Patrick Stewart is about to embark on a new TV series this weekend with the Starz comedy Blunt Talk, but it’s his turn as the one and only Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation that we will always remember him for. So when I spoke to the actor recently about Blunt Talk’s debut, I of course had to ask him about the good captain of the USS Enterprise as well and whether or not we’ll ever see Picard again on the big or small screen.

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“It’s possible,” Stewart said of Jean-Luc’s return. “I think it’s unlikely. But it’s possible. The series wrapped over 25 years ago and we’ve got a rather elderly Captain Picard now. So I don’t know. It would be… it could be entertaining.”So Stewart doesn’t rule anything out, but he sure doesn’t seem to expect it to happen either. And as we know, Star Trek is in full reboot mode now anyway with Star Trek Beyond currently shooting.But here’s the thing. A few years ago, the idea of Picard returning might’ve seemed much more outlandish. The Next Generation crew finished out their four-movie run with Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, after all, and the TV series ended all the way back in 1994. But with the recent revival of many beloved properties like The X-Files and Twin Peaks, not to mention that other space-based super-franchise, Star Wars, it suddenly doesn’t seem like such a far-out idea that the crew of the Enterprise-E could fly again. In fact, Stewart even brought back another of his iconic characters recently: Professor Xavier in X-Men: Days of Future Past (and, briefly, in The Wolverine).At the close of my interview with Stewart, I suggested that perhaps he could team up with his friend (and Blunt Talk executive producer) Seth MacFarlane -- a bona fide Trekkie -- on a new Trek project eventually. Stewart’s response? “Well, Seth is a huge Star Trek fan.” So hey, never say never. Because you know Captain Picard never did.

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