After its thrilling conclusion to Season 2, Star Trek: Picard is in the final stretch of its lifespan. The third season will be the final for the series, and Paramount+ subscribers will see Jean-Luc Picard reunite with The Next Generation characters for one last adventure. After that, it’s unclear what the future holds for the characters, though co-showrunner Terry Matalas is already teasing potential spinoffs.
Terry Matalas appeared as a guest on the Inglorious Treksperts podcast (via TrekCore) and fielded a question about his future plans within the Star Trek universe once Picard is over. Folks clearly want to know if Matalas will continue to produce shows for the franchise following Season 3, and the showrunner gave a very cryptic response:
Uhh…. uhh…. [pause] …if this was a printed interview, you’d say, ‘The showrunner smiled devilishly.’ I think, to me, this is a period of time in the Star Trek universe I’d love to spend more time in. There’s nothing less than 30 legacy characters across Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Next Gen that you’d love to check-in and see — you can’t get to them all in [‘Picard’] Season 3.
The co-showrunner made a valid point. There are plenty of legacy characters that are still hanging out in space around the time period in which the show takes place, but Picard has only had so much time to get to them. Even Wesley Crusher wasn’t able to get in on the Season 3 fun after his surprise appearance in the second. So I’m sure there are other great characters who won’t be around in the final season either.
When adding to his response, Terry Matalas name-dropped a character many Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine fans know well. He also teased that Picard fans will be interested in one particular person's return and will want to know what comes next:
We don’t get to Miles O’Brien. I’d love to get to Miles O’Brien! There are people though — I could say one name to you right now that comes back, and [you’d be] like, ‘Oh my god, I want to know what happens!’ You’re going to find out. So I would love nothing more than to stay in the 2401 year to tell more ‘Star Trek’ stories in this universe… so that’s all I will say.
The Star Trek showrunner didn’t say a ton but did say enough to indicate that there may be plans for more shows that follow legacy characters in the year 2401. It’s possible that we might see someone like Captain Janeway back in action, given the character’s presence in Star Trek: Prodigy and Kate Mulgrew's comments to CinemaBlend about appearing in live-action.
There’s definitely some potential to incorporate Janeway or others from Star Trek: Voyager, considering Seven of Nine is already back in the universe via Picard. There’s also surely shortage of fans who would want to see the Deep Space Nine cast back in action and, as it stands, there haven’t been as many meaningful nods to that series in this new era. If either show or its characters receive follow-ups, I’m sure there'd be plenty of excitement.
With so many new Trek shows already on the way, though, one can only imagine when another one might be announced. Of course, with Section 31 seemingly in a holding pattern, while Michelle Yeoh pursues other roles. So it’s possible another show that's in development could take its place. We can only wait and hope that whatever Terry Matalas is teasing is just as exciting as Star Trek: Picard is.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will arrive on Paramount+ in 2023 and, while you wait, stream other Trek shows, both classic and current.
