Sir Patrick Stewart may have bid farewell to one of his most iconic roles, that of Professor Charles Xavier, earlier this year, with a stirring swan song performance in ‘Logan‘, but what of that other icon he brought to life? Well, in remarks that we covered earlier this week, Stewart explained that while he feels his time on the bridge is behind him, he wouldn’t be opposed to returning if the right idea came along. As an example, he suggested a large scale crossover, uniting the various ‘Star Trek’ crews for one big story, not unlike the model ‘Doctor Who’ follows for its anniversary specials (to keep things a bit closer to home, the concept is also reminiscent of ‘Star Trek: Legacy’, a game that was released in the wake of the franchise’s fortieth anniversary).
But is that the only way he’d return? It seems not. Also this week, we learned that Quentin Tarantino is involved with developing (and potentially even directing) Paramount’s next ‘Star Trek’ movie, having thus far pitched an idea to JJ Abrams and joined a writers room to flesh out the story.
Speaking at the Dubai International Film Festival, Stewart first acknowledged that an opportunity for him to return was unlikely, though not impossible, and likewise not something he would rule out. From there, he elaborated that the opportunity to work with Tarantino would in and of itself be enough for him to don the uniform one more time:
But one of my dreams is to work with Tarantino. I admire his work so much, and to be in a Tarantino film would give me so much satisfaction. So, if he was going to direct something ‘Star Trek’ and there was the possibility of dear old Jean-Luc showing up again and doing that for Mr. Tarantino, I would embrace it.
The one thing that characterizes all of his movies is that frame by frame, it always challenges, always demands your attention, always demands a very kind of open and generous response to what he does. I also love his sense of humor as a filmmaker. So yes, he would be my first choice.
Would you like to see Patrick Stewart return to ‘Star Trek’? What sort of story would be big enough to bring back Captain Picard? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more ‘Star Trek’ news as it becomes available!
