'Star Trek: Picard': A new Comic-Con trailer features the return of 'Trek' fan favorites and the beginning of a grand adventure

Star Trek: Picard may need to be renamed A Trek Family Reunion. Patrick Stewart beamed down to San Diego Comic-Con today with a new trailer that revealed that Jean-Luc Picard isn’t the only returning crew member from the Enterprise-D. Brent Spiner will reprise his role as the beloved android Data, who died at the end of 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis — the last time we saw the Next Generation crew together onscreen. Stewart also revealed that Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis will make appearances in the new series as William Riker and Deanna Troi, respectively. But the TNG cast members aren’t the only Starfleet veterans being called back to the bridge. Jeri Ryan will return as Seven of Nine, the former Borg drone who served for four seasons on Star Trek: Voyager.

As the trailer (watch above) makes clear, both Data and the Borg will be central to Picard’s journey across this 10-episode series, which Stewart described to Yahoo Entertainment earlier this year as a “10-hour movie.” The two-minute clip begins with the long-retired Enterprise captain recalling how Data’s sacrifice — coupled with another tragedy hinted at in the previous Picard teaser — drove him back to Earth to work his family’s vineyard with his trusty canine companion, Number One. “These past few years, I really tried to belong here,” he muses. “But it never truly felt like home.”

Picard (Stewart) and Dahj (Isa Briones) in 'Star Trek: Picard' (Photo: Matt Kennedy/CBS/CBS Interactive)
Picard (Stewart) and Dahj (Isa Briones) in 'Star Trek: Picard' (Photo: Matt Kennedy/CBS/CBS Interactive)

Fortunately for Picard, it appears he’s heading back to space at last. An encounter with a young woman named Dahj (Isa Briones) drives him back to his former employers to convince them she’s in need of protecting. Help seems slow in the offing, though, so Picard assembles a crew that includes new characters like Elnor (Evan Evagora), Rios (Santiago Cabrera), Raffi (Michelle Hurd), Agnes (Alison Pill) and Narek (Harry Treadway). “Be the captain they remember,” he’s told, and Picard obliges with a classic “Engage!” that makes us ready to follow him anywhere.

Picard (Stewart) and members of his new crew, including Evan Evagora as Elnor; Santiago Cabrera as Rios and Michelle Hurd as Raffi (Photo: Trae Patton/CBS/CBS Interactive)
Picard (Stewart) and members of his new crew, including Evan Evagora as Elnor; Santiago Cabrera as Rios and Michelle Hurd as Raffi (Photo: Trae Patton/CBS/CBS Interactive)

One of the pit stops on his journey will apparently involve the Borg, which is where Seven of Nine enters the picture. And she doesn’t look too happy to see the one-time Locutus of Borg. “What the hell are you doing out here, Picard?” she asks. “Saving the galaxy?” Our only response to that? Make it so.

Jeri Ryan returns as Seven of Nine in 'Star Trek: Picard' (Photo: Trae Patton/CBS/CBS Interactive)
Jeri Ryan returns as Seven of Nine in 'Star Trek: Picard' (Photo: Trae Patton/CBS/CBS Interactive)

Speaking at the SDCC panel, Stewart remembered the emotional final day of filming the TNG series finale, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this spring. “As soon as we began talking in the [Picard] writers’ room, that powerful emotion came surging back, and it’s still right here on this platform and it’s not going away.” Trekkies on Twitter felt the some surge of emotions as they watched the Picard trailer.

Of course, Spiner — who appears in the final shot of the teaser — couldn’t resist balancing out all the tears with a few laughs. "When I first heard about [the show], I called the producers and asked 'Do you have anyone for the role of Picard yet?’” the actor joked. "You've got to get your laughing gear in place,” Stewart remarked later on. “We have more fun that should be allowed in a series.”

There’s more Trek coming to CBS All-Access besides Picard. Showrunner Alex Kurtzman and the cast of Star Trek: Discovery were on hand to tease details about the show’s upcoming third season, which will transport the Discovery crew to an as-yet unexplored frontier for the franchise: 1,000 years in the future. "Part of the fun of [the time jump], is that we get to honor cannon and shake it up a bit,” said Kurtzman, who revealed the addition of a new cast member: Supergirl’s David Ajala as a character named Book. Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green revealed that the crew overshot their intended destination, and now have to find their way through an unfamiliar time and space. "We go to the deepest level in Season 3,” she told the crowd We have to figure out where we are and who we are. There's this sense of brewing fire, passion, and heart. We're really excited about the next stage and the path that we're foraging.”

David Ajala as Book and Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham in 'Star Trek: Discovery' (Lilja J--nsd--ttir/CBS/CBS Interactive.)
David Ajala as Book and Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham in 'Star Trek: Discovery' (Lilja J--nsd--ttir/CBS/CBS Interactive.)

Meanwhile, back in the timeline the Discovery left behind, the Enterprise crew headed up by Captain Pike (Anson Mount) will take a few Short Treks. Mount, Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn — who assumed the roles of Spock and Number One, respectively, in Discovery’s second season—will be featured in a new batch of six short-form adventures. Don’t be surprised if these lead to an ongoing Enterprise series. Kurtzman polled the room on whether they should greenlight a show with Mount, Peck and Romijn, and received a wave of cheers in response. “We’ll think about it.”

The Star Trek franchise is also boldly going into the animated realm. In between Discovery and Picard, Kurtzman brought out the cast and creators of Star Trek: Lower Decks, a half-hour cartoon set, as showrunner Mike McMahan put it, “On a not-important ship in Starfleet.”

No'l Wells as Ensign Tendi; Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford; Tawny Newsome as Ensign Mariner; Jack Quaid as Ensign Boimler on 'Star Trek: Lower Deck' (Photo: CBS/CBS Interactive)
No'l Wells as Ensign Tendi; Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford; Tawny Newsome as Ensign Mariner; Jack Quaid as Ensign Boimler on 'Star Trek: Lower Deck' (Photo: CBS/CBS Interactive)

No footage was screened from the series, but McMahan revealed that Lower Decks will be set in the wake of Star Trek: Nemesis and after the Voyager had returned from its seven-year lost in space experience, with stories focusing on the humdrum aspects of life aboard a Starfleet vessel. Kurtzman described McMahan’s pitch as being: "I want to do a show about people that bring the yellow cartridge to the replicator so a banana comes out."

Star Trek: Short Treks will premiere on Oct. 4; Star Trek: Discovery returns on Jan. 17; and Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks will premiere in 2020 only on CBS All-Access.

Watch: Star Trek: Picard props and costumes on exhibit at Comic-Con:

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