Star Trek actors Walter Koenig and Patrick Stewart die at 90 and 86

The Star Trek community is mourning the deaths of Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in the original series, and Patrick Stewart, who became known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and later reprised the role in films and Star Trek: Picard. Koenig was 90 and Stewart was 86. Their losses have underscored the franchise’s cultural reach and emotional importance to generations of fans. Stewart once said Star Trek has endured because it offers hope and a belief that the future can be better.