With no new Star Trek shows left to enjoy on the 2025 TV schedule, all fans are left to do is watch old series with a Paramount+ subscription, wait for Starfleet Academy's premiere in 2026, and talk about the shows they want to happen. For many, that means reminiscing about the success of Picard Season 3, and hoping that a continuation will, somehow, happen.
Thus far, it looks like Paramount has zero interest in the codenamed "Star Trek: Legacy" spinoff. That said, fans and actors continue to advocate for it, and TrekMovie.com got to talk to one of the big stars of Season 3, Todd Stashwick, and ask if he'd be willing to return. The actor, who would likely return via a hologram, talked about what he'd need to see first before signing on for Picard continuation.
How Todd Stashwick Feels About Returning To Star Trek Following Picard
Despite Captain Shaw's death in Star Trek: Picard Season 3, the actor is willing to come back and play a "Shawlogram" in any continuation, provided a few conditions are met. He laid out those terms below, and it all seems to come down to assuring the people who made Season 3 great are still in tow:
If someone chooses to greenlight this project, and fills it with all the people that the Legacy show would have - Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Ed Speleers, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, Mica Burton. I would like to work with those people! If that means appearing as a hologram, and it contributes to my health and pension, I'm there.
It's interesting to hear his specific terms, most of which include bringing back the actors who weren't a part of The Next Generation cast members who reprised their roles. Readers might remember that Jeri Ryan said she turned down an offer to do a Captain Seven series that Paramount pitched, and said that it wasn't something that fans would have wanted. Is it possible the series would've excluded some of the people that Todd Stashwick mentioned above? I have to wonder.
Will A Star Trek: Picard Follow-Up Series Happen?
As mentioned, it doesn't seem as though Star Trek is interested in a Picard follow-up at this time. Even if they were, showrunner Terry Matalas is working on a Vision series for Marvel, which Todd Stashwick is also a part of.
I would say that while the door is closed on it happening for now, there is a chance it might change. When Star Trek: Picard ended, the franchise already had a roadmap for what was next, and spiking in an unplanned continuation for the series was not feasible. Now that there are only two shows in active development, and one is already filming its final season, I don't think it's impossible to think that the path to Legacy could finally be set up.
As for interest, I think many Star Trek fans are just as interested in seeing a Picard continuation as they were when the series ended in 2023. I think many would like to see the franchise return to the TNG era, especially with no series currently set in that era. Will it happen? We can only wait and see, and hope that it's what people have wanted since the original show's ending.
Star Trek: Picard is available to stream on Paramount+. It might be time for a Season 3 rewatch after hearing Todd Stashwick's latest comments about potentially returning to play Shaw, plus I'm beginning to forget just how amazing that season was.
