George Takei Responds After Patrick Stewart Announces ‘Star Trek’ Return

When the news came out that Patrick Stewart would return to the Star Trek franchise, Trekkies shared their excitement over the return of one of the most popular Enterprise captains. It was another former Federation captain, however, that really made the day for fans with a quaint story about an interaction with Stewart.

George Takei took to Twitter Saturday after the news about Stewart and shared a quick story of the time he met the Star Trek: The Next Generation star on a flight. The two recognized each other and had an exchange that fans would expect from the two actors.

“My favorite Patrick Stewart story: We once ran into each other on the same flight,” Takei tweeted. “He’s got quite the recognizable mug, so I went up to him, and I said, “Aren’t you…” And he looked up at me with delight and said, “Well, aren’t YOU!”

Stewart surprised attendees at the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas Saturday to announce his character, Jean-Luc Picard, will return in a new Star Trek series for CBS All Access, which currently shows Star Trek: Discovery. Back in June, rumors about a new series began when Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman, who introduced Stewart for the announcement, was hired by CBS for a new show. Stewart will reprise the role of Picard in a series that looks at the captain’s life after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

No date has been set on when the new Star Trek show with Stewart will air. This is the third show to be part of CBS All-Access, along with Discovery and the Star Trek: Short Treks four-part miniseries announced at the San Diego Comic-Con that will focus on characters from the show.

Picard isn’t the only returning Star Trek character. Spock will also show his pointy ears again in the second season of Discovery.