“Star Trek” fans are screaming for joy during the release of the first “Star Trek: Picard” trailer, which showcases the English actor Sir Partick Stewart’s return to playing his famous and fan-favorite role as Jean-Luc Picard.

"These past few years, I really tried to belong here, but it never truly felt like home," Stewart’s character says in the trailer show below.

The trailer premiered during a special 90-minute panel at the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday with an emotional Stewart. He stated that he was “deliriously happy” to be returning to the “Star Trek” universe a generation later. Moreover, the actor told San Diego Comic-Con that “you cannot have too many franchises in a career.”

Stewart expressed his conflict with overwhelming emotions when they shot the final scenes of “Star Trek: Next Generation” years ago. He stated that he felt hesitant to return to the famous franchise until he met a writing team that included Michael Chabon, an American novelist, screenwriter, and showrunner.

Stewart said that as soon as they began talking in the writer’s room, the “powerful emotion came surging back.” He further said that the emotion is “still right here on this platform” and that it’s not going away.

The series is set 20 years after “Star Trek: Next Generation” ended. It will be the “next chapter” of the life of the former Enterprise captain and Starfleet officer. The teaser even shows him running his own winery and adjusting to retired life.

Alex Kurtzman, “Star Trek’s” executive producer, stated in January that Stewart was very clear to them in the beginning. Patrick did not want to repeat what he has already done. Since the new show is set two decades later, Stewart’s character couldn’t possibly be the same person anymore.

"So the question becomes: What has happened to him in that period of time? Have there been occurrences that force him to reckon with choices that he’s made in his life? How do you hold on to being the person everybody loved when the circumstances around you may have changed so radically? Those are the big questions that we’re asking," Kurtzman said.

Fans have shown utmost enthusiasm over the trailer. One fan said that they are hyped for the series after finally getting the trailer. The fan further stated that there is just so much to take away from the trailer.

“For all of old timers who grew up with Star Trek TNG and Voyager, it's amazing to see Picard and Seven of Nine in the same trailer. Geek tear,” A Twitter user wrote.

The series, which is not a direct sequel, is scheduled to premiere at the end of this year on CBS All Access in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime Video for international fans. It’s a win for all “Star Trek” fans far and wide!

Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart, pictured here at the Aug. 10 series premiere party for "Blunt Talk," recently confirmed his role in the new "Wolverine" movie. Getty
RELATED STORIES