The third season of "Star Trek: Picard" introduced one of the best new "Star Trek" characters in many years. Captain Liam Shaw, played by Todd Stashwick, was the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Titan-A, a massively retrofitted version of the ship once commanded by Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Shaw was brusque, protective, and had no patience for propriety. When Riker and Picard (Patrick Stewart) -- deeply respected throughout Starfleet -- ask to borrow the Titan for a secret, personal mission, Shaw immediately refused. No, you cannot use my ship. He then assigns them uncomfortable bunk beds to sleep in.

Shaw is a bit of an a-hole, but he's not wrong. He is under no obligation to flout the rules for Riker and Picard, and gets furious with them when their personal mission attracts attackers and bounty hunters. He didn't ask for that. Shaw also had a combative relationship with his first officer, Commander Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), formerly of "Star Trek: Voyager." He insisted, quite rudely, on calling her by her birth name. He lives by the book, and is a former engineer who never really wanted to be a captain. That's novel for "Star Trek": the captain who hates his job. He was gloriously cantankerous, and many Trekkies were very, very upset when he died before "Picard" ended.

Showrunner Terry Matalas, in the final episodes of "Picard," was clearly setting up a backdoor pilot. The series ended with Seven of Nine as the captain of the Titan-A, recently rechristened the Enterprise-G, as she trekked into the stars on her own mission of exploration. This was meant to lead into a spin-off series that Matalas wanted to call "Star Trek: Legacy." Sadly, Shaw would not be part of this new show, as he was dead.

But at a recent Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, Nevada (as covered by TrekMovie), Matalas and Stashwick both went on record as to how Captain Shaw might have returned.