LeVar Burton: It “Makes So Much Sense” For ‘Star Trek: Legacy’ To Follow ‘Starfleet Academy’
Since even before the Next Generation-infused third season of Star Trek: Picard wrapped up last year, there was a lot of talk about a Star Trek: Legacy follow-up series coming from the showrunner, the cast, and fans. For now, Paramount+ is focused on its current Star Trek offerings, including more seasons of Strange New Worlds, the upcoming Section 31 streaming movie, and the new series Starfleet Academy, which recently was picked up for a second season before the first has even been completed. But one TNG and Picard star has not given up on the idea of Legacy.
LeVar’s Legacy
LeVar Burton returned to his Next Generation character Geordi LaForge in the final season of Picard, playing a key role in saving the day which included rebuilding the original USS Enterprise-D. Promoting Picard at New York Comic Con in 2022, Sir Patrick Stewart talked about how much he wanted to see the TNG cast continue with more. LeVar Burton was on that stage as well, and in a new interview with TV Line, he talked about how he sees that two years later:
“I think [Patrick] was reflecting, genuinely, the sentiment—then AND now, at least for us, the cast—and the audience, two years on, seem to be just as interested in the idea of Legacy as when Picard was just airing. I’m not close to the brain trust over there, but I see that they are all in on Starfleet Academy. And in this age of cutting back and retrenching in the entertainment space, I imagine they’re going to focus on that until they feel like they might be able to focus on something else. And I would think that given the opportunity and the resources, that they would want to do this. It makes so much sense… It makes so much sense.”
For now, Paramount continues to focus on managing costs for its streaming service. There is also the issue of the availability of Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, who first proposed the Legacy idea, as he is now focused on the Marvel’s Vision series, as well as other projects outside of Paramount. However, Matalas has stated he would still want to return if Legacy were ever given the greenlight. And Paramount+ is still ordering new shows and seasons to remain competitive (albeit not at the same rate as previous years), with Star Trek as one of their key properties. So perhaps there still is some hope for Star Trek: Legacy.
Filling the Nemesis void
Burton also talked to TV Line about how he and the other members of the TNG cast felt being reunited on Picard:
“I think that for all of us, the feeling was overwhelmingly one of gratitude for the experience, for having had the chance to come back and really finish what we started in a good way. When we shot the last movie [Star Trek: Nemesis], we didn’t know it was going to be our last movie. And so there was a sense of incompletion. So to be able to come back and close the circle and perhaps start a new one was really satisfying for all of us… for all of us. It was amazing! I can’t even describe to you what it’s like when we are all together. It’s like the universe is right. When we are in the presence of one another, everything is right with the world.”
LeVar’s Trivial Pursuit
LeVar Burton isn’t just sitting around waiting for Legacy to happen. His latest endeavor is a bit of fulfilling a longtime dream of hosting a game show. After things didn’t work out with Jeopardy!, LeVar turned to another idea and helped develop a new game show based on the popular board game Trivial Pursuit. The show debuted on The CW earlier this month and airs Thursdays at 8 PM.
