James McAvoy almost became the new Jean-Luc Picard. The Golden Globe nominee has revealed that he pitched a Star Trek limited series about a young Picard — titled “Mutiny On the Stargazer” — and came close to actually making it happen.
James McAvoy (Credits: Paramount Television/Courtesy Everett Collection)
The Pitch That Almost Happened
McAvoy spilled the details on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, telling listeners he pitched the idea directly to “the Star Trek people” and that they nearly greenlit it. The series would have explored the early days of the iconic captain — a backstory only glimpsed in fragments across the franchise.
The actor clearly saw a pattern forming in his career. Having already played a younger version of Charles Xavier in the X-Men films — a role originated by Patrick Stewart, the very man who brought Picard to life — McAvoy joked that his ambition was simple: “All I really want to do in my career is play young versions of Patrick [Stewart].”
Why It Would Have Worked
The parallel is genuinely irresistible. McAvoy inherited Stewart’s Xavier and made the younger Professor X his own across four X-Men films. A young Picard would have been the spiritual sequel to that casting — same original actor, same generational handoff, and a built-in fanbase already trained to accept McAvoy as a younger Stewart.
With “Mutiny On the Stargazer” shelved for now, the project joins the long list of fascinating Star Trek what-ifs. But given how close it came, Trekkies may still be holding out hope that the Stargazer sets sail one day.
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Source: Deadline — read the full story there.
