Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: star trek, Star Trek Picard

Terry Matalas Wants Star Trek Return; "TNG" Blueprint for The Future

Terry Matalas hasn't forgotten Star Trek. The "Picard" showrunner talks returning and "The Next Generation" as the blueprint for the future.

Terry Matalas knows a thing or two about uncertainty, but as they say, "You have to make do with what you got." In the case of Star Trek, he served as showrunner in Picard's most critically acclaimed season, with its The Next Generation reunion-driven narrative and an open-ended series finale that set up the Jeri Ryan-starred Legacy. Unfortunately, Paramount passed as they systemically wrapped all their subsequent Star Trek shows from Discovery and Lower Decks, with one final season apiece for Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy, and nothing else on the TV front, and a potential cinematic reboot on paper. At the premiere of the Sixty-Year Mission Star Trek documentary, the VisionQuest creator spoke with TrekMovie.com about some insight on why Star Trek will sustain, what a changing of the guard might do should Alex Kurtzman depart, who can be the "Kevin Feige" of the franchise, and why TNG is the ideal model for the franchise's future.

Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Terry Matalas on Why the Franchise's Longevity Is Reason for Optimism and Why He Wants to Return

Discourse is certainly nothing new in the Star Trek universe, since its roots are in The Original Series, with constant creative clashes from within and with the network (in that case, NBC). While ratings weren't as much a concern during the syndicated era with TNG, there were still questions, especially in the early years, about whether it could sustain until it reached season three. From 1987 to 2005, the franchise sustained a continuous presence on TV with at least one show until the underachieving Enterprise was canceled after four seasons, and we would see it back on TV until 2017's Discovery during Paramount+'s infancy. When asked about the state of the franchise, Matalas responded, "Oh, I think it definitely goes another 60 [years]. Some of these stories about humanity are just evergreen. They are always going to be relevant and continue to push in all the right directions, exploring every aspect of humanity that it can. And it's about characters, and it's about family, and it's all the things we love about narrative storytelling with great big science fiction and big swings. And Strange New Worlds is taking big swings every week. I like turning it on and watching it myself. So, I think it's going to hang in there, the way it's hung in there so far."

As Matalas left for Marvel Studios for VisionQuest without a commitment from Paramount, the writer and producer had a chance to reflect on what Star Trek should do. "If it's not broken, don't fix it. It's a very complicated question because Star Trek has the issue of it's got to bring in new viewers, but it can't alienate the old viewers. So there's going to be a hybrid of some kind of merging of ideas," he said. "But I also don't think it has to be that difficult. I think good stories and good characters and great science fiction- that's going to always win the day. And I think that's what Star Trek: The Next Generation was. I think whoever comes in is facing essentially what was facing the passing of the torch from 'The Original Series' to 'Next Gen.' It's great writing. It's great storytelling. It's amazing actors. And I think Star Trek will shine through… So, I think it's a difficult task for anyone, but I think it's totally achievable. And I hope whoever jumps in, I wish them nothing but luck."

While Matalas offered that he would love to have executive control like Marvel's Feige, but for Trek, he threw his name into the hat and offered this model for the future: "Yes [Star Trek could be produced for less]. I think 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' was a wonderful template on how to make Star Trek." As far as his approach in VisionQuest, there are shades of TNG present. "I think if you are a Star Trek fan who doesn't know Marvel and you were just jumping into something like 'VisionQuest,' your entry point is Data. It is very much about a synthezoid – and an android – who is struggling with its humanity. So I think that is familiar for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' fans. But I think Vision is a very different take on that because it's not quite the 'I want to be a real boy' Pinocchio story. It's more of 'I'm not sure if I want to be a real boy.' And has concerns about what it means to be human and specifically about how it hurts. And so I think there's a lot of crossover, but I also think it's uniquely its own thing, which I am excited about." For more on Matalas discussing how filming in the streaming era changes things, making production more efficient, and how it can learn from other successful shows like HBO Max's The Pitt, you can check out the entire interview. VisionQuest, which stars Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica, Todd Stashwick, T'Nia Miller, Lauren Morais, and Orla Brady, premieres its first two episodes on October 14th on Disney+

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