Star Trek: Picard Season 3 received near-universal acclaim from viewers and critics alike, and there are already calls for a follow-up subtitled Legacy. There's a hope that such a spinoff would give Picard co-showrunner Terry Matalas the opportunity to tell new stories and maybe even fixing some flaws from previous franchise stories. Season 3 did a lot to rectify the mistakes made by the movie Nemesis and, apparently, there may also be reason to believe that it set the stage for a future retcon of a controversial Captain Kirk decision.
How Was James T. Kirk Referenced In Picard?
Star Trek: Generations (chronologically) marks the final adventure for James T. Kirk, who perished after being crushed by a collapsed walkway while in the process of retrieving a data pad. Jean-Luc Picard buried him under a pile of rocks on Veridian III, and some thought that the body remained there until the recent events of Jean-Luc's eponymous show.
For those who may not remember the Kirk reference and don't want to use their Paramount+ subscription, Star Trek: Picard alluded to the iconic character in the Season 3 episode, "The Bounty." One of several cool moments in the installment saw Riker, Worf, and Raffi discovering that the Daystrom Station housed the remains of Captain Kirk. It seemed that his body had been transported there sometime after his death and, at this time, there was also mention of "Project Phoenix."
What Did Series EP Akiva Goldsman Have To Say About This?
The easter egg seemingly hinted at the notion of Kirk being resurrected in a future Trek production. Ultimately, Picard Season 3 ended without William Shatner's beloved character reappearing. More recently, during an interview with our sister site, SFX Magazine, co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman revealed that the nod was indeed meant to lay the foundation for that massive return. As for whether it'll actually be followed through at some point, Goldsman said this (via Games Radar):
My friend Terry Matalas [Picard showrunner] is not alone in feeling frustrated with Kirk’s death in canon. It’s why he put his body at Daystrom Station, right? It’s a really hard thing to figure out how to do, but none of me opposes it. We just don’t have plans for it. There are a few things that I would retcon if I could, and digital performers could help that. I think in theory, yes. Sadly, just practically speaking, we have no plans for it.
The "lack of plans" might be Akiva Goldsman's way of subtly confirming that there's no Picard follow-up in the works. Showrunner Terry Matalas told CinemaBlend that the fans are being heard when it comes to calls for a spinoff but acknowledge that Paramount+ has a loaded slate for the franchise as is. Even with Discovery ending with Season 5, there are still plenty of upcoming Star Trek shows on the horizon, and that doesn't even include the Section 31 movie starring Michelle Yeoh.
On the bright side though, we do have confirmation that the lingering plot thread is out there. So if a Picard follow-up is green-lit, there's a possibility fans could get to see a post-Generations Captain Kirk. As Akiva Goldsman mentioned, he'd be open to having some digital performance work done to make Kirk look the same as he did in the film. With that said, there's been no indication as to whether 92-year-old William Shatner would be available for that or even interested in returning to the role in that capacity.
It's also worthing noting that James T. Kirk has already been recast in the prime universe and is played by Paul Wesley in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Given Akiva Goldsman's willingness to use digital performers, a follow-up could theoretically go that route and probably create a decent-looking recreation of Kirk for a one-off adventure if another recasting is off the table.
Coincidentally, The Roddenberry Archive produced a scene that featured Leonard Nimoy's Spock recovering the Enterprise and visiting Kirk's grave. If Star Trek could make a digital William Shatner look as good as they did Nimoy's Spock in this video, then I'm all for it happening. Check out the clip:
There is precedent for James Kirk being brought back to life after Star Trek: Generations, though it's not considered canon. Terry Matalas revealed to TrekMovie.com that the easter egg was partly referencing The Return, a Trek book written by William Shatner in which Kirk was brought back to life after the events of the 1994 film. Matalas added that the reveal set up "possibilities" but didn't go so far as to say that he might've been in conversations with co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman about a Kirk return. Should Matalas and Goldsman reunite for another Trek project, I'd be curious to see whether they'd truly decide to revive the captain.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 is available to stream on Paramount+, and there's a ton of other Trek content to check out as well. Make sure to keep that subscription active, as the Season 2 premiere of Strange New Worlds lands on June 15th.
