A Star Trek: Picard movie is the perfect replacement for the troubled Star Trek 4 project, which continues to languish in development hell. The fourth J.J Abrams' produced Star Trek movie was originally scheduled for release in December 2023, but promptly disappeared from Paramount's slate of upcoming releases.
The project has passed through the hands of many Hollywood big-hitters like writer-director Quentin Tarantino and actor Chris Hemsworth, but to date a workable version of the movie is yet to surface.
Meanwhile, actor Patrick Stewart has been on the Emmy's campaign trail for Star Trek: Picard, interviewed by various outlets including IndieWire. It was during their interview that Patrick Stewart's idea for a Picard movie came out, with the actor saying he was keen for it to serve as an epilogue to the hugely successful third season. With no further updates on Star Trek 4, and Picard season 3 continuing to ride high in the lead-up to the Emmy's, Patrick Stewart's movie idea could be just the thing to relaunch the franchise on a big screen.
Picard Is Star Trek's Strongest Brand, Especially For TNG Nostalgia
Patrick Stewart and the cast of Star Trek: Picard season 3
Star Trek: Picard season 3 is currently running a For Your Consideration campaign, and the finale was promoted with an impressive digital billboard in Time's Square. It's undeniable that the Star Trek: The Next Generation sequel show is Star Trek's strongest brand right now. To capitalize on that buzz with a Picard season 4 could be a mistake, but a 2-hour movie could be an easier prospect from a storytelling perspective. The story would still need to be immaculate to honor the perfect endings that the TNG cast got in Picard season 3, but there's certainly potential for one last adventure as Patrick Stewart describes.
Movies like Top Gun Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water both performed exceptionally well at the box office by trading on fondness for the original movies while pushing things in a new direction. One final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie could do something similar, trading on audience nostalgia for the 90s TV show and movies like Star Trek: First Contact. If it came up with a strong story that didn't require a mass audience to watch 30 episodes of Picard it could be on to a winner.
Star Trek Has Changed And Doesn't Need J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Movies Anymore
Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek's Kelvin Timeline and the poster for Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek Beyond released in theaters in 2016, commemorating the franchise's 50th anniversary, and celebrating 50 years of going boldy. It was a hugely enjoyable popcorn movie version of Star Trek that showcased the considerable talent present on the bridge of the Kelvin Timeline's USS Enterprise. However, it's been a very long 7 years since 2016, not just in terms of politics and pandemics, but for the Star Trek franchise itself. Seven years after Beyond was released, and Star Trek is back in a big way, but on the small screen.
Star Trek's streaming renaissance presents a big problem for Star Trek 4 as it has its own Kirk, Spock, and Uhura appearing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. SNW has expanded upon Star Trek: The Original Series by invoking the visual style of the 1960s show while bringing the story and tone up to date for the 2020s.
With Strange New Worlds doing what J.J Abrams' Trek movies first did in the mid 2000s, it's hard to see where they fit in the modern franchise, despite considerable fondness for the Kelvin crew. Perhaps it's time that another much-loved crew of the USS Enterprise takes the franchise back into theaters with a Star Trek: Picard movie.
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