Star Trek Why Patrick Stewart Changed His Mind About Turning Down Picard

Star Trek: Why Patrick Stewart Changed His Mind About Turning Down Picard

Patrick Stewart, who originated the role of Jean-Luc Picard 34 years ago, didn’t want to return for Star Trek: Picard until he knew the story.

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Star Trek Why Patrick Stewart Changed His Mind About Turning Down Picard

Patrick Stewart was intent on turning down Star Trek: Picard after hearing that the Star Trek series was in development, so why did he change his mind? Stewart first appeared in the Star Trek universe in 1987 as Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise, in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The series was set roughly a hundred years after Star Trek: The Original Series and ran for seven seasons, plus four feature films.

After portraying Picard for 15 years, Stewart believed he had said all that there was to say about the character, that Picard’s story was over, and that it was time to move on. When he heard that CBS was developing a new Star Trek series featuring the role that Stewart originated, he planned to turn them down. “This may sound somewhat arrogant,” Stewart told NPR in an interview, “but … I wanted to meet with these brilliant people face to face to tell them why I was going to say no to their show.”

However, after taking that meeting and listening to the story pitch for the limited series, Stewart said, “A little tingle started in my spine with regard to some of the ideas and concepts that they were putting forward.” Something about Picard intrigued Stewart enough to take the role. While Stewart doesn’t specify in the interview exactly what it was that changed his mind, it could have been the development of new characters and relationships, the mysterious and thrilling story, or the opportunity to explore a complex moral question that is a perennial favorite of Star Trek’s to ask – what does it mean to be human? – but with a new little twist: What does it mean to be human in a universe where androids and humans are indistinguishable?

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Alternatively, Stewart’s change of heart may have been as simple as the opportunity to tell another Star Trek story through Picard. Star Trek: Picard re-introduces Jean-Luc as a retiree living a quiet life in the French countryside, then calls him to adventure with an intriguing mystery regarding his old friend, Data. Picard’s strained relationship with Starfleet means that he has to face this challenge outside the purview of Starfleet, seeking help from friends old and new as he unravels Soji’s past – all while facing an existential threat to humanity by employing the diplomacy, morality, and compassion that have become synonymous with Jean-Luc Picard.

The format of Picard is revolutionary for Star Trek as well. While most Star Trek series follow an episodic format, Picard took its time exploring a single story in its first season, which was comprised of seven episodes. While Picard’s pacing and anti-climactic season 1 finale received plenty of criticism, the story had room to breathe like few other Star Trek stories before it. And – at its heart – Star Trek: Picard is true to TNG’s legacy while proving that, even 18 years after Stewart bade farewell to the role, Jean-Luc Picard is as relevant as ever.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/patrick-stewart-star-trek-picard-reject-accept-why/

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