Will Star Trek‘s Legacy Warp Out of Hollywood?
In an exclusive interview with WarpFactorTrek, Todd Marks, who worked as computer/video playback supervisor on Star Trek Nemesis and Seasons 2 and 3 of Star Trek: Picard, has reckoned that — if a much-anticipated series called “Star Trek: Legacy” is commissioned by Paramount — it will probably be produced in Canada. However, he is hopeful that it will instead be filmed in Los Angeles.
Marks explained that, whereas Picard was filmed in LA because Sir Patrick Stewart lives there, every other live-action modern Star Trek production is instead produced in Canada, where it’s typically less expensive to film. “Although most of the other Trek series are currently shot in Canada, LA is where a majority of Trek’s cast and crew are based; it is much more conducive to the creative process if we have easy access to all the top designers and builders, and crafts-people,” he reasoned. “Of course, people can travel and do a great deal online. There is still something magical about Hollywood-based productions.”
The proposed show was first publicly mentioned when Terry Matalas, showrunner of Picard‘s third season, tweeted about the idea on 22 March 2023, posting the message, “In case you’re wondering, ‘Star Trek: Legacy’ is what I’d call a spin-off show from Star Trek: Picard. A 25th Century show that explores the Last Generation and the Next…” This tweet was followed by the third season finale of Picard featuring the launch of the Enterprise-G, under the command of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), and Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). Since Matalas’ tweet, a petition to have the suggested show be produced under his supervision has reached over 50,000 signatures. Furthermore, the success of Picard‘s third season would seem to indicate that Legacy may indeed be produced, in one form or another.
Todd Marks has also firmly stated that a fourth season of Picard is currently not in the works. Patrick Stewart, after initially saying three was enough, had said — back in January — that he was open to a fourth season.
Marks also mentioned that he has participated in a couple of different video interviews for the special features that will be included in the Picard Season 3 media release. “I just did one a few weeks ago, talking about Enterprise-D,” he noted. When the third season is eventually released on home media, it might include more footage from the interior of Daystrom Station than is in the show, since Marks is aware that more was definitely filmed on that set than ended up in the series. Giving us some indication of what this might include, Marks admitted, “I’m not sure what was shot and not used, and what wasn’t shot that we created graphics for. I know there were a lot of doors of cells, with graphics with creatures or items with specific Trek historic relevance. And there was a more detailed graphics sequence when they were in the area with Data.”
Although Todd Marks admitted that he’s not completely sure what’s in store regarding a dramatised follow-up to Picard, he regards Legacy as “a great opportunity to further tell the story” and is hopeful that the show will be given the green light. “We hope that we get to do more, get to play in the sandbox again, but we don’t know. What there will be, if anything, will be either some movies for streaming or a smaller series continuing with special guest appearances, like what they’ve kind of teased we might get. We hope that Paramount+ and everyone kind of takes the hint at, one, how well Picard did, being in the top ten of streaming several times, which it had never done before, and the such positive praise and the 50,000+ signatures. They’ve said, ‘We’ve heard it loud and clear.’ The question is, with everything else they have on the docket, when will this happen. And also with all the cutbacks that have happened across the streaming world, who knows? We hope, we hope, we hope.”
More from WarpFactorTrek’s exclusive interview with Todd Marks will be posted soon. So, make sure you’re subscribed to our email mailing list to stay updated on all our forthcoming articles.
Webmaster of WarpFactorTrek, Dan is an avid Star Trek fan who lives in Aberdeen, Scotland. Dan has loved Star Trek ever since discovering it in his childhood. He worked as an administrator, for six years, on the encyclopedic Star Trek website Memory Alpha, which involved studying the making of the various series and films. He has been mentioned in the official Star Trek Magazine, has qualified from a Star Trek course taught at Glasgow Clyde College, and coordinated the SubSpace Chatter (formerly The Scotch Trekker) YouTube channel, which regularly featured live interviews with the cast and crew of Star Trek.