This Video Is Brought To You By Squarespace!
What if I told you the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D is back for Star Trek: Picard Season 3!
Alright, you might have seen this one coming.
Still, today we have some concrete information that does point to Picard’s iconic Enterprise making some appearance in the upcoming third and final season of Star Trek: Picard!
We’ve also got comments from Terry Matalas, Showrunner of the series, which could put a hole in our theory,
so we’ll explore them in this video and what they mean. As a heads up, this video may contain spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3!
You have been warned!
Welcome to Trek Central! I’m your host, Captain Jack, and let’s get into it!
We’ve already touched on details from the upcoming season of Star Trek: Picard.
Such as Riker’s USS Titan appearing after Jonathan Frakes made a cryptic comment and an insider revealed key details about the first episode of the series.
We’re also aware of a British actor, Ed Speelers, turning up in the season sometime soon. More on that in an article on TrekCentral.net
Before we warp into this video, If you want to keep up to date on all the latest Star Trek news, lore and more, then make sure to hit that subscribe button to never miss a video from the team here at Trek Central!
You can also follow us on social media for daily updates on the Star Trek Universe!
As always, please let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, because if you’re talking about Star Trek, then we want to hear about it!
Okay, engage!
As mentioned in the Intro, the wonderful people at Squarespace are sponsoring this video!
If you're interested in making a website, Squarespace is for you as it's the all-in-one platform for website design.
You can pick from the professionally designed templates and upload your own content to personalize the design.
Not only that, you've got access to features such as Blogging Tools! Perfect for sharing stories, photos, videos and updates.
Video blocks are a fantastic feature for ourselves, as we're all about videos on the channel. You can see on-screen now how we're using Squarespace for our portfolio of fantastic content!
One of my favourite features is design panel! Finding your perfect background, text font or colour can be a hard choice, but Squarespace offers hundred of customizable settings, including animations and padding.
Check out Squarespace.com for a FREE trial via the link in the description below!
When you're ready to launch your website, make sure to use our link to save 10% off your FIRST purchase of a website or domain.
Alright, we may have seen this one coming.
Yes, The ENTERPRISE-D Is Back For Picard Season 3! The upcoming Star Trek Picard season is looking ever so exciting.
We’ve had hints that Captain Riker’s USS Titan may show up. Additionally, Sir Patrick Stewart has teased multiple Enterprises.
However, we’ve now got confirmation that the legendary Galaxy-class Enterprise-D is back in style!
But you might be wondering, how can a destroyed starship return? First, this is Star Trek; second, this is Sci-Fi.
But in all seriousness, there has been a clue in the second season of Star Trek: Picard. Right under our noses was a hint at the legacy of Jean-Luc Picard’s former starship.
The Enterprise-D is arguably a main The Next Generation Character. She should have a place in the proper send-off for the crew.
We all remember Star Trek: Generations. It’s the movie that killed off both Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the USS Enterprise-D.
Seeing the Enterprise destroyed due to a warp core breach brought a tear to many fans’ eyes.
However, part of the ship did survive. William T. Riker and the crew managed to navigate a successful crash landing of the saucer section on the nearby planet.
The Enterprise-D’s fate was up in the air following the movie’s end.
However, with the successor movie introducing the new USS Enterprise-E, it was made clear the Galaxy-class days were over.
While many of us love to see the Sovereign class taking the spotlight, many still remember the Galaxy class. Thankfully, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine kept the Galaxy around, though they did blow a few up.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 included an easter egg about the USS Enterprise-D.
While many presumed the saucer section was scrapped, thanks to beta-canon material, this was not the case.
As confirmed by a ship plaque in the background of Starfleet Academy, the saucer section was recovered.
It’s now being stored in the Starfleet Museum. So, was this our first clue towards the Enterprise-D returning?
The ENTERPRISE-D Is Back For Picard Season 3. But how do we know this? Well, we’ve had some clues for a while now.
But we’ve not had enough concrete material to build off of. We’ll explore these other clues later.
However, as of May 2022, actor LeVar Burton let slip a few details. He was speaking at Megacon 2022, and his comments have gone unnoticed until now.
LeVar said the following during a Megacon Panel:
“We spent three days on a bridge that they build that was a replica of the Enterprise that we had during the series (TNG) – because we moved off of that ship, as soon as we got into the features…. when Marina crashed it was all over! (crowd laugh)”
If you don’t believe me, watch this clip here!
“We spent three days on a bridge that they build that was a replica of the Enterprise that we had during the series (TNG) – because we moved off of that ship, as soon as we got into the features…. when Marina crashed it was all over! (crowd laugh)”
We have it! LeVar Burton, who himself returns to Star Trek: Picard Season 3 as Geordi LaForge, has confirmed it.
The ENTERPRISE-D Is Back For Picard Season 3, which is super exciting. However, it does beg the question. How is the Enterprise-D back, as it was destroyed?
There are a couple of ways this could work. LeVar might have added further clarification.
LeVar continued by saying:
“We went back to our bridge, and it wasn’t exactly, the ramp was a little steep, but the feeling it evoked in us, that sense of coming home, was real. It was like being in a time machine, we were transported back to the 19, to the late 80’s.”
Again, If you don’t believe me, watch this clip here!
“We went back to our bridge, and it wasn’t exactly, the ramp was a little steep, but the feeling it evoked in us, that sense of coming home, was real. It was like being in a time machine, we were transported back to the 19, to the late 80’s.”
Thanks to Star Trek: Picard Season 2, we know the Enterprise-D’s saucer section has been recovered.
However, why would The Next Generation crew visit it? Sure, if the ship is stored in the Starfleet Musem, it would be a great trip down memory lane.
