Star Trek: Picard star Jonathan Frakes has teased his potential involvement with future Star Trek shows. Frakes first joined the franchise with Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he played William Riker for seven seasons. He continued to reprise his role in other Trek shows like Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, and he even appeared in several of the franchise’s feature films. Frakes’ involvement with Star Trek expanded even beyond acting, as he began directing various episodes of the shows. His directing duties extend to the films as well, with Frakes helming both Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection.
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When the television side of the franchise was revived on CBS All Access with Star Trek: Discovery, Frakes directed three episodes during the show’s first two seasons, in addition to two more for its upcoming third. Fans got a real thrill when Frakes once again played Riker for Picard, the latest Trek series that saw the return of Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. Riker and Picard, along with Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), reunited in the show’s seventh episode, “Nepenthe.” With Picard already renewed for a second season, fans are hoping Riker can return once more.
Regardless of whether it’s in front of the camera or behind, Frakes seems to have no intention of leaving the Star Trek universe behind. During a live chat with GalaxyCon, Frakes spoke about his involvement with the new shows, including those that have yet to be produced. As Frakes explained:
It has been a blessing to have my career to be rekindled by the new Star Treks. It didn’t hurt that I learned how to do another craft. The directing has been fantastic for me. When Discovery worked out and then Picard worked out and now there will be a new one, and another one.
Through CBS All Access, the television side of Star Trek has flourished, and it’s shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. In addition to Discovery and Picard, a third series centered around Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou titled Section 31 is in the works. Plus, one of the franchise’s main producers, Alex Kurtzman, revealed back in January that there are two live-action shows that have yet to be announced. That’s not even counting the two animated Star Trek series on the way. Clearly, Trek fans will have a lot of content in the next few years.
Seeing as Frakes is already involved with Discovery and Picard, it makes sense that he’d be brought back for the shows arriving in the future. Frakes has built up quite the career in directing television shows, and his interest in Star Trek hasn’t lessened at all. It will likely be seen as a major positive among fans that Frakes is involved with the new shows, even if it’s only to direct a few episodes. Of course, until things are officially announced, everything is subject to change. If Frakes has his way, however, fans can expect him to stick around.
Source: GalaxyCon
