James McAvoy Pitched a Young Picard Star Trek Series
The actor says Mutiny On the Stargazer would have followed Picard taking command of the Stargazer, but logistics stalled the project.
James McAvoy has revealed he pitched a Star Trek limited series titled Mutiny On the Stargazer, centred on a young Jean-Luc Picard, according to Deadline. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor said the project was nearly made.
McAvoy described the pitch as a one-off standalone season covering Picard taking over as captain of the Stargazer and a secret he had held his whole career. He said the Star Trek side was interested in the idea, but logistical issues prevented it from going ahead.
The Picard character has a long history on screen. Patrick Stewart played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran seven seasons from 1987 to 1994, and returned to the role in Star Trek: Picard, which ran three seasons from 2020 to 2023.
Picard's early command was also explored in Michael Jan Friedman's six-part Star Trek: Stargazer book series, published between 2002 and 2004.
McAvoy has a separate link to Stewart: he played Professor Charles Xavier, a role originated by Stewart, in X-Men: First Class (2011), Days of Future Past (2014), Apocalypse (2016) and Dark Phoenix (2019). Stewart appears again as Professor X in Avengers: Doomsday, premiering Dec. 18 in theaters.
Quick answers
What is Mutiny On the Stargazer about?
James McAvoy said it was a standalone limited series about a young Jean-Luc Picard taking over as captain of the Stargazer and a secret he had held his whole career.
Why was the Star Trek limited series not made?
McAvoy said the Star Trek side was interested, but logistical issues prevented the project from going ahead.