The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center played host to New York Comic-Con this past weekend, where CBS pulled back the curtain on Star Trek: Picard and all of its promise of old-school sci-fi glory.

Front and center for Picard is Patrick Stewart, a true series legend who agreed to take a stroll down memory lane for a brand new Star Trek story set some 20 years after the events of Nemesis. And if that isn’t enough to send Trekkies into a fit of excitement, we don’t know what will.

However, as was revealed this weekend during NYCC 2019, Stewart was somewhat hesitant to return for Star Trek: Picard, deeming his character’s arc to be complete. Not that you can blame him, either, as there have been numerous times when a heartfelt revival – be it a movie or TV show – can somewhat undermine the very material it is attempting to continue. Still, when push came to shove, and series producer Alex Kurtzman outlined his vision for Picard’s next chapter, Patrick Stewart felt a sudden change of heart.

We were sitting in a room, and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to do one of the Short Treks about Picard?’ We said, ‘A Short Trek would be great, but wouldn’t it be great to bring him back?’

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And the rest, as they say, is history. Jean-Luc Picard will come out of retirement early next year for a new Trek adventure set in the cosmos. As we alluded to before, the series itself takes place more than two decades after the events of Nemesis, and will seemingly canonize J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, as early signs indicate that the CBS Original will allude to the 2009 reboot in some shape or form.

Exactly what that connective tissue will entail remains to be seen, but according to Kurtzman, Picard is in safe hands – not least because it managed to secure the legendary actor.

We wanted to let the ensuing years that have happened for us also have happened for Jean-Luc. We spent a lot of time, collaboratively, filling in the intervening years. We know pretty much everything that happened in those 20 years. I include in ‘we,’ Patrick, who is the singular expert in Picard.

Star Trek: Picard blasts off via CBS in January 2020.