But surely this could be done via a holodeck? We’ll touch on that in a moment.
If you look closely in the first episode of Season 2, you’ll spot a nod to the Enterprise-D.
During Jean-Luc Picard’s trip to Starfleet Academy, he is seen talking to Elnor (Evan Evagora).
Behind them are plaques about former starships, including the USS Voyager. One shows the Enterprise-D, given it’s the Federation’s former flagship.
This plaque, which you can see below, updates what happened to the saucer section of the galaxy-class starship.
According to this information, it has been relocated to the Starfleet Musem.
Therefore the Enterprise-D lives on in some capacity. It is possible for the bridge section to be visited, as it only sustained minimal damage during the crash landing.
You can see the Enterprise-D Starfleet Academy plaque on-screen right now.
So the detail does count as canon as far as the Star Trek Universe is concerned at least.
What if the Enterprise-D bridge is a holodeck recreation?
It would not be the first time Star Trek has recreated an Enterprise bridge to take a trip down memory lane.
James Doohan’s famous cameo in The Next Generation saw the original Enterprise bridge reconstructed for the episode.
However, does this mean we’re seeing the same done for Star Trek: Picard?
It could be the case.
Art Director Kit Stolen shared a picture of the iconic Enterprise-D holodeck arch in bubble wrap.
However, does this mean we’re getting some holodeck time on the Enterprise-D or perhaps another Galaxy-class vessel with a similar design?
Perhaps! When asked about it being the Enterprise’s specific arch, he replied, “No & yes”.
The date on the tweet is March 25th, a few weeks after Star Trek: Picard Season 3 wrapped filming.
Therefore most of the sets for the production would have started being broken down and packed away, as is the case with fast-moving productions like Star Trek.
Now Trek Central originally broke this news in article format via our website. However, the tweet posting the article did catch the attention of Terry Matalas.
In case you don’t know he is the creative mastermind behind Star Trek: Picard Season 3.
Specifically, he is the Showrunner and big boss man. As you might expect, his word carries weight.
Terry replied to our tweet saying “Nope”.
At face value, this is the Showrunner stating that No, The Enterprise-D is not returning at all.
He later elaborated in a follow-up tweet, stating the following in a reply to someone asking for context. See it on-screen.
“It is not what is being reported here. There are many nods to the past, but not what people are expecting based on this. All i will say. - Terry Matalas
Can i just say that i really appreciate Terry Matalas communicating with the Star Trek fandom on this one?
While it sucks to see we might have gotten the initial idea behind this wrong, based on comments from LeVar Burton and such, it does open the doorways to another Star Trek Theory.
Stick with me...
Before I get onto that, let’s look at Terry’s follow-up tweet again.
He said there are many nods to the past, but not what people are expecting. Perhaps we’re being too specific.
The Enterprise-D bridge is a Galaxy–class bridge at the end of the day, and so is the Holodeck archway. Perhaps these are components of another starship?
But if this is not the USS Enterprise-D, then what is LeVar talking about when they say they rebuilt the bridge of their Enterprise?
Well, we do have another theory which could connect to the idea of a Galaxy-class Bridge, but also LeVar’s character of Geordi LaForge.
Take a look at the promotional stills and clip of LaForge. In the Picard Season 3 teaser, he appears to be the rank of commodore.
It would place him above the rank of Captain. However, he is still able to command starships and such.
What if LaForge is commanding the Galaxy-class USS Challenger? Some of you might remember this starship.
It appears in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Timeless”. This was an alt-timeline episode, where it was set in 2390 and the USS Voyager never made it home.
Former crewmembers Chakotay and Harry Kim were aiming to restore the timeline, but LaForge and the USS Challenger were ordered to NOT let them do this. As it affected the current timeline.
Geordi La Forge would also command the USS Challenger in Star Trek’s extended canon.
In 2383, the ship was assigned to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.
However, it was the personal project of her new Captain before La Forge would take over. This would be Captain Montgomery Scott.
Scotty would be injured on a mission with the Challenger and thus recommend La Forge to take over.
Now there are more stories with the USS Challenger, and we’ll explore them later, but for now, it is possible we could see Geordi La Forge commanding a Galaxy-class starship in the upcoming Star Trek: Picard Season 3.
Yes, this is a wild theory, but it would build on what we know.
It also takes into account LeVar’s comments about the bridge being remade. It also then builds into Terry’s Tweets as well.
Think about it, the last we knew of La Forge in more up-to-date comics and books,
he was assigned to Utopia Planitia Shipyards right before the synths attacked and destroyed the Romulan Relocation Fleet he had been overseeing.
It’s possible that he could have been promoted to commanding a starship of his own. Maybe we’ll need to work on this theory more.
I’m super excited that The ENTERPRISE-D Is Back For Picard Season 3!
It would seem like Showrunner Terry Matalas has done everything he can to give The Next Generation crew the send-off they deserve.
Hearing LeVar talk about being back on the Galaxy-class bridge has me excited for the feeling of when it reaches our screens in 2023.
Let’s make sure history never forgets the name, Enterprise.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 is the finale season of the Paramont+ series. It is expected to air in 2023.
However, no specific date has been released.
Sir Patrick Stewart will be joined by his Star Trek: The Next Generation castmates in what looks to be the final grand send-off for Picard and the crew.
So what do you think of our news and theory today in this Star Trek video? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
Because if you’re talking about Star Trek, then, of course, we want to hear from you!
If you want to keep up to date on all the latest Star Trek news, lore and more, then make sure to hit that subscribe button to never miss a video from the team here at Trek Central!
You can also follow us on social media, or join our Community Discord Server!
For now, I’ve been Captain Jack, thanks for watching and we’ll see you next time! Live Long and prosper my friends!