The final season of Star Trek: Picard brought a wave of nostalgia and excitement with the return of legacy characters and iconic ships, yet according to the series' showrunner Terry Matalas, there were more appearances considered that didn't make the final cut. In a detailed conversation with TrekMovie, Matalas opened up about the complex decisions behind these exclusions and teased fans with what could have been, including the fate of the USS Enterprise-E.

During a Master Replicas Collectors Club chat, Matalas shared insights into the creative process for the third season, revealing that more cameos from Voyager and Deep Space Nine were on the table. A notable dropped storyline involved Seven of Nine and her protégé Naomi Wildman, now a Fenris Ranger, reuniting in a pirate haven in space. However, due to the season's limited episodes, the focus shifted towards advancing the main plot. 

"It's time to get there," Matalas remarked, emphasizing the narrative's progression over additional character arcs.

The season aimed to celebrate the Federation’s Frontier Day with a gathering of Starfleet, intending to feature an ambitious assembly of legacy characters, including Harry Kim as the captain of the Voyager-B. However, concerns over overlapping with Prodigy's Voyager narratives led to adjustments. 

"I would have made Frontier Day with many ships... but all of that is very expensive," Matalas explained, highlighting the logistical and budgetary constraints faced by the production team.

A reunion between Seven of Nine and Admiral Janeway was also considered for the season's finale, where Janeway would promote Seven. Yet, the idea was scrapped to keep the focus on Seven's journey and due to budget constraints. Matalas expressed contentment with the characters they managed to bring back, despite the challenges and pushback from the studio and Paramount+ over the show's ambitious scope.

The fate of the USS Enterprise-E became a humorous mystery in the season, with Worf humorously deflecting blame for its unavailability. Matalas entertained various possibilities for the ship's absence but ultimately found humor in leaving it ambiguous. 

"The question is almost better than the answer," he mused, leaving room for future exploration in the Star Trek universe.