James McAvoy’s performances in the X-Men movies were warmly received, with the actor believably playing a younger version of Patrick Stewart’s Professor Charles Xavier. Now, fan artist Spdrmnkyxxiii has imagined McAvoy in Stewart’s most iconic role, Star Trek‘s Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and it’s an image that makes you imagine how cool a prequel TV show about a younger Picard could be.
But could a young Picard series work? Well, as fans of the show will know, Picard wasn’t always the wise and diplomatic captain of the Enterprise-D. In fact, he famously failed his first Starfleet entrance exam and went on to have a troubled time as a cadet – culminating in him being stabbed through the heart in a bar brawl soon after his graduation. This gave him an artificial heart, which is a neat premonition of both his time as a Borg and the finale of the first season of Star Trek: Picard.
A Picard prequel show would likely focus on his time as an ensign and First Officer. Picard’s first posting was to the USS Reliant, where he was in charge of the night watch, referenced in Picard as one of the happiest periods of his life. He was later transferred to become a helmsman aboard the USS Stargazer, assuming command of the vessel after its Captain died in action. Any show about this time would inevitably have to include the now-famous “Picard Maneuver” as well, in which he used the Stargazer’s warp engines as a weapon.
With Star Trek: Picard gearing up for a second season, it’s unlikely that another show about the character would be commissioned. However, depending on how it progresses, it could be fun to take a couple of flashbacks into Picard’s past. And if they can get James McAvoy for those moments, why not?
