Patrick Stewart believes there will be a different actor portraying Jean-Luc Picard at some point

The original stars of Star Trek have all been played by different actors at this point. We've had different adult Captain Kirks, different Spocks, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, Scotty, and others from the franchise. So far, though, Star Trek hasn't ventured into the territory of a new Jean-Luc Picard or any other character from Star Trek: The Next Generation or the other series in the franchise unless you count the time when Picard, Guinan, Ensign Ro Laren, and Keiko O'Brien were changed to twelve-year-old children in a transporter incident in the season six episode "Rascals."

But may fans have speculated as to whether we might one day see another actor portraying Captain Picard or even a younger version of him still as a lieutenant or even a cadet. As it so happens, Patrick Stewart believes it will happen. In an interview with Wired, he said he was sure of it, even speculating that Picard's son, played by Ed Speleers, could become the next Jean-Luc Picard. Of course, that wouldn't be his name, but, at any point, Jack Crusher could decide to take his father's last name. And he could become the next Captain Picard. But that wouldn't be the same as replacing Stewart's character.

Recently, Screenrant shared a post highlighting actors who could potentially make good replacements for the characters of The Next Generation perhaps in a big screen reboot with Black Sails' Toby Stephens as Captain Picard. And this isn't the first time possible rebooted cast members have been discussed.

And while it's not something fans really want to think about, if Stewart believes that it's eventually going to happen, odds are good it's eventually going to happen. Maybe not while the current actors could still potentially join Star Trek: Legacy if it gets greenlit or even star in a final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie. But eventually.