Terry Matalas remains keen to return to Star Trek, and he believes The Next Generation offers a blueprint for where the franchise could go next.
Speaking to Anthony Pascale at TrekMovie, the Picard season three showrunner discussed everything from revisiting Star Trek: Legacy to making more affordable television without losing the storytelling that fans love.
For Matalas, the challenge is bringing new viewers aboard while giving longtime fans something they can recognise. His answer centres on strong characters, good writing and science fiction that explores humanity.
He also made clear that overseeing the franchise would be “a dream come true”.
Naturally, the subject of Legacy came up. The proposed series would have followed Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine as captain of the Enterprise-G. However, Matalas feels any revival would need to evolve, given the time that has passed.
The idea of bringing younger and older generations together still interests him, which should give fans something to chew over. That said, these comments are an expression of interest rather than confirmation that a series is happening.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the interview concerns production. Matalas believes longer seasons and quicker filming schedules could help spread costs, with character drama doing much of the heavy lifting.
“I think Star Trek: The Next Generation was a wonderful template on how to make Star Trek.”
It is a point that makes sense. Some of Trek’s most memorable moments involve characters debating difficult choices across a conference table. A spectacular space battle can be fun, but it is often the conversation afterwards that stays with us.
Whether Matalas gets another crack at Trek remains to be seen. However, his enthusiasm suggests he has plenty to offer, particularly if the next chapter gives its characters room to breathe and its audience reasons to return.
