Terry Matalas: Patrick Stewart Pitched Star Trek: Legacy Role

Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas has revealed that Patrick Stewart pitched a specific role for himself in the proposed spinoff Star Trek: Legacy. Matalas said Stewart wanted to be "the one who gets on the screen and tells the new crew their missions," according to comments he made on the Dropping Names... And Other Things podcast, hosted by Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes.

Matalas described the plan for Star Trek: Legacy as bringing in new young characters while keeping the feel of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stewart, who played Jean-Luc Picard, would have served as the admiral handing out assignments to that new crew.

Paramount+ ultimately did not move forward with producing Star Trek: Legacy. Matalas said he still holds a "never say never" attitude about the project and would return to Star Trek if Skydance calls.

Background

The spinoff was set up at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3, but Paramount+ declined to produce it. Under new owners Skydance, Paramount reportedly plans to distance itself from 60 years of Star Trek canon, and Paramount+ canceled the new Star Trek series executive produced by Alex Kurtzman. Star Trek: Legacy has remained a frequent fan request in the years since Star Trek: Picard ended. After season 3, Stewart mused about a Picard movie while promoting his 2023 memoir Making It So, but no such movie materialized. Matalas' work on Star Trek: Picard season 3 led to Marvel Studios tapping him to executive produce VisionQuest, now streaming on Disney+.