James McAvoy Pitched Young Picard Star Trek Series
Actor James McAvoy revealed he pitched a standalone Star Trek series about a young Jean-Luc Picard titled 'Mutiny On the Stargazer'.
James McAvoy pitched a 'young Picard' Star Trek series titled 'Mutiny On the Stargazer' that was nearly produced. The Scottish actor described the concept as a one-off standalone season focusing on when Jean-Luc Picard took over as captain of the USS Stargazer and a secret he has held his entire career.
How the pitch came about
McAvoy officially pitched the young Picard show on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. He said he had talks with Star Trek producers and they were initially interested. Those discussions continued for a while but ultimately did not work out.
Why it didn't move forward
Despite that early interest, the project was not made. McAvoy said they nearly made the limited series but encountered logistical issues that meant they could not proceed. The exact nature of those issues was not specified.
Picard and Stargazer lore
The history of Picard and the USS Stargazer was established in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Patrick Stewart starred as Captain Jean-Luc Picard from 1987 to 1994 across seven syndicated seasons. The Stargazer appeared in the season one episode 'The Battle'. In that story, a Ferengi returned the lost ship to Starfleet as part of a plan to seek revenge on Picard for his son's death.
McAvoy's connection to Stewart's roles
McAvoy has long sought to play younger versions of Patrick Stewart's characters. He took over the role of Professor Charles Xavier from Stewart in the X-Men prequel films. The Golden Globe nominee is an avowed Star Trek fan who had previously volunteered to play a young Picard during the development of Star Trek: Picard. James McAvoy stated: "I’ve got a whole story about an early Picard."
Patrick Stewart originated the live-action role of Professor Charles Xavier in 2000's X-Men and has reprised it multiple times. He is set to appear again as Charles Xavier in the upcoming MCU film Avengers: Doomsday, which premieres in theaters on December 18. Stewart also returned to play Picard for three seasons of Star Trek: Picard from 2020 to 2023. McAvoy lamented that he still loves the story of his young Picard pitch and thinks about it at night.
