Star Trek is in the middle of a new golden age. The third season of Discovery is the best yet, we’ll soon see the return of Captain Janeway in Prodigy and rumors continue to build about the second run of Picard.
Paramount is looking to capitalize on this popularity with upcoming show Strange New Worlds and some new movie projects, and one interesting bit of information currently doing the rounds (courtesy of leaker Daniel Richtman) is that the studio is searching for someone to play a younger Jean-Luc Picard across various upcoming projects – both film and television. Which makes sense.
After all, due to the success of Picard, there’s been a burst of interest in the character. Much of his history in Starfleet has been extensively laid out in The Next Generation flashback episodes and books, but there are still big parts of his life left to explore.
My suggestion would be that Paramount doesn’t look too hard as there’s an obvious candidate already eager for the part. James McAvoy, who previously played a Patrick Stewart character in the X-Men movies, has repeatedly said he’d drop everything for the role. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, he explained:
“It’s happening. If they don’t hire me, I’m going to make it on my phone! I’m calling that right now. I’m doing the virtual lockdown equivalent of rubbing my scent all over Patrick’s face and saying, ‘This territory is mine.’ All other bald actors can f*** off. It’s me.”
Then again, if Paramount wants a very young Picard, McAvoy might already be too old. It’d be fun to see more of him as a cadet as well, especially given that during this period he was a far cry from the measured, thoughtful captain we’re familiar with.
He failed his first Starfleet entrance exam and went on to have a troubled time as a student, culminating in him being stabbed through the heart in a bar brawl soon after his graduation. The incident almost killed him and resulted in an artificial heart being installed, a neat premonition of both his time as a Borg and the finale of the first season of Picard.
2021 could be a big year for Star Trek, so let’s hope we get some confirmation of this very soon. In the meantime, if you can think of any actors ideal for the role, share them in the comments section below.
