series that planted a seed of adventure, imagination and inspiration that would blossom into a juggernaut of media. After launching with the Man Trap on September 8th in the United States, the series would later grow into a pop culture icon spawning 9 Live Action Series, 3 Animated Series, 13 Feature Films & more including Streaming Events, Shorts and a huge amount of offshoot media across games, comics and books. With generations of fans discovering new era's and new adventures for decades, today we celebrate not only that first flight of the USS Enterprise and it's original crew, but an entire franchise that continued to grow, evolve, building a world of adventure, inspiration and hope for a better future! As we celebrate Star Trek at 60, we'd love to hear how […]
Away Team, Assemble! The USS Tesla Set To Beam Down to Epic Comic Con!
Returning to Glasgow this September, the Tesla Crew are once again in action at Fan Frontiers Epic Comic Con in the SEC Hosted by Fan Frontiers, Epic Comic Con has been one of the core places to meet the crew of the Tesla since it’s origins as Acme Comic Con and has become a firm part of the diverse and welcoming fan centric communities hosting everything from Rebel Legions to Ghostbusters! Taking their regular spot once again the Tesla crew will have Star Trek props and collectables on display as the team get ready to share the wonders of the final frontier! With possibly the biggest and most intriguing line ups to date, Epic will be hosting some surprises including Lord of the Rings' hobbit Duo Billy Boyd & Dominic Monaghan, What We Do in the Shadows Star Kayvan Novak, […]
60 Year Mission Celebrations!
This month Star Trek celebrates 60 years since the continuing mission launched and this year we've decided.... one Star Trek Day isn't enough. We're having a whole month of celebration! With plans including virtual meets, Europa chats, competitions and more, we're inviting the whole fleet to jump on board, get involved and join the fun of celebrating sixty years othe final frontier! Virtual Meet Sunday September 6th 8pm Starbase Europa 60 YEAR MISSION Meet the Fleet in Celebration with an evening of catching up, sharing stories, maybe a few bad jokes and general shenanigans! As we open a month of celebrating one of sci fi's most enduring franchises, grab a drink, pull up a chair and have a few laughs to begin the month! Discussion Sunday September 6th All Day Starbase Europa STAR TREK DAY 2026 From dusk 'till dawn, […]
A Fistful of Undercover Operations
Occasionally when exploring the wonders of deep space, our heroes of Trek have been summoned to - or by sheer accident - become another person to fulfil their mission. Whether it's O'Brien mixing with gangsters or Picard becoming a mercenary, Star Trek's filled with episodes where our favourite explorers have to become someone else to save the day.... FACE OF THE ENEMY The Next Generation Season 6 Waking up on the Warbird Khazara, Deanna Troi finds herself in a bit of a pickle. Kidnapped and surgically altered to take the place of a Tal Shiar Commander she finds herself led by her handler, N'Vek, to lead a secret mission after the Commander had been killed. Out of her comfort zone, Troi has to convince the crew she's the real deal despite the ships skipper knowing something's not quite right.... In […]
Related
Starfleet Academy Welcomes It’s First Class!
The first batch of cast announcements for Academy focused on veteran actors Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter, the latter in the role of the new Academy Commandant, but now we're getting a full look at the shows first class of cadets as the first five are ready to enlist!
Paul Giamatti joins Holly Hunter for Starfleet Academy!
Looking ahead to the next generation of Star Trek shows, Paramount and Secret Hideout have already began announcing new cast members to lead the Starfleet Academy series coming to the streaming platform in the near future. News of the show has already turned heads with notes that the new academy campus will be the largest seen on TV so far, being filmed in Pinewood';s largest stage in Canada, though in terms of what to fully expect from the young adult drama, things are largely being kept under Red Directive secrecy. However we now at least know who will be leading the new class ahead of the shows production...
The Last Generation: Picard S310 Review
In a desperate last stand, Jean-Luc Picard and generations of crews, both old and new, fight together to save the galaxy from the greatest threat they've ever faced as Picard and the Next Generation era comes to an end.
Starfleet Academy Series Announced
An idea teased and thrown around for decades will finally come to life as Paramount+ confirmed the next venture of Star Trek. As Picard and Discovery come to an end, we'll see a new brand of hero come to the forefront in Starfleet Academy in the near future.
The Bounty: Picard S306 Review.
Now on the run, Picard and the skeleton crew of the USS Titan must break into Starfleet's most top-secret facility to expose a plot that could destroy the Federation. Picard must turn to the only soul in the galaxy who can help: an old friend.
Imposters: Picard S305 Review.
Caught by Starfleet and facing court martial, paranoia grows as Picard struggles to uncover whether a prodigal crewman from his past has returned as an ally or an enemy hell-bent on destroying them all.
