Patrick Stewart returns to the Star Trek franchise after a break of 17 years in the upcoming Picard TV series, naturally featuring him reprising his fan favorite role as the former Enterprise captain Jean-Luc Picard. For those who like to keep their Trek timeline straight, there’s an interesting mystery to solve ahead of the show’s arrival: exactly how old is the retired Starfleet officer now?
To work that out, we first need to pinpoint exactly what year Picard is set in. Stewart himself has described it as picking up 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (his last time in the role), which would make the setting 2399. However, the first trailer for the series heavily suggested that Picard was involved in rescuing the Romulan people after the destruction of Romulus 15 years previously. According to 2009’s Star Trek, that event occurred in 2387. In which case, Picard would kick off in the year 2402.
Having narrowed it down to that three year timespan, how old would that make Picard himself? Well, he’s certainly older than Stewart, as The Next Generation established Picard was 59 in its first season while the actor was only 47. Thanks to that clarification, we can deduce that the character would be 97 in 2402.
At that age, you might think it makes sense that Picard has retired from his position as admiral at Starfleet and settled down on his family’s vineyard. However, TNGÂ told us that the human lifespan has been extended by the 24th century. DeForest Kelly’s Bones, for example, appeared in the show’s pilot at the sprightly age of 137. So, it’s perfectly possible for Picard to go back out into space and captain a new ship and crew.
Big thanks to ScreenRant for crunching these numbers, and we’ll no doubt find out exactly how old Jean-Luc is and when the show is set once Star Trek: Picard arrives on CBS All Access, likely later this year.
