Paramount+ didn't go forward with producing Star Trek: Legacy, despite the clear setup for the continuation spinoff at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3. Under new owners Skydance, Paramount reportedly plans to distance itself from Star Trek's 60 years of canon in favor of an unspecified new direction that will hopefully entice new audiences to join the final frontier. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Legacy remains the biggest 'want' among fans for over three years since Picard ended.
Terry Matalas joined Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes' Dropping Names... And Other Things podcast, where the trio discussed the wildly successful third season of Star Trek: Picard. Regarding why Star Trek: Legacy didn't happen, Matalas diplomatically shrugs, "Who knows?" but believes that you should "never say never." Terry then revealed how Patrick Stewart wanted to be involved in Legacy. Read Matalas and Frakes' quotes below:
Terry Matalas: “Legacy wasn’t supposed to be like, ‘We’re just gonna keep doing Next Gen.’ It was supposed to bring in new [people], young, switch off. We had a great idea for Worf, and Alexander, and the Klingons. But it was gonna be back to feeling like Next Gen.”
Jonathan Frakes: “Well, Jeri [Ryan] was in the captain’s chair, Michelle [Hurd] was in Riker’s seat, and Ed Speleers was in Marina’s chair, and then Q, the button with Q, who had visited Ed…”
Terry Matalas: “Patrick was like, ‘I want to come and be the one who gets on the screen and tells them missions.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know why we’re not doing this!’”
Jonathan Frakes: “Patrick was all in!”
Watch Terry Matalas on Dropping Names... And Other Things:
Jonathan Frakes had also floated the idea of Captain Will Riker finally becoming an Admiral and being the one who issues orders to Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and the USS Enterprise-G. Of course, it's a natural spot for Riker and Picard to have in Star Trek: Legacy. There's no reason to think Jean-Luc and Will couldn't have switched off sending the new Enterprise on missions.
After Star Trek: Picard season 3 ended, Patrick Stewart mused about a "Picard movie" while promoting his 2023 memoir, Making It So. However, no such movie materialized or was developed given Paramount's flux during Skydance's purchase. Stewart had no future Star Trek plans after Picard; instead, the 86-year-old thespian reprised Professor Charles Xavier in Avengers; Doomsday.
As part of Skydance's purchase, Paramount+ canceled all of the new Star Trek series executive produced by Alex Kurtzman. The general idea seems to be distancing the next iteration of Star Trek from its 60 years of canon with a fresh approach, in movies and on television. Paramount Pictures is prioritizing launching a new Star Trek movie with no legacy characters.
Of course, 'legacy' is literally the name of Star Trek: Picard season 3's continuation, and its strong point would have been its ties to Star Trek's rich lore and beloved characters. However, Matalas recognizes the need to draw new audiences, and as he said on Dropping Names, Star Trek: Legacy would have combined a focus on younger heroes, honoring the past, and the "feeling" of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Terry Matalas' acclaimed work on Star Trek: Picard season 3 led to Marvel Studios tapping him to executive produce VisionQuest, which is now streaming on Disney+. Encouragingly, Terry still holds to his "never say never" attitude about Star Trek: Legacy, and he would jump at the chance to return to Star Trek if Skydance calls.
Star Trek: Picard is streaming on Paramount+
Release Date
2020 - 2023-00-00
Network
CBS All Access, Paramount+
Showrunner
Michael Chabon
Directors
Jonathan Frakes, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Akiva Goldsman, Joe Menendez, Lea Thompson, Michael Weaver, Terry Matalas, Deborah Kampmeier, Dan Liu
Writers
Matt Okumura, Kiley Rossetter, Christopher B. Derrick
Image via Paramount+
English (US) ·