Prior to the film's production, 'Star Trek: Nemesis' was widely expected to be the last outing for the TNG crew. But as the film's release nears, some of those crew members are getting ever more positive about the possibilities for another sequel.

"There's been a lot of gossip about this being the last Next Generation film," Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) told SFX Magazine (via the Great Link). "Those conversations are only happening in the fan community. As far as the studio is concerned, and our executive producer is concerned, and indeed as far as all of us are concerned, though we all have our own opinions and feelings, there is nothing official at all about it being the last."

Stewart did admit that the 'Nemesis' story would work well as an ending to the TNG adventures. "Everything about the ending of this movie has a sense of closure about it, but there is also a huge opportunity for a sequel to this movie just sitting there, should it be taken up. And my feeling is that with Paramount it will totally be a matter of profits. If this film does really well, there will be another one. And that will continue, so long as they do well. The first time one does badly then, 'Clang!' We shall be put out to graze."

Further comments from Stewart on 'Nemesis,' as well as on his role in the upcoming X-Men 2 can be found in the June 2002 issue of SFX Magazine, on sale now in the United Kingdom. However, a transcript can also be found online here at the Great Link.

Another project Stewart was recently involved in was 'King of Texas,' an updated retelling of the original Shakespeare play 'King Lear' that will premiere on TNT next Sunday. The actor today participated in an online chat at USA Today to promote the film. Looking back on the production, Stewart said he felt the writers had been successful in transposing the play to Texas.

"I think they were entirely successful," Stewart said. "The original breakdown of Shakespeare's play in terms of the characters was done by myself, and I handed it over to the screenwriter, who's also a Texas historian. The other thing is that we stayed very very close to Shakespeare's story. There was only one principal character who got cut (Kent). The problem with him is that in the play he spends most of the play in disguise. We combine his character with that of Albany."

Although the emotionally wrecked John Lear was a very different role from that of Picard, Steward said portraying this character was not particularly difficult for him. "I'm most well known for playing dominant individuals, but that doesn't characterize all the work I've done. Someone asked me recently if I was afraid of being typecast after Star Trek. I've been typecast all my life! In RSC, I played coarse comic roles. Then I played hysterical neurotics. Then roles like Picard came up. Strength is something I enjoy using, but it's not a necessary characteristic."

The full transcript of the chat with Patrick Stewart can be found here on the USA Today site. 'King of Texas' airs Sunday the 2nd of June at 8:00pm on TNT. Thanks go out to Benson Yee for this!

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