Star Trek: The Next Generation Reboot With Patrick Stewart Reportedly in Development
Rumors of the Picard-centric reboot come amid Alex Kurtzman extending his CBS contract for a planned expansion of the Star Trek TV universe.
According to a THR article, there are unconfirmed rumors that CBS TV Studios is developing a Star Trek reboot starring Patrick Stewart in which he would reprise his The Next Generation role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. According to THR's sources, Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman are attached to the potential reboot. Not only is this an unconfirmed project, but THR's sources also say that the deal is far from complete and might not happen. Still, this would be huge news for Star Trek fandom—however you might feel about a Picard-centric reboot.
The rumors of the Picard reboot come amidst Kurtzman renewing his overall deal with CBS Television Studios, extending his contract by five years. This will keep him in partnership with the studio through 2023, for a reported $5 million per year.
Kurtzman was recently made sole showrunner of Star Trek: Discovery following the dismissal of previous co-showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg who left amidst reports of bullying behavior in the writers room. Goldsman, who served as an executive producer on Season 1 of Discovery, also left the show, reportedly due to a clash with the writing staff in terms of management style and personality, so it's interesting that he is still attached to the potential Picard-centric reboot.
In addition to his work on Star Trek: Discovery, Kurtzman's extended deal with CBS Television Studios will include an expansion of the Star Trek franchise on the small screen, including the development of new series, miniseries, and other content, including animation.
While this generally seems like good news for the Star Trek universe, it may also be disappointing, depending on what kind of Star Trek fan you are. While the move represents a reinvestment in the Star Trek TV universe, Kurtzman is not known for critical success. Previously, he has co-written the scripts for Transformers, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. More recently, he directed and co-wrote The Mummy. Not exactly the kind of nuanced science fiction writing Star Trek has, at its best, historically represented.
More news on the expanded Star Trek TV universe as we hear it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider:
That's asking for a total disaster.
Frankly The Orville ticks off all the boxes for me. I don't need a Star Trek show. Tried watching an episode of Discovery on Netflix while in Europe, and it just wasn't good enough to even make an effort to see any more.
I was primed to hate Discovery. Indeed, the first couple of episodes were fairly lame. I couldn't stand what they did to the Klingons. But slowly, much like a parasitic infection, it grew on me. By the end I really enjoyed it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frazod:
I was primed to hate Discovery. Indeed, the first couple of episodes were fairly lame. I couldn't stand what they did to the Klingons. But slowly, much like a parasitic infection, it grew on me. By the end I really enjoyed it.
Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider:
Perhaps I'll have to give it another try.
It's not easy. My best friend was visiting over the weekend and I talked him into giving it a shot. He watched the first episode and no interest in watching further, despite my assurances that it gets better. I hadn't watched the first episode since last fall, and frankly had forgotten how bad it was, so I really couldn't blame him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frazod:
It's not easy. My best friend was visiting over the weekend and I talked him into giving it a shot. He watched the first episode and no interest in watching further, despite my assurances that it gets better. I hadn't watched the first episode since last fall, and frankly had forgotten how bad it was, so I really couldn't blame him.
I should add that I also showed him the final two part episode of the fan-made Star Trek Continues, and he loved that. If you haven't seen any of those, you should give them a look. [Reply]
Man, good for him. He's lived a life (and is still living a life) most of us would kill for and seems to be a genuinely great guy. I'll add him to the list of people I want to be in my next life (lives). [Reply]
Somebody had told me that there's some weird legal thing over ownership of Star Trek property. Something like CBS and Paramount have the intellectual property rights over the names, universe, and the brand, but Viacom still owns the rights to various props, designs, and costumes?
So I guess what it means is that the old makeup and costume designs for the Klingons from the TNG era can not be reproduced in new Star Trek content? That's why the Klingons in Discovery are absolute abortions? And so I think that would also mean they'd have to likewise fuck up any Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, Andorians, and all the other alien races?
I could have that totally wrong. Maybe I just misunderstood it, or maybe my source was just making shit up. But if it is true, how the hell are they going to expand the TNG universe, which is crucially dependent on those particular alien races? [Reply]
Originally Posted by MephistophelesJanx:
This could lead to finally getting the Captain Worf series. Would be great to get to see Chief Engineer Nog.
Paramount declined Dorn's Captain Worf series and instead came up with another goddamn prequel nobody wanted with absolutely zero care for fan service. No, you can't just make the series 100% fan service, but you have to throw a LITTLE bit in there. A guest appearance by one of the actors, perhaps. Kind of like Richard Hatch's appearance as Tom Zarek in the new Battlestar Galactica. There was absolutely none of that shit to be found in Discovery, and that's not working out too well for them, among the other issues the show has.
Getting Dorn back, unfucking the Klingons, and getting a few more oldie favorite actors to come back and be recurring characters would go a long way. There are a bunch of those Star Trek actors from all of the post-TOS shows who are not doing anything important right now. Levar Burton. Nana Visitor. Armin Shimerman. Kate Mulgrew.
Fuck, get Jeffrey Combs back and have him do his usual juggling of like 3 or 4 different alien characters at once.
Yeah, you can't just make the new show all about the old actors and characters, but you can throw them out every once in awhile. TNG had plenty of original series callbacks (at least one per season, I'd say) and that's with the setting taking place at least 100 years after Kirk's Trek. [Reply]
What I'd like to see is a limited series bringing the TNG crew back together. What I think it will be is Picard as superintendent of Starfleet Academy.
Originally Posted by RealSNR:
Somebody had told me that there's some weird legal thing over ownership of Star Trek property. Something like CBS and Paramount have the intellectual property rights over the names, universe, and the brand, but Viacom still owns the rights to various props, designs, and costumes?
So I guess what it means is that the old makeup and costume designs for the Klingons from the TNG era can not be reproduced in new Star Trek content? That's why the Klingons in Discovery are absolute abortions? And so I think that would also mean they'd have to likewise fuck up any Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, Andorians, and all the other alien races?
I could have that totally wrong. Maybe I just misunderstood it, or maybe my source was just making shit up. But if it is true, how the hell are they going to expand the TNG universe, which is crucially dependent on those particular alien races?
It seems like there is something weird about the Star Trek rights, but nobody knows what the terms are. There's no third party though, Viacom owns Paramount, so it's just CBS vs Paramount.
There was a thing that came out that the Enterprise in Discovery had to be at least 25% different from the original for legal reasons, so maybe if it's too similar you have to get approval from the other company? It's weird, because CBS owns the trademarks and controls merchandising, so the rights aren't really split down the middle at all. Maybe the 25% thing was just something they said to get the nerds off their back. After all, they didn't have to change the Vulcan makeup. [Reply]
