What Is Star Trek: Legacy — And Could It Actually Happen?

Writer and showrunner Terry Matalas sneakily included a backdoor pilot into the final season of "Star Trek: Picard." At the end of the series, after a grand threat from the Borg has been quelled, the action fast-forwards a year for a teary epilogue. It seems that the previously roguish Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) had been rushed through Starfleet Academy and was now ready for his first starship assignment. His father (Patrick Stewart) and mother (Gates McFadden) accompanied him to his first ship, the U.S.S. Titan-A, the ship on which the bulk of "Picard" season 3 took place. But, in a fit of nostalgia, the Titan-A had been rechristened the Enterprise-G. 

The Enterprise-G was commanded by Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), who had recently been recommended for captaincy by her deceased commanding officer. Seven's first officer was her ex-girlfriend Raffi (Michelle Hurd), and her crew included numerous "Picard" supporting players, including Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), the daughter of Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton). Jack Crusher was to be her special consultant. Indeed, a post-credits cookie even depicted Q (John de Lancie) coming back from the dead to tease Jack Crusher. A new Enterprise was set up with a new crew, a new story had begun, and everything was in place for a brand-new "Star Trek" series. 

Terry Matalas made it very clear on social media that he wanted to call his potential new series "Star Trek: Legacy," and that it would indeed follow the adventures of the Enterprise-G. All he needed was a greenlight from Paramount, and the contracts could be signed in earnest. 

But the greenlight hasn't come. There have been a few teases along the way that some movement has been made on "Legacy," but they are all, as of this writing, inconclusive. We know at the very least that Matalas has signed on to be the showrunner for the Marvel series about Vision ... which means his attention is elsewhere. 

In February 2024, Matalas was interviewed by TrekMovie, and he confirmed there had been no word as to "Legacy's" future. He knew that the idea may be revisited in the future, but that at the current juncture, no one wanted to give any money to a brand new "Star Trek" show. It's worth noting that those in charge of "Star Trek" got a little too enthusiastic from 2017 to 2023, putting six separate "Star Trek" shows into production. In recent years, however, all but one of those six shows has been canceled. Also, the proposed "Section 31" TV series was shortened into a single TV movie. 

It seems that this is not the time to dump a pile of cash into "Legacy," even if the fans are demanding it. The general contraction of the "Star Trek" media empire was confirmed by CBS CEO George Cheeks in an interview with Vulture from the following March. He talked about "long-range cadence" for new "Star Trek" projects, implying that the company is being far more judicious about the Trek glut.

In July 2024, Matalas had to say it again, this time in an interview with the D-Con Chamber podcast. He did leave the door open by saying "Never say never," and admitted that he has written scenes for "Legacy," but that's hardly evidence that the producers are interested. All it says is that he would still be interested if "Star Trek: Legacy" was indeed greenlit. It's wide of him to remain diplomatic; Matalas can't express annoyance or impatience with Paramount, or else "Legacy" would definitely be dead. 

In an extensive 2024 Variety article, "Section 31" star Michelle Yeoh dropped the implication that "Star Trek" executive producer Alex Kurtzman has been thinking about making a TV movie spinoff of "Star Trek: Picard," which some have taken to mean Kurtzman is eyeballing "Legacy" as a future project. This is not the case, though, and Yeoh's comments likely allude to a stated desire by Patrick Stewart to return to the franchise. 

/Film will keep readers updated, but "Star Trek: Legacy" is looking decreasingly likely by the day.