Matalas seesPicardseason 3 as the proper “last story” for theNext Generationera.
“This cast,” he says, referring toThe Next Generation, “never really had that.
The mission was to re-assemble the main crew ofThe Next Generationaround Stewart.Gates McFadden.Jonathan Frakes.LeVar Burton.Michael Dorn.Marina Sirtis.Brent Spiner.
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
The whole Enterprise gang.
There was no back-up plan.
“It was this or bust, so I had to go hard,” Matalas admits.
Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
“The good news is I think everybody really wanted to do it.
It was something that was in their hearts.
The cast certainly wanted to return.
LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
They’re all lifelong friends.
And another chance for them to be reunited on a starship?
Who wouldn’t say yes to that?
Michael Dorn as Worf in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
The pressure is really finding a story that’s worthy of that.”
“It feels like, ‘Whydidn’tthey for decades?'”
“It felt like it should have gone there in a feature film.
Jonathan Frakes as William Riker in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
“I also think that Beverly really never got her due,” he adds.
A lot of time and a lot of discussion with Gates went into that.”
Forging a new path
Matalas had conversations with all the legacyTrekactors returning forPicard.
Amanda Plummer as Vadic in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
He admits there were nerves around telling them where there characters would be after all this time.
To get ahead of that, he met with each one individually to lay out his plans.
“I was fortunate that, creatively, we were very aligned,” he says.
Todd Stashwick as Captain Liam Shaw in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
“They know their characters better than I do.”
He remembers the reaction from Burton, who returns as Geordi La Forge, now with two daughters.
It dawned on me that I just made Geordi La Forge cry with this story.
Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
And then I started to cry.”
Worf by way of Kill Bill
Matalas’ chat with Dorn went differently.
There weren’t many tears.
Brent Spiner is playing ‘an old new character’ in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3, executive producer Alex Kurtzman previously teased.James Dimmock/Paramount +
Just some references toKill Bill.
They offered clues as to what Worf could have been getting into.
“I see him as a samurai,” Matalas notes.
Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
“I actually see him with this Klingon sword on his back.
I was like, ‘That’s a way to go.’
And he goes, ‘I love it.'”
Michelle Hurd as Raffi in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
That was his touchstone for Picard’s relationship to his former No.
1, William Riker.
Frakes previously appeared onPicardas Riker, but he takes a more prominent role in season 3.
Ed Speleers plays someone helping Crusher’s medical team on worlds that Starfleet has forgotten in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3.James Dimmock/Paramount +
“That’s what’s beautiful about a 10-episode sort of ‘mini’ series.
you could explore all of them and see how they’re different and pair them up.”
That’s how he describes Amanda Plummer’s Vadic.
How is she more classic?
“She’s a bit more theatrical by intention,” Matalas says.
Plummer’s Oscar-winning dad played General Chang inThe Undiscovered Country.
“Having said that, when you get to know her story, you will find sympathy.
Vadic has her reasons for all of this, I say cryptically.
When you do [find out], it will make a lot of sense.”
From Enterprise to Picard
Among the new faces is a familiar one from theTrekcanon.
Actor Todd Stashwick once played a Romulan posing as a Vulcan in a 2004 episode ofStar Trek: Enterprise.
He’s a former engineer with a long history within Starfleet.
Stashwick had worked with Matalas on another sci-fi series,12 Monkeys.
Many writers who worked on that show followed Matalas toPicard.
“We just kept saying, ‘Captain Stashwick!
There was never anyone else in our mind for that role.”
What lies beyond the stars?
“That being said, anything is possible.
“It’s up to the television gods.
And by that I mean Paramount+ and Alex Kurtzman,” he says.
“There’s certainly a desire by me and many of the actors to continue some of these stories.
I think the way this season ends, there’s a tremendous opportunity.
But you know the nature of television is mercurial.
So we’ll see.”
Star Trek: Picardseason 3 premieres on Paramount+ Feb. 16.
See more exclusive photos of the cast below.
