“And so, as we're breaking story, we’re asking ourselves, ‘How do we live to the spirit, and to the character, and for the tone that Next Gen set, but also make it something very, very different in other ways?’ And Patrick was really clear with us from the beginning. He did not want to repeat what he had already done.
“And by the way, it's been 20 plus years, so he couldn't possibly be that same person anymore. And so, the question becomes, ‘What has happened to him in that period of time? Have there been occurrences that forced him to reckon with choices that he's made in his life? How do you hold on to being the person everybody loved when the circumstances around you may have changed so radically?
“It's interesting, Patrick didn't want to put handcuffs on us in any way … He said, ‘I want you to have the freedom to explore this character from a new perspective, and I will always know in my gut if it feels like something he would or wouldn't do.’ And that's the conversation that we have as we're building it scene to scene.
“So, we're started to internalize his thinking about Picard, and because that conversation is literally daily, either on email, or in the room in person, I think we feel confident that we're making choices that he would be happy with, and is happy with, because ultimately he's a producer on the show too, and he gets as much of a say.”
Source:
https://comicbook.com/startrek/2019/02/02/star-trek-picard-series-different-next-generation-alex-kurtzman/
