Paramount+ beamed down to San Diego Comic-Con's illustrious Hall H today with an impressive slate of guests and announcements. The panel, which was moderated by Lea Thompson, launched straight to warp, starting the event off with Star Trek: Picard. Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden took to the stage to discuss the upcoming third and final season of the series.
Season 3 will see the titular Jean Luc Picard (Stewart) reunite with The Next Generation's Beverly Crusher (McFadden), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), and Worf (Michael Dorn). William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) are also set to return, though they appeared in the series during Season 1, along with Brent Spiner who appeared consistently throughout Season 2 as the treacherous Dr. Soong, who was the blueprint for Data. While most of the Star Trek: Picard cast departed after Season 2, Raffi (Michelle Hurd) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) are set to appear in Season 3, though it's unclear just how much they'll appear in the final season.
Following the panel, they opened the floor to fan questions, which prompted one intrepid fan to ask Stewart if he would like to do another Next Generation movie with the cast. His answer? A resounding "Yes!" Alex Kurtzman explained that the final season of Star Trek: Picard is sort of like the final Next Generation film, but he teased that there could be more if fans loved what they see. Naturally, this glimmer of hope led to a lot of excited Trekkies in Hall H.
In addition to having a seven-season series, The Next Generation also had four films that were met with varying degrees of success. The first three, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, and Star Trek: Insurrection, were released during the 1990s, with the latter two being directed by Jonathan Frakes. The fourth film, Star Trek: Nemesis, which premiered in 2002, was directed by Stuart Baird, with a story by Brent Spiner. That final film was not well-received by fans, prompting the fifth film, which was partially written by Spiner, to be scrapped.
While Star Trek: Picard has been a neat send-off for these beloved characters, and it sounds like Kurtzman plans to tie things up in a neat little bow, it is extremely exciting to hear that Stewart is still keen to tell more stories about Picard and the crew that made The Next Generation so special.
The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard will premiere on Paramount+ in 2023. Watch the teaser trailer for the final season below: