Patrick Stewart Says Jean-Luc Feels Like He Failed Data In Star Trek: Picard

Don’t go into Star Trek: Picard expecting a triumphant return for Patrick Stewart’s title character.

That’s according to the man himself, who sat down with GamesRadar+ ahead of the show’s hotly-anticipated debut later this week. Stewart was joined by the series’ executive producer Kirsten Beyer for a conversation spanning The Next Generation, Trekkies, and Brent Spiner’s Data, who we know will play a pivotal role in Picard.

So much so, in fact, that Jean-Luc Picard begins the show as something of a grief-stricken loner, one who blames himself (and only himself) for the death of his friend. Indeed, Patrick Stewart goes on to share that, at least in the beginning of Picard, Jean-Luc considers himself a failure in the eyes of Starfleet and the Federation.

Via GamesRadar+:

Picard has walked away from it all, and is living on his chateau, growing grapes – he’s living with the two wonderful people who care for him [Romulans Zhaban and Laris], and his dog [Number One]. But he is discontented, angry and guilty, he feels that he failed. Not only did he fail Starfleet and the Federation, but he failed his great friend and colleague Data as well – Data died when he believes that it ought to have been Picard.

Yes, it seems Admiral Picard will have some reconciling to do before he’s back in the ranks of Starfleet. Let’s not forget that the soon-to-be-released series takes place a full 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Picard will introduce a very different Jean-Luc.

Patrick Stewart added:

We’re living and working in a different world. Picard’s world is so different, he is no longer part of Starfleet, and the Federation also has been undergoing changes. There are conflicting bodies within the Federation, and Starfleet seems to have some subterranean plans of how its fleet should be used.

Star Trek: Picard has been scheduled for launch via CBS All Access on January 23rd, while UK viewers can look forward to the Trek series arriving the very next day courtesy of Amazon Prime. The question, really, is whether UK Trekkies can avoid spoilers in the hours between each debut.