Stewart Dies

Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," died Wednesday at 86, NBC News reported.

A statement posted to his official social media accounts Thursday said Stewart died at his home in Los Angeles, in the care of his wife, Sunny, following what it called a brief battle with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. "He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter," the statement said, according to NBC News.

For seven seasons, Stewart commanded the USS Enterprise-D on "The Next Generation," which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1994, Deadline reported. He returned to the role nearly three decades later on "Star Trek: Picard," which ran from 2020 to 2023. Away from the bridge, he originated Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" film franchise in 2000 and played the character in six more films, according to NBC News and Deadline.

Picard's command decisions drove some of the franchise's best-known episodes on "The Next Generation," including "The Measure of a Man" and "The Best of Both Worlds," Screen Rant reported.

Terry Matalas, showrunner of a planned sequel series called "Star Trek: Legacy," said Stewart was set to make guest appearances in it, according to Dark Horizons. The show would have paired Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine, now captain of the USS Enterprise-G, with a new generation of officers while bringing Stewart's Picard back for occasional missions. "Patrick was like, 'I want to come and be the one who gets on the screen and tells him missions,'" Matalas said on the podcast "Dropping Names." The series never advanced past the idea stage. Matalas moved on to run Marvel's "VisionQuest" instead.

Stewart's death falls during Star Trek's 60th anniversary year. That milestone has brought a wave of new "Next Generation" releases, Screen Rant said, including a reprinted "Star Trek: TNG Fluxx" card game and a "Magic: The Gathering" crossover set. Due out Nov. 13, that Magic set is set to include a limited-edition card signed by Stewart, Screen Rant reported.

Stewart is also expected to appear posthumously as Professor Xavier. The film is Marvel's "Avengers: Doomsday," which premieres Dec. 18, Deadline reported.