Star Trek: Picard Trailer Sees Patrick Stewart Fly With Some Familiar Faces
Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard is headed back to the stars, and the jaw-dropping new trailer for Star Trek: Picard just showed us he'll be doing so with some familiar faces by his side.
The Star Trek gods have been good to us, friends. We've known for some time now that the Star Trek panel at this year's San Diego Comic-Con was going to be very big deal, but Alex Kurtzman and co. have seriously exceeded expectations. The crown jewel of their SDCC 2019 panel arrived in the form of a glorious new full-length trailer for the upcoming CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard – which also happens to feature the return of Star Trek: The Next Generation stalwart Brent Spiner (as Data), and even sees an appearance from Star Trek: Voyager standout Jeri Ryan (reprising her role as post-Borg Voyager member Seven of Nine).
Just FYI: you might want to comfy, 'cause there's a lot more to unpack in the Star Trek: Picard trailer.
Before we get cracking, we should revisit some of what we've already gleaned of the feverishly anticipated series as Team Trek have slowly been leaking info ahead of their Comic-Con appearance.
Per the show's initial teaser, Star Trek: Picard takes place a couple of decades after Star Trek: Nemesis, and finds the former Starfleet Captain (with his loyal dog in tow) retired to the French countryside where his family's vineyard is located. Kurtzman recently acknowledged that Picard would also see the famed Captain returning to space, though not in the way we might expect — i.e., not necessarily with Starfleet. He even went on to tease the possibility that Jean-Luc may well find himself working with some of his crew from The Next Generation.
Those semi-cryptic nuggets of information were enough to pique the interest of any Star Trek fan, but they essentially stirred up even more questions from the devoted fanbase.
Now that the trailer for Star Trek: Picard is officially upon us, a handful of answers to some of the more alluring questions surrounding the series are finally here.
First and foremost is the return of Brent Spiner as the humanity-loving cyborg Data. The character was a fan-favorite over the seven-season (and three-feature-film) run of The Next Generation crew. Not to get all nostalgic, but given Picard's fascinating relationship with Data over that series' tenure, it really would've seemed odd to see a Picard tale without Data somewhere in it — though it's anyone's guess how involved the character will be in the former Captain's new adventure.
At Comic-Con 2019, Kurtzman also confirmed the on-screen return of TNG alum Jonathan Frakes (who's directing a couple episodes of Picard) as Picard's Number One, William Riker, with Jonathan Del Arco also returning as Borg guru Hugh. And if this Slashfilm report is to be believed, Marina Sitris may also be circling back into Picard's orbit as TNG's empath Deanna Troi. As for Ryan's return to the role of Seven of Nine, she was often the best part of the Voyager series, so it's nice to see her back in action. That being said, it remains a mystery how she'll factor into the Picard timeline, though she does appear to be on quite familiar terms with the main man.
While those familiar faces are certain to steal the show in the Picard trailer, it's worth noting that said trailer also offers a first look at our new crew members: Allison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), Harry Treadaway (Penny Dreadful), and Santiago Cabrera (Big Little Lies).
Colossal casting news aside, there's still much we can take away from the Star Trek: Picard trailer. It does, after all, offer the first real glimpse at just what Picard and crew are up to for this new adventure — which will begin somewhere in France, with Picard attempting to live a quiet life on planet Earth. Turns out, life on a single planet may not be all it's cracked up to be for a man who's seen as much (and traveled as far) as Picard. Luckily, the arrival of a strange young woman (newcomer Isa Briones) with a peculiar affection for the Captain is enough to send the man off to Starfleet for assistance... or guidance... or both.
From there, the Star Trek: Picard trailer kicks into high gear, churning through quick cuts of what looks like vintage Star Trek scenes that harken back to small-screen intrigue of the original series — all while clearly pushing the sci-fi action into a more cinematic realm (à la Picard's CBS All Access Trek partner Discovery). Along the way, there are some fairly ominous warnings that the girl Picard is helping may not be one of the good guys, and could potentially be "the end of all" — a statement immediately preceded by the appearance of a great big Borg vessel. Oh boy, oh boy.
Unfortunately, the one bit of news we did not get from the Star Trek: Picard panel (or the trailer it delivered) was the official premiere date of the series. For now, all the information on hand is that the show will bow on CBS All Access sometime in 2020. In the meantime, have fun engaging — and re-engaging and re-engaging — this absolute banger of a trailer.