Star Trek: Picard’s secret production name inspired by final moments of Next Generation

***Warning: Star Trek: Picard Spoilers Ahead***

Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters are often created under a complete fake name in order to avoid detection during the show’s production – and Star Trek: Picard is no exception.

The series, which has just been launched, brings back Sir Patrick Stewart’s classic character as well as some unexpected new arrivals and old friends.

So in order to keep the secret from the Trekkie’s dying to hear about what’s going on, they used a code name which, actually, has a really sweet connection bonding Picard and his synthetic friend, Data.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, executive producer Alex Kurtzman said: ‘I guess we can say now, because we’re going to have to change the title. It was Royal Flush, that was our original title.’

‘It was to do with the poker imagery in the opening scene,’  Akiva Goldsman added. ‘That way if someone happened to catch a glimpse of a poker table, they’d think “oh it was a show about that”.’

The actual scene itself is a massive easter egg for fans who have been following Picard from his life in Star Trek: The Next Generation, through to the present day.

In the final moments of TNG, he was seen sitting down with Data and the rest of the Enterprise team to play cards.

So, when we see Data and Picard together in the opening scene of the new series, it inititally seemed they were picking back up where we last left them.

Unfortunately, there was more to it than meets the eye – as it was actually a vivid dream Picard was having back at his home in Chateau Picard, and not real-life.

In fact, Data sacrificed himself almost more than a decade before the events we’re currently witnessing – saving Picard as synthetic androids went rogue.

Now banned from being created by Starfleet, the droids are now all but wiped out… or so they thought.

But Data’s connection to Picard still remains strong, made even more complicated by the introduction of Dahj, and her twin Soju (both played by Isa Briones) – who were created in the image of Data’s ‘daughter’ who he drew years before.

Spurred on by his friend’s fate and desire to remain loyal to him at all points, Picard sets off on trying to figure out how they came to be – and to save from the dangerous path of Romulins.

Star Trek: Picard continues Friday on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.

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Source: metro.co.uk