Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for the Star Trek: Picard series finale "The Last Generation." Read at your own risk!
Star Trek: Picard has concluded its final season over on Paramount+, and the fans can't get enough. Despite this being the end of the series, there are calls from many from the cast alongside the fans for a spinoff to continue the adventures of the characters into the future. The hypothetical series, tentatively called Star Trek: Legacy, still isn't a reality, but CinemaBlend got a promising update on the situation from showrunner Terry Matalas.
I spoke to Matalas ahead of the finale of Star Trek: Picard, and after inquiring if he ever considered killing off the title character (which it turns out was never "on the table"), I had to discuss the spinoff hype. I asked the showrunner how the constant calls for Star Trek: Legacy have made him feel, and unsurprisingly, he was very gracious in his response:
Oh, it's flattering. I mean, it's very flattering. I love Star Trek. That's lovely. That's very lovely to hear.
Of the cast that's in for Star Trek: Legacy, Ed Espeleers expressed his desire to reprise Jack Crusher, and Brent Spiner said he'd have to consider returning if his fellow co-stars were involved. On the fan side, there's a Change.org petition making rounds that has already amassed over 20,000 signatures. Pair that with the universal praise of Star Trek: Picard Season 3, and it seems like there's a good number of people who want to see Legacy happen.
Terry Matalas is 100% on board to make Star Trek: Legacy, but the decision isn't exactly his to make. He gave me an update on where things stand at the moment in terms of a Picard spinoff happening and talked about the various factors at play that impact it:
You know, there’s conversations happening all the time. I think Alex [Kurtzman] has a plan for the Star Trek universe and I think he has to figure out how all these things play out, right? I don’t think he wants to rush into anything. He’s got two great [live-action] shows happening right now, Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy, and the Section 31 movie. So, you know, they’re pretty well stocked. At the same time, I think there’s a demand for this. I would say the fans should be loud and tell the world what they want. And maybe one day we’ll be able to do it…The fans are heard, but they should keep doing their thing.
Matalas assured me that the powers-that-be for the Star Trek franchise are aware of what fans are saying about Star Trek: Picard Season 3. Of course, Matalas encouraged everyone who wants to see Legacy happen to continue to make noise about the fact they'd appreciate more adventures that include Seven of Nine as Captain, Jack adventuring with Q and all the other things set up in the finale.
Paramount+ and Alex Kurtzman likely won't just ignore the plights of the fans, but as Terry Matalas mentioned, Kurtzman is curating a connected universe across a number of projects. There are plans already in motion for a number of Trek projects, and it doesn't seem like there were any plans in motion to even consider a Picard follow-up until the response for Season 3 was seen. It could take a while for a project like this to even get off the ground, so fans will have to pace themselves, yet remain passionate as we continue the year and await further updates on something potentially happening.
Star Trek: Picard is now available to stream in its entirety with a Paramount+ subscription. I'd suggest that fans hoping for more adventures in the 25th century make sure they stream it there and check out the other content from the franchise available to stream.
