LeVar Burton Would Direct Picard, Doesn’t Believe in Geordi/Data Fanfic
LeVar Burton on stage at Star Trek Las Vegas 2019. Photo credit Nick Duguid.
LeVar Burton has weighed in on a role he could play in the new Star Trek: Picard series, and put to bed a popular rumor about his character, all in a single interview.
Comicbook.com spoke to Burton on the phone last week, ahead of his upcoming appearance at Keystone Comic Con, and they shared what he said, over the weekend.
The conversation naturally turned to Star Trek: Picard. Comicbook.com noted that fans were curious whether we’d see Geordi make an appearance, but then they also asked whether Burton would direct an episode or two. Burton has directed 29 episodes of Star Trek in the past, across four series. But he indicated that he wouldn’t mind doing more. Burton replied to Comicbook.com, “If asked, absolutely. I would find the time in my life for it because it would be a joy again, as I say, to hang out with Patrick [Stewart] and whoever else is in the cast. I've met a couple of the people. I know Jonathan Del Arco and I know that Hugh figures prominently in Picard. And I know Jeri Ryan and I know Brent is in it. So, you know, I've got friends on that set.”
Speaking of Brent Spiner, who we already know features somewhat in Picard, later in the interview Burton put to bed a fan theory about his and Data’s relationship. When asked whether he keeps up with the novels dealing with Geordi’s story after Star Trek: The Next Generation, he replied, “I don't. Or the fan fiction. I don't. For the record, I don't see him and Data in a relationship, contrary to a lot of fanfic. For the record.”
He went on to explain what he would theoretically like to see in Geordi’s future: “We have an indication that he became a writer. I'd like to think that he spent some time if he left space, that he spent some time teaching...He would, coming from the family that he does, would want to pass that knowledge and information onto a new generation of engineers, I'm assuming.”
Keystone Comic Con is on this coming weekend at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. If you’re in the area, you can catch Star Trek stars Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, and Nichelle Nichols there, as well as, of course, LeVar Burton.
This article was written for the podcast Daily Star Trek News.
Alison Pitt is the writer, producer, and host of Daily Star Trek News, on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. A veteran Star Trek podcaster, she started her career on the weekly show Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast in 2015. She has appeared on panels at Star Trek Las Vegas, WonderCon, and San Diego Comic Con.
