He described the changes as a "heavy retooling" so that it "flowed naturally out of Next Generation characters because you can't just take out Kirk and drop in Picard and have the story be precisely the same." He spoke with actress Marina Sirtis in order to get her insight into the character of Deanna Troi, as he wanted to expand on the character's empathic abilities and explain them more than they were on the television series.
The director explained the modifications as a "fundamental shift" in order to make the narrative cohesively connect with the new characters, especially by replacing Captain Kirk with Captain Picard. To accomplish this, he spoke with actress Marina Sirtis to gain insight into Deanna Troi's character and deepen her empathic abilities.