Star Trek: Alex Kurtzman Explains Why He Hasn't Greenlit Picard Legacy Sequel

For the first time in a few years, the future of the Star Trek franchise isn't as clear as it has been in recent memory. Though Paramount has a Section 31 film in the works and has hired a new writer for Star Trek 4, a lot of the other projects that once had significant steam behind them have seemingly fizzled. While Patrick Stewart returned for three seasons as Jean-Luc Picard in a self-titled series, fans were hoping to see more of the beloved character and actor.

Count writer Alex Kurtzman, the current architect of all things Star Trek, amongst those who'd like to see Stewart return. Unfortunately for fans and Kurtzman alike, the writer says he doesn't have the power to greenlight a potential Picard followup.

"If I had a magic button, a magic 'greenlight button,' for Star Trek: Legacy, and it was all on me, I'd push that button today," Kurtzman said in a new chat with Den of Geek. "Right now, it's beyond my paygrade."

According to CBS president George Cheeks, however, it's possible a Picard sequel could soon arrive—it's just a matter of he and Kurtzman agreeing on a plan moving forward.

"Star Trek remains one of the most important franchises for Paramount Global, and Paramount+ specifically," Cheeks told Vulture earlier this month. "There's so much great opportunity with the franchise, and it's really about the cadence and the timeline of it. We don't want to offer up all these amazing premium drama series at once. We want to time it out appropriately. Luckily, we have this incredible partner in Alex Kurtzman, and we all work together to sort of manage long-range planning across many years, to figure out what's the right cadence for dropping new Star Trek series. So there's a lot we're focused on, but it should not suggest to you [a scaling back]. There is a tremendous amount of focus and prioritizing of the Star Trek franchise."

All three seasons of Picard are now streaming on Paramount+.