Patrick Stewart refused to return for Star Trek: Picard unless these two conditions were met

Star Trek fans needed no persuading of new series Picard and its place in the canon, but Sir Patrick Stewart entered the upcoming project with far more caution than the rest of us.

Stewart, who is reprising his role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the spin-off, told The Graham Norton Show that agreeing to return to the Star Trek franchise was "a big deal" – especially after declaring publicly that he was "done" with it all.

"Star Trek was wonderful, and it changed my life and my career, but I have said it all and there is nothing more to say," Sir Patrick explained. "[But] I didn't just want to say, 'No. Pass,' so I went to the meeting to explain to them face-to-face why I couldn't do it.

Related: How to watch Star Trek: Picard in the UK and elsewhere

"And then they made me an offer I couldn't refuse!"

As it turns out, there are two things Stewart would've refused – no matter how integral they were to The Next Generation. "No uniform and no Enterprise," he said of his conditions.

"They said they could live with that and they have made a huge commitment to the series. We hope it is amazing."

Star Trek: Picard's departure from the Enterprise – and the uniform – has been hinted at before, with Akiva Goldsman saying last summer that they "pointedly" avoided making a sequel to Next Gen.

"Tonally, it's a little bit of a hybrid – it's slower, more gentle, more lyrical. It is certainly more character-based."

Sir Patrick Stewart will appear on tonight's (January 17) Graham Norton Show along with Michael B Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Saunders, and Michael Kiwanuka at 10.35pm on BBC One.

Star Trek: Picard has a premiere date of January 23, 2020. It will air on CBS All Access in the US and Amazon Prime internationally, including the UK.

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