Whether we like it or not, the latest upcoming Star Trek spin-off is shrouded in total mystery – well, it was. Until now.

And we have the ever-dutiful Starfleet Commander William T Riker to thank for that.

Speaking to Deadline, the Next Generation star and Discovery director Jonathan Frakes offered an insight into what fans can expect from the Jean-Luc Picard revival.



Taking place in an entirely new timeline from The Next Generation, it turns out the new series will see Sir Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard step away from Starfleet.

CBS via Getty Images

Related: Star Trek: The Next Generation cast say they won't appear in Patrick Stewart's new Picard series

Mild shock, indeed.

Revealing the "only thing" he knows about the hotly-anticipated revival, Jonathan said: "Patrick isn’t playing Capt. Jean-Luc Picard this time, he’s done with [that phase of his career in] Starfleet in this show. That’s about the only thing I do know about the show.”

What does that mean for the rest of the crew, though? Reflecting on how the Next Generation cast might fit into the new series, the actor admitted that he and his co-stars would "love to be part of it, but the feeling is also that it's Patrick's show".

Frakes then added: "Having said that, I can't imagine a world where there's no reference to what happened to the rest of the Next Generation cast."

CBS via Getty Images

Related: 7 huge Star Trek plot points that were written out of canon

In a slightly less coy conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan suggested that he might have at least some part in the Picard spin-off.

When pressed on his involvement in the series, he declined to give anything significant away, but said: "I'm not allowed to say what role I have in the new series."

Elsewhere in the Star Trek universe, Discovery airs on CBS All Access in the US, with episodes arriving on Netflix a day later in the UK.

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