That's the premise of the show, The Search for Picard. He'll just show up at the end of the season. The reason he's not in Starfleet anymoe is because he died.
A tea infused with bergamot oil and named after a certain 19th-century British PM will be mentioned. Hot.
Picard's love of archaeology will have something to do with the story. Maybe he's going on an archaeological expedition in search of the main plot.
No way will E-E show up. Whether whatever caused it's destruction directly on indirectly caused Picard to leave Star Trek is possibly something that will be addressed. But if we ever see an Enterprise on STP (highly doubtful) it sure won't be E-E. Maybe E-F will drop by as a cameo, or maybe Picard will get an old Galaxy class out of mothballs and rebrands it Enterprise-D 2.0, but I will bet good money no E-E on the STP
I agree. First because CBS/Kurtzman probably want their own version of a "TNG" Enterprise, just like they now have their own version of a "TOS" Enterprise. And second because I feel like they want to distance themselves from the TNG Movies as much as humanly possible. They want people to remember the Glory Days. The only exception to this, maybe, is if we see the E-E in a flashback to 2387. I feel like they might want to show Hobus in Picard, kind of like how they showed some of the Battle of Wolf 359 in "Emissary". In the poster for Picard, the clouds form a silhouette for the Enterprise-D. That's the kind of image I think they want to evoke. If we turn out to be wrong: I hear crow tastes pretty good.
these pins are being given out this year at SDCC: described as a "Starfleet Command Visitors Badge". speculating that these are prop replicas of something civilian picard wears when we see him interacting with young whippersnapper starfleet officers, potentially a variation on the new com badges.
I think the whole show should be framed by picard reading the autobiography of a star fleet officer who inspired him, shaped him and turned him into the man he is today. Whenever a dilemma comes up he could read a chapter and gain the inspiration he needs to do the right thing. That officer is Michael Burnham.
I think that's likely the case, a probably upgraded Enterprise-E that's different enough to be for this new series, but still recognizable as Picard's old ship. It seems like after Generations, we've come to expect every Enterprise to be destroyed in battle at some point, so I can see this one still being around and maybe even being a source for some memories (good and bad) for Picard.
Part of me hopes that Picard will be a limited series, a one-off season that develops his character in a natural way and maybe even gives him a noble end doing some good in the universe, before his Irumodic Syndrome progresses to the point that it robs him of his livelihood. It could mark the beginning of the "anthology series" that was once rumoured, giving characters and plots a 12/13 episode arc to tell its own story with some old characters returning along with all original newbies.
Check out the alternate ending to Nemesis, it ends with a pan out back through the new bridge windshield! They just hadn't done the CG for it.
Speculation only: 1) The 10 eps of the first season will be the only ones that feature Picard. If there is a second season it will feature the new actors going on without him after he dies. 2) We will only see Frakes and Sirtis in cameos as their former characters.
I know they will, which is a shame. Why not? It could make for a very powerful storyline, a man known for his strength of character, intellect and diplomatic prowess is being defeated by his own body and the ravages of age. It would be a great way to explore his mortality, as well as the legacy he will inevitably leave with the galaxy, raising questions with what it means to be human in the face of mental frailty, as well as the pressures of his 'fame'. It would be getting back to the solid and characterful story telling that made TNG so good. So I know it won't happen, because it's not edgy or sexy or glitzy.