Patrick Stewart didn’t want The Next Generation cast on Picard at first

Patrick Stewart didn’t want a Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion on Picard.

The news of the pending reunion of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast on the upcoming season of Picard rang out through the fandom when it was announced. The last season of Picard, featuring the last ever performance of the character by Patrick Stewart, backed by the same men and women that helped turn Stewart from a good theater actor into an acting icon? What could be better?

Well, apparently, everything if you would have asked Stewart. In an interview with Variety, Stewart revealed that he was adamantly against the reunion with Picard, saying he had his doubts.

He cited the idea of not wanting to rewind the clock, and then further going on to say that there was “no reason to walk down memory lane”.

"It was something which initially, I had my doubts about. It would seem to me that it would be paying too much attention to the fan appreciations of what “Next Generation” had meant to them. I know how intense the social reconnections can be. But when we talked about it, when I talk to Akiva [Goldsman] about it and my fellow producers and the other writers, I could see that it could be done without rewinding the clock. There was no reason for us to walk down memory lane in every scene. Not at all. And the brilliant thing the writers did in Season 3, is that they engaged the cast of “Next Generation.” But that’s as much as I’m allowed to say."

This isn’t to say that he isn’t fond of the cast, going on to say in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter;

"We have been bonded together for years and years in different ways and for different reasons. I adore them, and I love them all deeply. What they brought into my life in 1987 was rich and complex. They all are as committed as any group of actors I’ve ever worked with. And yes, we had a lot of fun, and we joked. But nevertheless, we were a serious group of actors, and I was so proud of the work that we did."

The Next Generation reunion is a sign that the cast shakeup wasn’t planned

Some fans were upset when it was suggested that the cast change from Picard season two to season three was a sign that the show never found its audience. It’s a theory, but one backed up by this news.

Picard was always pitched as a three-season series, and it would stand to reason that every main cast member from the first season got three-season deals alongside Stewart. So why did so many of the main cast members get removed from the series following season two? To make room for the Next Generation crew.

If the Next Generation crew was not in the original pitch of the series, then why were they brought in, especially if Stewart agreed to do the show originally? Remember, Stewart didn’t want to return to the character of Picard for the longest time. He agreed to do so for a different challenge and a different story.

Yet, Picard started out very original, and eventually morphed into a TNG fan-service montage. Why? Simply put, the studio needed to improve the ratings. Why else would a man agree to change things so dramatically, especially when it was these things he was hoping to avoid in the first place?

Now, that’s not to say that Picard season three might not be good. It very well may be. It’s just a sign that the show still hasn’t found its audience. Sure, there are fans of the series, but let’s not pretend that it’s got universally approval.

Only a fool or someone who wants to lie to themselves would think the show is among the more popular shows of the Trek fandom.