The most anticipated project in the world of Star Trek right now is the upcoming series starring Sir Patrick Stewart, returning to his Next Generation role of Jean-Luc Picard. While the show is shrouded in much mystery, there are a few new tidbits to share.

Not titled ‘Star Trek: Picard’ and maybe not ‘Star Trek: Destiny’ either

One of the biggest mysteries regards the title of the series. Last month Patrick Stewart said that a title has been chosen. Both “Picard” and “Star Trek: Picard” have been used as a shorthand for the show, although last month, Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green indicated that the show could actually be called “Picard.” But according to director Hanelle Culpepper, who has been tapped to helm the first two episodes for the show, this is not the case.

Responding to a fan on Twitter, Culpepper revealed that “Star Trek: Picard” was just a placeholder and “not the official title.”

That’s not the official title; just a placeholder for me. — Hanelle Culpepper (@Hillview798) March 20, 2019

For what it’s worth, the issue of Production Weekly released this afternoon still uses the “Star Trek: Picard” placeholder. What’s more noteworthy is Production Weekly no longer includes “Star Trek: Destiny” as a potential title for the series, as it had done earlier this month. As we have reported, “Star Trek: Destiny” is one of a number of titles that were trademarked by CBS last year.

Production still set to start in mid-April

Today’s issue of Production Weekly still shows the Picard series is set to start production at Santa Clarita Studios in mid-April, although it isn’t clear if the date is April 14th or 15th, as both are indicated. The first season is expected to have ten episodes, and production is still set to run through to mid-September.

Writing for the show is still ongoing, as indicated from a photo shared yesterday by writer and executive producer Michael Chabon. The Instagram post shows him and executive producer Alex Kurtzman on a couch at Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout Productions office in Santa Monica. His caption reads “Pondering the mysteries of Picard with Captain Kurtzman.” It has yet to be revealed who pens the premiere episode, but Chabon and Kurtzman are likely candidates for screen credit, either story or screenplay.

No premiere date yet, but December is a good bet

Another fan asked about the premiere date for the show on social media, and Culpepper confirmed a date has not yet been set.

The premiere date has not been set yet. — Hanelle Culpepper (@Hillview798) March 19, 2019

CBS has been saying the Picard show will arrive at the end of 2019. As recently as last week, the CEO of CBS talked up how the Picard show “buttons the year up” for CBS All Access. As the service is striving to have new content every month, December seems like a good bet.

Keeping her lips sealed about any TNG costars

While Hanelle Culpepper has responded to a couple of tweets, don’t expect her to start spilling the beans on social media. Before you go bombarding the director for spoilers, she has already shown that she knows how to stick to her NDA, as this response from earlier in the month indicates, saying her “lips are sealed until the premiere,” when asked if other TNG cast members will show up on the Picard show.

My lips are sealed until the premiere! — Hanelle Culpepper (@Hillview798) March 2, 2019

Speaking of Next Generation stars, shortly after Culpepper was announced as director for the premiere episodes, she got a nice tweet from Worf actor Michael Dorn welcoming her to the family.

Congrats and welcome to the family!! — Michael Dorn (@akaWorf) March 6, 2019

Keep up with all the news on the Picard show and other upcoming Star Trek TV shows here at TrekMovie.com.