Levar Burton says the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard is a love poem to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Burton starred in all seven seasons of TNG and was revealed to be reprising his role in Star Trek: Picard's final season alongside the rest of the TNG ensemble. Filming for the final season began in February 2021 and wrapped on March 8, 2022.
Star Trek: Picard follows Jean-Luc Picard, the protagonist of TNG, as he comes out of retirement to go on a new adventure. Former TNG cast members Brent Spiner, Jonathon Frakes, Wil Wheaton, and Marina Sirtis have made appearances in the series' first two seasons, with all but Wheaton coming back for the final episodes. Michael Dorn and Gates McFadden are also set to return for Picard season 3. The cast's appearance serves as a proper sendoff for the ensemble, rectifying the negative reception of Star Trek: Nemesis, the last time the TNG cast all appeared together.
In an interview with Yahoo! Burton talks about reuniting with the cast and how it felt making Star Trek: Picard. Burton says how the cast thought there would be another TNG film after Nemesis, but it wound up being the end, and that coming back brought a sense of closure to his character. He goes on to say that Star Trek: Picard is a love poem to the fans of TNG, offering a better sense of finality than Nemesis had. Read Burton's quote below:
We all thought the ship had sailed on a conscious goodbye. When we made our last movie, Nemesis in 2002, we expected there to be another one, and then things changed. So this was a great gift to us. This season of Picard is a love poem to Next Generation and we get to see these people that we grew to know and even love at this new point in their lives.
Burton also mentions how he's completely satisfied with his work on Star Trek: Picard, saying he would never need to play the role again. Though little is known about the storyline of Star Trek: Picard's last season, the fact that Burton and other TNG cast members have spoken so highly of the experience indicates a strong ending for the series. The final season is set to premiere sometime in 2023.
Burton's work has served as an inspiration for so many, not only on Star Trek but also through his decades of hosting Reading Rainbow, encouraging millions of children to read and learn more about the world. To see him return to the Star Trek universe shows an appreciation for his legacy and the impact he's had along with the other cast members who made TNG the classic science fiction series it is. It's hard to gauge how Star Trek: Picard will end, but it's shaping up to be an ending worthy of Burton and the mark he left on the Star Trek franchise.
Source: Yahoo!