Star Trek: Patrick Stewart Shares First Photo From Captain Picard Spinoff Series

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Jean-Luc Picard is back in the captain’s chair!

Patrick Stewart has tweeted out the first photo from the new CBS All Access series, with work now officially underway:

The journey has begun. Kirsten Beyer, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman, Diandra Pendleton-Thompson, James Duff, and yours truly. #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/GxhwkTIgWQ

— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) September 24, 2018

“The journey has begun,” Stewart tweeted, while also introducing the team of writers/producers seated with him in the photo. “Kirsten Beyer, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman, Diandra Pendleton-Thompson, James Duff, and yours truly.”

Announced earlier this year at Star Trek Las Vegas, the new series — which currently does not have a title — is said to take place 20 years after the last time we saw Picard and the rest of the Enterprise crew in action, which would have been during the events of the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. Stewart released the following statement in regards to his long-awaited return on social media:

“I will always be very proud to have been a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course,” Stewart wrote. “It is, therefore, an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over.”

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According to Stewart, Star Trek fans should expect a “very different” Picard than they’re used to seeing.

“He may not be a captain anymore,” Stewart hinted at Star Trek Las Vegas. “He may not be the Jean-Luc that you recognzie and know so well. It may be a very different individual. Someone who has been changed by his experiences. 20 years will have passed …We have no scripts as yet, we’re just talking, talking, talking storylines. It will be, I promise you, I guarantee it, something very, very different, but it will come to you with the same passion and determination and love of the material and love of our followers and our fans exactly as we had it before.”

Although Stewart is back, it’s unclear if the rest of his Star Trek: The Next Generation Enterpirse crew will follow suit, as Stewart’s co-stars Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, and Michael Dorn have all confirmed that they haven’t been asked to reprise their roles as Deanna Troi, Dr. Beverly Crusher, and Lieutenant Worf, respectively.

At any rate, the new Picard Star Trek series is expected to premiere on CBS All Access sometime in 2019.