One of James McAvoy's seminal roles remains Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men prequel movies. He inherited the part once Patrick Stewart stepped aside, although both actors would go on to share the character in 2014's Days of Future Past. Seemingly not content with fleshing out the earlier years of just one Patrick Stewart character, McAvoy has recently confirmed he once had his eyes on also becoming a younger Jean-Luc Picard in a project set before Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy explained he pitched a "one-off, standalone season" built around a "mutiny on the [USS] Stargazer." He delivered his idea to "the Star Trek people," which presumably means it was an official meeting with Paramount. The Next Generation prequel would have directly addressed "the secret [Picard] has been holding his entire career," answering questions that surround the scraps of information Star Trek has revealed about this time in Picard's life.
According to McAvoy, who planned to play Picard in the project, Paramount was "well into it," but "logistical issues" resulted in production never actually getting off the ground. The Scottish actor also revealed he still loves the idea so much that he "goes to bed thinking about it every night." I have to say, I've often been curious about Picard's time aboard the Stargazer, and now that curiosity is higher than ever after hearing that McAvoy had a plan for telling Trekkies more.
What we already know about Picard's time aboard the USS Stargazer
As I referenced earlier, Star Trek has intentionally left this era in Picard's life with more questions than answers. That doesn't mean there's nothing canonically confirmed about it, though. In fact, what little official lore there is helps us understand more about Stewart's character than it initially seems. The biggest thing to take away from what we know is that the Stargazer was Picard's first command.
From context, it's believed that Lt. Commander Picard was at the helm when the Captain and First Officer were killed in action by an event that has never been revealed in canon. I expect that finally filling this void in the lore with some narrative substance was at the heart of McAvoy's pitch. As next in line to the Big Chair, Picard assumed the role of the Stargazer's Acting Captain.
After shepherding his crew to safety, Starfleet Command considered Picard a suitable replacement for his predecessor and promoted him to Captain. I've always assumed they allowed him to skip over the rank of Commander to do so. Picard was in command while Lt. Jack Crusher was killed in action, for which Picard feels responsible. Picard was the one to inform Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) of her husband's death.
The only other member of Picard's Stargazer crew who has been named is Chief Medical Officer Dr. Moritz Benayoun. This was only confirmed in Star Trek: Picard season 1 when actor David Paymer played the character and was shown to reunite with his former crewmate and commanding officer. After just over two decades as the Stargazer's Captain, Picard barely led a survival effort when his ship was ambushed by an alien vessel.
Although unknown at the time, it turned out to be a Ferengi ship, which caused several personal and political issues down the line. Some of these are addressed in The Next Generation and Picard. Already an old and worn ship when he inherited it, the Stargazer was badly damaged during the encounter to the point of being beyond repair. It was abandoned, and the Ferengi recovered it. It was later recovered by the Federation and restored for commemorative purposes.
The Stargazer was forced to destroy the Ferengi vessel during the battle, which was retroactively dubbed the Battle of Maxia due to where it took place. In a last-ditch attempt to outsmart the enemy in his antiquated vessel, Picard ordered a very short burst from the Warp drive to confuse the other ship's sensors. It worked, and the Stargazer capitalized. The manoeuvre has been immortalized as the Picard Manoeuvre and is revered as a tactical masterstroke. Picard has rejected its brilliance and called it an act of desperation more than anything else.
Note: Star Trek: Picard season 3 unveiled a new USS Stargazer. It was a new vessel named after the one Picard commanded.
Although an investigation and court-martial followed the Battle of Maxima, Captain Picard was cleared of any wrongdoing. He became the Captain of the Federation's flagship shortly after — the USS Enterprise-D. Due to all the gaps in this story, there have been decades of speculation about the missing details. As such, I believe McAvoy's idea would likely have been very well-received if it had gone ahead. He clearly has a passion for ruminating on this dark corner of the Star Trek timeline.
Star Trek's plans for the future make James McAvoy's Stargazer pitch seem less likely to happen than ever
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 2 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 both drop next year, with each run rounding off its respective series. After that, the franchise doesn't have any other TV shows confirmed to be in the works. There is a movie on the way, but it sounds very much like the plan is to move away from legacy characters so that new fans can be welcomed in without being expected to do homework.
If that approach is successful, it makes sense to roll with it. Therefore, as popular a character as Picard is, he could be seen as a relic of a bygone era and not worth further investment. I guess only time will tell. That said, with McAvoy now the same age as Picard was at the start of TNG, the timing has never been more perfect for his pitch to come to life and show the event that destroyed the Stargazer and resulted in Picard taking command of the Enterprise before Star Trek: The Next Generation.
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