Despite Patrick Stewart’s enthusiasm for a Picard movie, the TNG cast already had a perfect farewell in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Patrick Stewart has expressed his interest in making a Picard film after Star Trek: Picard season 3, but there are several reasons why this may not be the best idea. In a recent interview with IndieWire, Stewart reaffirmed his interest in making another movie as a final farewell for the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. While the sentiment is a good one, the TNG cast already had their perfect finale in Picard season 3. Adding another chapter to that story feels unnecessary and could risk undermining some of what made Picard season 3 so great.
Despite Patrick Stewart’s enthusiasm for a Star Trek: Picard film, another big-screen adventure would likely add needless conflict among the TNG crew and render the finale of Picard less satisfying. Not only did every original TNG cast member survive through the end of Star Trek: Picard, but they ended the show happy and together. Though it was wonderful to see the TNG cast on the bridge of the ISS Enterprise-D again, their story feels largely finished. While they could continue to appear as guest stars or recurring characters in other Star Trek projects, it’s time to pass the torch on to the newer Trek characters in shows like the hopefully forthcoming Star Trek: Legacy.
Why Another Star Trek TNG Movie After Picard Season 3 Isn’t A Great Idea
Star Trek: The Next Generation had one brilliant finale long before Star Trek: Picard season 3, with “All Good Things….” And while the TNG movies that followed had some great moments, they often lacked the heart and thoughtful intelligence of the television series. The Enterprise’s resident android, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), had a wonderful arc throughout TNG as he discovered his own humanity, but Star Trek Generations cheapened that emotional journey by bringing back the emotion chip plotline. The films also abandoned the romance between Picard and the Enterprise’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). The two had danced around their feelings for each other throughout TNG, but the films brought in other romantic interests for Picard, turning him into too much of an action-movie hero.
Even the writers of Star Trek: Picard seemed to be aware of the flaws of films, as the Captain of the USS Titan takes a dig at the TNG movies. When Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) criticizes the past antics of Picard and Will Riker (Johnathan Frakes), he almost exclusively references events from the TNG movies rather than the show. Of course, a new TNG movie with the current writing team could prove to be something entirely different than any previous Star Trek film. But with a farewell as good as Picard season 3, why mess with a good thing?
Star Trek Works Best On TV, Despite Movie Successes
The Star Trek franchise has produced some great sci-fi action movies, to be sure, but something fundamental to Trek often gets lost when it jumps to the big screen. Whether in the style of planet-of-the-week episodic adventures or serialized season-long arcs, there’s something vital about Star Trek stories that lends itself to the television style of storytelling. In its ten episodes, Star Trek: Picard season 3 had more time to flesh out the new characters and reveal what had changed about the familiar ones. Plus, Picard season 3 set up several new stories and characters already that deserve to be further explored in their own television show.
Star Trek: Legacy could do just this – carry on the legacy of previous Star Trek greats while bringing the franchise into the future with interesting new characters and stories. While the film format could work for one-off stories, such as the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 film, most major Star Trek stories work best on television. Though Star Trek movies have been successful in the past (and likely will be again in the future), the characters of Star Trek: The Next Generation already received their perfect ending in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
