James McAvoy Pitched A Star Trek Show To Play Young Patrick Stewart Again

by admin | Oct 15, 2026 | Movies | 0 comments

James McAvoy reveals he pitched a Star Trek series to play a younger version of Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

McAvoy and Stewart are forever intertwined for playing Professor Charles Xavier in Fox’s X-Men movies. Stewart originated the role of Professor X and appeared in several films before McAvoy was cast as the younger Xavier in 2011’s X-Men: First Class. James and Patrick’s Xaviers then shared the screen in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Appearing on Happy Sad Confused, James McAvoy told host Josh Horowitz that he pitched “a whole story of young Picard that I love” about when Jean-Luc was captain of the USS Stargazer. McAvoy clarified that his idea was specifically about “when he took over as captain of the Stargazer and what really happened, and the secret that he’s been holding his entire career.” James pitched “a one-off season,” but it didn’t happen due to “logistical issues.”

See James McAvoy on Happy Sad Confused below:

In Star Trek lore, Jean-Luc Picard was a bridge officer aboard the USS Stargazer years before he was Captain of the USS Enterprise-D. When the Stargazer’s captain was killed, Picard took command, and Starfleet later named him the ship’s new captain. Picard then lost the Stargazer at the Battle of Maxia and was court-martialed, but he was acquitted before being given command of the Enterprise.

Tom Hardy played Picard’s younger clone, Shinzon, in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis.

McAvoy is obviously a Star Trek fan steeped in Captain Picard’s history. James’ idea that there is more to the story of how Picard took command of the Stargazer, and that there is a secret “he’s been holding his whole career,” is an intriguing take. Picard had a colorful Starfleet career before fans met him in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and relatively little is known about that period of Jean-Luc’s life.

It’s unclear when McAvoy pitched his Picard idea, and whether it was to Alex Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout or Paramount+. From 2018 when Star Trek: Picard was announced to 2023, when the three-season series led by Patrick Stewart ended, the IP surrounding Jean-Luc and Star Trek: The Next Generation was tied up, so if James pitched his idea then, it’s not surprising that it didn’t move forward.

James McAvoy was serious when he told Josh Horowitz that “All I really want to do in my career is play young versions of Patrick.” Skydance is currently moving Star Trek away from its 60 years of lore towards a new direction, so McAvoy’s young Picard idea may still not fly in the current environment, but James McAvoy playing another iconic Patrick Stewart character is certainly compelling.

Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard are streaming on Paramount+