‘Star Trek’ Universe To Expand, May Include Patrick Stewart Returning As Picard

Hawaii Five-0 head Alex Kurtzman is staying within the CBS family, now that he has signed a five-year extension to take over as showrunner at Star Trek: Discovery from fired showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg. But along with this news comes word that he will also be expanding the franchise by developing new series, miniseries and even animation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“The new deal comes as rumblings about another Star Trek series, featuring Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, have been getting louder. Sources say Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman, who left Discovery after season one, are attached to the Stewart-led reboot,” reported THR.

CBS hasn’t confirmed the new series for Stewart, even though the actor himself teased it in an interview with Red Carpet News TV when he admitted that he hasn’t seen Star Trek: Discovery yet, but he “may have good cause to look at it very soon.” That’s enough fodder to feed the franchise’s legion of fans to speculate for weeks on end, even if what he said could be taken several different ways that have nothing to do with a Picard return.

As for the potential new shows that Kurtzman may develop, Variety listed four possibilities.

1. A series set at Starfleet Academy from creators Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, the co-showrunners of the Hulu-Marvel series Runaways. They are also know for their work on Gossip Girl and the CW’s reboot of Dynasty.
2. A miniseries based on the uber-popular Wrath of Khan story, which was introduced in the original series episode “Space Seed” and appeared again in the film Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. He was portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán in both. The character made a comeback in the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness, portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch.
3. Another miniseries, but without any plot details being revealed yet.
4. An animated series that also has no plot details revealed.

Here’s hoping that bringing these new shows to life will be a smoother process than Star Trek: Discovery experienced. The show was supposed to help launch CBS All Access in January 2017, but it experienced repeated delays including difficulties with casting as well as behind-the-scenes changes. These included Bryan Fuller stepping down as the series’ original showrunner.

So far, production on Season 2 is moving ahead smoothly with Kurtzman having directed the premiere episode.