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
Mark Mitchell; 1969-2026
It's with great sadness we report that our Director of Operations, Mark Mitchell, has sadly passed away suddenly earlier this week. Mark was one of our longest serving members and a huge part of what helped shape what SFCQ2 is today. Having served in leadership as a CO, throughout fleet support and originating the role of Director of Administration, Mark's unyielding dedication to the club and his multiple contributions over the decades undoubtedly make him worthy of his Legend handle. From writing the entire base for our modern Academy to being vital in the fleet restructure, to offering support and advice to countless members to support leadership and direction, Mark's efforts serve, and will likely continue to serve, as the backbone of everything that makes Q2 with his primary goal always being to offer the best of everything and push […]
Gamma Quarter 2403 Promotions & Citations
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due tot he commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this quarter, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. The most obvious form of rewards comes from our naval-based rank structure. Utilising the same base rank structure seen on screen, SFC takes members through their journey as a Starfleet officer by giving members a chance to rise throughout the ranks from Ensign to Captain. Having had an active and exciting year, Lt Commander […]
A Fistful of ‘Spirk’
We've been spoiled with Spock in the past few years with Discovery introducing a younger iteration of the character long before he became the refined man of logic that made him famous, and continued that story through Strange New Worlds and his time under Captain Pike's command. As Strange New Worlds continues, giving more history to the original series line up and the early meetings of Spock and Kirk as it makes way for the beginning of the Kirk era, we thought we'd look back at some moments that made the partnership one of the most popular combinations in science fiction. JOURNEY TO BABEL TOS Season 2 Spock's got a bit of an issue with sharing. Secret brother who was shunned. Secret sister who's fate was classified. And despite trusting the Enterprise crew with his life, it was clearly only […]
Site & Service Updates July 2026
It's been a strange year as we adapt to then changing landscape of the Star Trek franchise with recent corporate shenanigans in the media industry, as well as adjusting to and anticipating new regulation sin our home base of the UK which has taken up more brain power than we'd expected!Still, despite distractions, we've been working away in the background with a revised Admin schedule to ensure at the very least every Sunday we can check off some items on the to do list and keep everyone updated on the changes whether minor, major or a bit pointless! On Screen Additions After being placed on the low priority list for a while, the On Screen Mission Log section has begun taking shape. Previously the On Screen section had it's own section per show since the launch of Discovery, however with […]
New Unit Application Guide
Account Academy Database Fleet Updates Calendar Latest Entries Explore Database Index Starfleet Academy Help & Support ⯇ DATABASE INDEX ACCOUNT HUB NEw Unit Application Guide Clarification This section is both for information and for making formal applications for creating or importing a new unit into SFCQ2. Applications can also be made directly to Fleet Administration. All applications are considered for review. × JOIN THE CAPTAINS TABLE Every Star Trek fans dreams of being the captain of their own Starship. Although running an SFC Quadrant 2 Unit is (probably) easier than commanding a starship, both roles require commitment and dedication.Unit’s are, and always will be, the core of SFC. It is within them that members can indulge in their shared interests for Star Trek and science fiction while enjoying the company of fellow fans and like minded people. At their best, […]
[Q2&A] Membership Handbook: Revised & Updated for 2026
With over fifty years (and counting) of history, joining SFC can sometimes be a whirlwind and while we're always focused on a more casual experience, tit can sometimes be overwhelming knowing where to start. While we offer our Academy as an induction tour of Quadrant 2's organisation and structure, and are always open to expanding more information in the Fleet Database, our Officers Pack gives you a one stop resource to highlight our core policies, membership information and more; The Membership Handbook/ Membership within Q2 is fairly laid back. But since it's inception - both overall as Starfleet Command as well as the administrative split for Quadrant 2 - out handbook has outlined who we are, how we operate and as a resource for members to be able to understand what membership entails from our core mission statement, to our […]
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.
