Terry Matalas had a special guest star for Picard finale viewing

The finale of Star Trek: Picard aired over a month ago, and showrunner Terry Matalas watched it along with a guest from the early days of Star Trek. 

Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas tried to bring back as many Star Trek legends from the various series as he could for the final season of Picard, but the budget would only allow for so many. Plus he only had ten episodes to work with, and squeezing everyone in just to squeeze them in might have diluted the story. That didn’t stop him from making an effort to acknowledge the legends in his own way, though.

The night of the finale, he and Todd Stashwick, who played Captain Liam Shaw, enjoyed the last episode with special guest, Walter Koenig, who has been a part of Star Trek since season two of Star Trek: The Original Series. And from the picture Matalas shared on Twitter on May 13th, everyone was enjoying themselves…and the popcorn.

Terry Matalas was able to bring Walter Koenig onto Star Trek: Picard via a voice role.

Though Koenig didn’t physically appear onscreen, he portrayed Federation President Anton Chekov, the son of Pavel Chekov, sharing a message of hope as the newly-assimiliated Borg drones attacked Earth. The name was undoubtedly a tribute to Anton Yelchin, the actor who portrayed Pavel Chekov in the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies. Yelchin tragically passed away in 2016.

Even if we didn’t get to see Koenig’s original character, bringing him on board for a voice cameo was a great way to acknowledge the actor’s contribution to the Star Trek franchise as well as a nod to the original series that launched over fifty-five years of unforgettable science fiction. Overall, this was a job well-done on all fronts!