FEBRUARY 28, 2023 - We, the fans knew about halfway through Star Trek: Picard season 2 that the entire cast from The Next Generation would be together again for season 3. We searched the web for any and all clues, and brightest of the bunch kept coming back to the Daily Star Trek News website as we kept you posted with all of the breaking news around the Trek-verse. We thought that we knew as much as we could, and then…

A late announcement for another series regular, Ed Speleers, was also cast for the bon voyage season.  There was no name given to the character and everything shared about him could pretty much fit inside the period mark at the end of this sentence.

In episode 1, we learned he was Beverly’s son, and in episode 2, we learned that he was also Picard’s. After the second episode aired, he did a media blitz, offering more insight into who we now know as Jack Crusher.

He shared that Matalas told him that Jack was complicated. A multifaceted character who is trying to figure out his place in the universe. He spoke about some of the classic (and other) characters that were part of defining Jack.  He stated that he’s a bit Han Solo and Captain Kirk mixed together. His character is not black and white, or black or white, he lives in the grey zone. He’s a guy fiercely devoted to his ‘mum’ and very much anti-Starfleet. 

So, how did he prepare for the role?  He stated: 

In preparation, before shooting, I would spend three or four hours a day working on the text, working on the character. And then I’d finish that day by watching one of these films or watching a couple of episodes. That allowed things to just wash over me and absorb this world. I didn’t necessarily go into the semantics of exactly how the TNG characters were moving and thinking and talking, because I feel that Jack’s his own man. He wasn’t brought up by Picard. I feel like he had his own entity to hold onto. But I certainly did a lot, a lot of watching.

His character (Jack) inherited his mother’s bravery and his father’s loyal desire to help others. Knowing the last time we saw the TNG characters together, we also have all been speculating about his age.  Spellers is 34, but Jack is roughly 23 – 24. He admits that he had to play his age down a bit to make his character more believable.  

And addressed the obvious follow-up being that he is actually 34. When asked about how his character feels about Picard, he stated:

There’s an element of a thick-skin facade being put up there. I feel that he wants to portray that it’s resentment, but deep down he has been longing for some understanding and some connection. He is just deeply hurt and angry. And no one wants to stay that way so he wants to find a way to rectify that, but he finds it incredibly difficult to confront it with a man that represents everything that he can’t stand. I think his relationship with his mother is very strong. She’s obviously nurtured him. She’s protected him from the world of Starfleet of what that signifies. However, she’s also allowed in great space to become his own individual and his own entity.

He also hopes for spinoff. Showrunner Terry Matalas has made no secret that he is hoping to continue telling stories in this early 25th-century setting, likely including Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and other Picard characters. He stated that he’s up for 10 – 20 years of playing the character.  He’s totally committed and up for it.  He says that Seven of Nine and his relationship will grow during the season and would like to continue to work with her in a spin-off.  

Could season 4 of Picard happen with Jack being the titular character? Speleers sees the fans as the drivers of any potential spin-off:

If it happens, and I really hope it does — at the moment, there’s no indication of that being the case. This is going to be driven — I really, really believe this — by how it’s received and what “Trek” fans feel about it. If it comes, genuinely, this whole experience has meant so much to me, both for me and for my family, that I would love to play for years to come. Really, really, really — if it turned out that way that I was able to play Jack for the next 5, 10, 15 years, I would welcome it with open arms.

I think most of us would be up for it as well.  Get those pencils sharpened for a letter campaign. We’d like to also thank TrekMovie.com for their coverage.  To read even more from Speleers, follow the link and warp over there now.