Patrick Stewart tends to his vines in new image from Star Trek: Picard

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Much will be revealed about the future of the Star Trek franchise during the Star Trek panel at San Diego Comic-Con this Saturday, but we've got a little taste of one of their most anticipated shows right now. Patrick Stewart has stepped back into the iconic role of Jean-Luc Picard for Star Trek: Picard, which will find the character having left Starfleet behind as he enjoys retirement at his family's vineyard in France.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Alex Kurtzman and showrunner Michael Chabon dropped a few hints on where the new series will take Jean-Luc Picard, but first, a new image of the former Captain tending to his vineyard along with his good boy.

We haven't seen much of Star Trek: Picard at this point, but everything we have seen has been strictly Earth-bound. It probably doesn't need addressing, but Alex Kurtzman has confirmed that Picard will be heading back to space at some point. "Events began to unfold that conspire to take Picard back to the stars," Kurtzman teased. However, that doesn't mean that Picard will be rejoining Starfleet. "He will [go to space]," Kurtzman added, "but not in a way that anyone expects… Because he’s no longer in Starfleet, he no longer carries the weight of that behind him. In some ways, it’s easier to be [a great man] when you’re a captain. But it’s an entirely different thing when you don’t have an army behind you. When you want to get something done and fight an injustice, how do you do that when you’re really only one man?" Kurtzman went on to say that although Picard is haunted by certain events, he will remain the character we all know and love.

It was terribly important to us that he remains fundamentally Picard. You will not see a version that betrays the man we loved from Next Generation. We’re not doing that. But we wanted to put a character with that level of morality and leadership and who always does the right thing no matter how hard the circumstances … we wanted to put that to the test.

That said, Michael Chabon stated that the series will not be shying aware from dealing with Picard's age. "He’s a lot older and we’re not shying away from that at all — we’re dealing with a man who’s in a very different place in his life," Chabon said, adding that the "quality of Patrick’s acting, if anything, has gotten even better over time and he was already a master. He has an ability to hold you riveted even when he’s just sitting and listening." Fans have also been wondering whether or not they can expect appearances from other cast-members of The Next Generation, and while those types of appearances aren't being ruled out, Kurtzman said that they didn't just want to throw in cameos unless there was an "incredibly specific story reason" for them to be there.

Once again, the Star Trek panel will take place this Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con, so we'll be bringing you more Star Trek-related goodies as they drop!