James McAvoy jokingly offers to play a young Jean-Luc Picard in new Star Trek series and we want it

Patrick Stewart is back to work on his new Star Trek series, and after posting a behind-the-scenes look, James McAvoy has volunteered to play the young captain.

In August, Patrick Stewart made the shocking announcement that he would be reprising his role as Jean-Luc Picard in a brand new Star Trek series. The news was met with plenty of excitement, and now it seems that even James McAvoy is ready to offer his support in any way he can — which means volunteering to play a young Picard in flashback scenes.

According to ComicBook.com, when Stewart posted a behind-the-scenes look at himself in the writer’s room working on the new series on Instagram, McAvoy commented, “Need a flashback guy???? Just saying @sirpatstew I’ve got previous experience and will work for autographs.”

James McAvoy may have never been in a Star Trek series or movie, but he has certainly worked with Patrick Stewart before. In fact, as he referenced in his offer, the actor has played a younger version of Stewart in the X-Men movies.

While Patric Stewart originated the role of Charles Xavier in the first X-Men movie, and went on to play the part six more times, McAvoy stepped in to take on the role of a younger Xavier in four movies. Considering their history together and the younger actor’s ability to embody a character portrayed by Stewart, we can totally see him taking on the role of a young Jean-Luc Picard as well.

We may not know much about the upcoming Star Trek series, but now we have some fresh ideas thanks to James McAvoy’s offer. While we would love to see footage from the original Star Trek: The Next Generation, there is nothing wrong with mixing it up and doing fresh flashbacks. And if they do in fact do flashbacks to the earlier days of Picard’s time with the U.S.S Enterprise, then why not have McAvoy step in?

We know that the new Star Trek series will see what life is like for Patrick Stewart’s character after he has retired from the Federation, but that doesn’t mean there may not be references to the past as well. In fact, we think there will be plenty. And if they want to keep things fresh, bringing in someone to play a young Jean-Luc Picard is a great idea.

Now that James McAvoy has reminded both Patrick Stewart and the rest of his fans that he has actually played a younger version of Stewart (even if it was in an entirely different franchise), we think the idea has merit. He has already proven that he can embody one of Patrick Stewart’s characters, so why not give him a chance to embody another?

There is no official title for the new Star Trek series, nor is there a premiere date yet. But at least now we have an interesting idea for at least one episode of the series, a flashback featuring James McAvoy.