After Star Trek: Nemesis, Patrick Stewart wanted no part of sci-fi

Star Trek: Nemesis didn’t just leave a bad impression with fans. 

Star Trek: Nemesis was panned by critics and resulted in a disappointing box office return. And even the cast hated it for various reasons, but one thing that fans really hated is that completely unwatchable scene with Deanna Troi and Shinzon. That alone highlights the need to skip over this movie.

Tom Hardy has previously talked about its effect on him personally as fans chose to blame him for the film’s failure. The actor suffered a breakdown after the hate mail started coming in and even contemplated suicide.Overall, it failed on many levels, and Patrick Stewart, in his memoir, Making It So [via Screenrant], called the movie a dud as well.

After Star Trek: Nemesis, Patrick Stewart wanted to move his career in a different direction.

In his memoir, Stewart says that after the movie, he was done with not only the role of Captain Picard but science fiction in general. In fact, he was convinced that this was the last time he’d play the iconic Picard, thinking the character was “consigned forever to the past.”

"“I didn’t have a single exciting scene to play… But Nemesis was a dud, as far as I was concerned. By the time it had come and gone, I wanted no further part of sci-fi, uniforms, or anything to do with outer space. I was convinced that my time as Jean-Luc Picard was consigned forever to the past.”"

Thankfully, Stewart agreed to return to the role of Picard, only this time as an admiral and without his former colleagues on Star Trek: The Next Generation…well, technically. Season one of the series brought back Will Riker and Deanna Troi while season two saw the brief return of Wesley Crusher and the more detailed return of Q.

It was season three that brought Admiral Picard and the team back together, and perhaps revitalized Stewart’s interest in the character as he’s now pushing for a final movie to bid goodbye to the fans of The Next Generation in a proper manner. Or as he calls it, a “significant” goodbye.