Summary
Terry Matalas, theStar Trekshowrunner responsible for helming the much-lauded final season ofStar Trek: Picard, has conspicuously had no further association with the franchise sincePicardwrapped. This is despite calls for another Matalas-led project from both fans and the man himself.
Terry Matalas has a surprisingly long history withStar Trek, so this lack of forward momentum is a bit of a shock to many, particularly after the success ofPicard. It has some wondering whether the talented showrunner might be done with the franchise entirely, moving on to very different projects.
Is Matelas SwappingStar Trekfor the MCU?
Terry Matalas delivered a pitch-perfectThe Next Generationswansongwith the final season ofPicard. Many fans expected another project to follow soon after, but instead, his name now seems to have zero association with the franchise.
Despite initial whispers of Matalas developing a follow-up series toPicard, he has instead been pushing ahead with high-profile projects outside ofStar Trekand outside of Paramount. Most notably, he appears to have jumped ship to the MCU. In his first outing with the entertainment juggernaut, Matalas will serve as showrunner for Marvel’s upcomingVision Questseries, rumored to commence filming soon, as well as working as a writer and director on the show, similar to his role onPicardseason 3.
MCU projects are rarely light undertakings for creatives, and can sometimes see them tied to the franchise for years at a time. This is sad news for fans of his work onStar Trekbecause it seems that, at least for the foreseeable future, Terry Matalas is indeed done with the franchise. But there is a silver lining — Matalas has a career-long history of weaving in and out ofStar Trek. In fact, in many ways he owes his career in television to the beloved science-fiction property.
It All Started withStar Trek
Terry Matalas began his career as a production associate on the last two seasons ofStar Trek: Voyager. He carried these duties over toStar Trek: Enterprisefor all four seasons of its run, as well as writing stories for two episodes of the show’s third season. Following thecancelation ofEnterprisein 2005,Star Trekdisappeared from TV screens for over a decade. During this time, Matalas moved onto other projects, including the much-lauded12 MonkeysTV series.
Returning toStar Trek’s “NuTrek”
Star Trekwould eventually return to the small screen in 2017 withStar Trek: Discovery, and Matalas would return toStar Trekjust a few years later. He joined the second season ofPicardas co-showrunner alongside Alex Kurtzman, later to be promoted to sole showrunner for the show’s third and final season. Matalas’ work on season three ofStarTrek:Picard, which also included writing and directing duties, was met with near-universal acclaim. It was only natural that he would have designs on continuing his work on the iconic science fiction franchise.
Star Trek: Legacy
Without spoiling too much of the ending ofPicardseason three, Matalas leaves things primed for a continuing story focusing on a number ofprominentStar Trek:Picardcharacters— namely Jack Crusher (Ed Speelers), Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). A fan campaign to greenlight a new show focused on these continuing voyages began, which Matalas himself got behind. He even suggested the title for this series:Star Trek: Legacy.
The Ball Gets Rolling onStar Trek: Legacy…Then Abruptly Stops
Despite the momentum from the final season ofPicardand an undeniable fan interest inLegacy, there hasn’t really been any progress in getting the show off the ground. Matalas confirmed as muchin an interview with TrekMovieconducted asPicardcleaned up at the Saturn Awards. Speaking about whether there were any official conversations with Paramount aboutLegacy, Matalas said:
There’s not. They haveStar Trekthat they are making and they only have so much money and streaming space. There’s currently not, but we’re looking forward to whatever theStar Trekuniverse brings… and never say never.
Star Trek: Legacyremains conspicuous by its absence from Paramount’s announcedslate of futureStar Trekprojects. There could be any number of reasons for this. It could be as simple as Paramount wanting tofocus onStrange New Worlds, which has an upcoming third season and has been confirmed for a fourth, before greenlighting anotherStar Trekseries with a traditional episodic format. Or maybe it’s becauseLegacywould be Terry Matalas’ baby, and not Alex Kurtzman’s.
A Battle for Creative Control ofStar Trek?
The name Terry Matalas may not be as familiar toStar Trekfans — particularly newer fans — as the name Alex Kurtzman. The franchise has been under Kurtzman’s creative stewardship ever since its television revival withStar Trek: Discovery. It has been anything but plain sailing for Kurtzman during his tenure, however. His “NuTrek” projects sometimes seem to get as much criticism from certain circles of fans as they do praise from others.
When Matalas came onboard as co-showrunner ofPicardseason two before taking total creative control of the third season, this appeared to some from the outside looking in as potentially being a sort of creative coup. If Matalas ousting Kurtzman as the creative head ofPicardseason three was the first overture of some sort of power struggle between the two. But then, it seems this battle was over before it began. Kurtzman’s position as the captain of this generation ofStar Trekappears very secure. Despite his successes withPicard, Matalas’Legacyseries remains but a twinkle in his eye while Paramount has pushed ahead with Kurtzman-led projects like thedivisiveSection 31movieand the upcomingStarfleet Academyseries.
Is Terry’s Time withStar TrekTruly Over?
Terry Matalas seems to have a real love forStar Trekand a deep understanding of its lore and mythology. His work onPicardresonated with critics and fans alike. If the stars align, fans may yet see him take the helm of another Trek project sometime in the future. But fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
Matelas is a talented creative very much in demand. He is more than busy enough with projects outside ofStar Trek, but his name and career will always be strongly associated with the franchise, and there is certainly a contingent ofStarTrekfans eager for his return.
