Last year, Paramount+ subscribers saw Star Trek: Picard come to an end after three seasons, and with it was supposed to wrap up the saga of The Next Generation characters. However, in addition to Patrick Stewart indicating he may reprise Jean-Luc Picard for a movie, there have been many calls for this corner of the sci-fi franchise to be expanded through a spinoff called Star Trek: Legacy. Actress Michelle Hurd recently shared her hopes on what happens with her character, Raffi Musiker, if Legacy gets made as one of the upcoming Star Trek TV shows, and now Ed Speleers, who played Jack Crusher, has explained why he wants the spinoff to happen.
Speleers has been doing the press rounds promoting his new movie with Lindsay Lohan, Irish Wish, which can be streamed now with a Netflix subscription. But while he was speaking with Collider, the conversation turned to Star Trek, and the actor started off by saying how much he’s enjoyed placing Jack, the son of Picard and Beverly Crusher, and expressed gratitude for the fan support he’s received. At the same time, he feels “almost frustrated” that there seemingly hasn’t been any movement on Star Trek: Legacy given how so many people were “enraptured by that final season” and his desire “to tell more stories for Jack.” He sees the spinoff as being “teed up,” and continued:
I do believe it will happen at some point, and I feel that we will get there, but I think that people have just got to keep being noisy about it. [...] Everyone seems to want it to. We’ve just got to keep putting the noise out there. I mean, I would love it. I would absolutely love to play more. [...] Star Trek in many ways, I think ‘changing my life’ is such a big phrase so I don't want to say that, but it definitely realigns things for me creatively. And actually, the run of work since then has been really interesting. But that part, I feel like I've still got so much to offer with him, and I really, really hope and want and believe that we will get that chance at some point.
Regarding what Ed Speleers means by “teed up,” in addition to Jack Crusher, now a Starfleet ensign, being designated a special counselor to Captain Seven of Nine and First Officer Raffi Musiker aboard the Enterprise-G at the end of Star Trek: Picard’s series finale, the character was visited by John de Lancie’s Q, who was thought to have died at the end of Season 2. While all Q had to say about that puzzling twist was that he’d hoped the “next generation wouldn’t think so literally,” he did tell Jack that his trial for humanity “has just begun.” So those are the pieces in place for Star Trek: Legacy to hypothetically pick up, Speleers is optimistic that it will eventually move forward.
The Downton Abbey alum said later on in the interview that “the sky’s the limit for Jack Crusher’s character,” and that because the character is “always gonna have elements that are gonna torture him” and things that will “veer him off course,” that will provide “a really interesting psychological build-up and battle for him.” Still, officially speaking, there’s nothing to indicate Star Trek: Legacy is being given serious consideration. Also, even with Discovery ending after five seasons, Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks are still airing on Paramount+, and there’s also the Starfleet Academy series and the Section 31 movie starring Michelle Yeoh on the way. Perhaps the powers-that-be at the streaming service are content with the amount of Trek content lined up right now.
All that being said, if Ed Speleers ends up being correct and Star Trek: Legacy is greenlit, we’ll let you know about it. Until then, our 2024 TV schedule lays out the current programming and what’s premiering over later in the year.
