I think Trek's done really well with them thus far. We have 3 Spocks now and he's the most iconic Trek character of all.
Technically, no. Not unanimously "better" per se, but many think Better Call Saul is the equal or near-equal to Breaking Bad. I personally actually like Better Call Saul better, to be completely honest, but I know most BB/BCS Fans feel they're either equal or that BCS is juuuuuuuuust beneath it by a whisker. Nothing to do with Star Trek, but it's the only example I can think of. So I guess you could say it's the exception that proves the rule.
It's been done twice already. Tom Hardy as Picard/Shinzon in Nemesis and James McAvoy as Professor Xavier in the X-Men movies. One of those was popular enough for four movies, including one where he shared screentime with Patrick Stewart. And I'm not sure it's really accurate to say recasting is often unpopular. True when they are unpopular, the negativity tend to get exaggerated, but there have been plenty of examples of it working. As far as Star Trek specifically is concerned, Anson Mount won fandom over as Pike pretty much unanimously to the point there's been demand for a Pike spin-off for over a year now. And Ethan Peck as Spock has very little detractors. Rebecca Romijn as Number One has won over a lot of fans as well. Indeed, as far as CBS All Access Star Trek goes, the only recasting that has gotten any negativity was John Ales as Bruce Maddox. But that has more to do with it being blatant disrespect towards Brian Brophy than any kind of stance regarding the concept of recasting.
I don't like rating boundaries indeed, if I feel a story has to be x-rated, it becomes x-rated. But then, my Stargazer ideas aren't half as x-rated as my ideas for older!Jean-Luc (what can I say, I like older men)...
You know, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I kind of want to see this now. You have to work in Sir Ian McKellen somehow too. If people were clutching their pearls before...
I'm used to this, people have been clutching their pearls at my fan fic for over a decade ("do you HAVE to be this graphic about Picard and a guy in bed?"), so I'd be thrilled to work in Sir Ian McKellen in some capacity. It would be an honor, and I'm also pretty sure Sir Ian would love this whole thing, I remember him going on about wanting for an X Men movie to start with Magneto and Charles in bed, so chances are he'd have an absolute field day with this.
I don't believe in a better bromance than sir Patrick and Ian. Nobody else but those 2 have the balls to do this on the red carpet.
^ And pretty much everywhere else whenever they get the chance. I've seen them talk to each other right in front of me and they have incredible chemistry, on and off the stage, so I would say this ship would sail itself. (I mean it already sailed nicely with Magneto and Professor X.) So yeah. If they gave me the chance to write that Stargazer series, I'd make it a "flashback" series that is older!Jean-Luc sitting with his lover - played by Sir Ian McKellen - reminiscing about his time aboard the Stargazer and the adventures he had fighting the Cardassians, for example.
Wouldn't interest me I'm afraid. The problem with prequels is we already know what will happen in the end, unless there's time travel shenanigans or retcons meaning it isn't a true prequel to events of TNG and risks tainting the original series it is based upon. Rather than a Section 31 series or a prequel that is reliant on nostalgia and other people's ideas to prop it up, I'd much rather a completely different setting and new characters.
Well written stories about events we never heard about (unlike the Star Wars PT), would pique my interest. Just because we know JLP can't die doesn't mean there's not good material to be had.
There was talk about a "Star Trek: Reliant" series after a trademark filing in 2018, and most assume that this was just a working title for Picard. Picard had even served on the Reliant before the Stargazer, and this was even mentioned briefly in his first season. So, a "Star Trek: Reliant" series would be the only place to see an Ensign Picard rising up the ranks before his transfer to the Stargazer and history. It could be a good Lost Era series, and even continue with the Reliant crew after Picard leaves. Or it could set the entire series within the assumed three-year period (2327-2330) when Picard was on the Reliant. A Stargazer spinoff could go on from that. But the thing about the Reliant is, we don't know anything about what kind of ship it is, the crew complement (other than Picard and Nakamura), any of its adventures. It's a blank state. And if you go by Discovery's precedent, you could develop brand new uniforms, technology, enemies. The Enterprise-B can show up, you could toss in a few actors from the TOS era (who would be just about age-appropriate). It's not a bad thought. Not a bad prequel idea, exploring the creation of this hero and the formation of the TNG peace era from the militarized TOS movie era.
Yeah. This is why there have been so few films made about World War Two or Vietnam. Pointless making a film set during World War Two when we already know what will happen in the end.
Not really the same. You can tell individual stories because we don't know whether the character (usually fictional), survives the story. You're not painted into a corner on personal events except for a handful of people. And it totally discounts how much mileage one can get out of alternate history. Alternate timeline Stargazer series? Sure. More "Prime" timeline nonsense? No thanks.
Star Trek isn't a historical document, it'a show about characters. We know what happens in the end with politcal powers and what maximum warp speeds of the era are, but how the characters go from who they are at the start of this hypothetical Stargazer series to the Picard, Beverly and Wesley we met at the start of TNG is where the joy is. What shaped and changed them. How did Jack Crusher die and why did it cast such a long shadow over Picard? Was Jean Luc attracted to Beverly and vice-versa while Jack was still around?
I hope they use the Stargazer to its full potential. Thing has shuttlebays for days. It looks like a transport, a colony ship, a logistics ship. Something perfect for the rugged 'pacified' rim, it even has double nacelles for some reason. It'll be less exploring (though of course it'll make little sense if Picard got the Enterprise for not being an explorer, so maybe the Stargazer has a tendency to drop by every damn star it can and let the smaller science suite take a nab at it).