Interview: Wil Wheaton On Fans Celebrating Wesley “Coming Home,” Sweaters, And More ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ (2024)

One of the big surprises for the second season of Star Trek: Prodigy was the inclusion of Wesley Crusher as a key recurring character. TrekMovie spoke to actor Wil Wheaton about bringing back the formerStar Trek: The Next Generation character who went from acting ensign to a Traveler, and master of time and space.

NOTE: The interview covers SPOILERS for the full season.

When I recently spoke to the Hagemans they said TNG season 7 “did Wesley Crusher wrong “ and Prodigy was giving you closure. Do you agree with that?

One hundred percent. Well, ninety-nine percent. I would not say they [on TNG season 7] did Wesley wrong or they did Wesley dirty. [Next Generation writer/producer] Ron Moore always said he thought Wesley was going to leave Starfleet. He said that he always felt like Wesley was not cut out for Starfleet and that he was cut out for something more, something bigger. And he was never going to find it if he stayed in Starfleet, which is why they wrote him out the way they did in “Journey’s End.” And it just left this big blank page with a giant question mark projected on it. I don’t necessarily agree that that’s doing it wrong, but it definitely left it unresolved.

I absolutely loved the way Kevin and Dan [Hageman] resolved his story. When I watched it, I texted my friend Jen [Muro] who writes for Prodigy and I thanked her for everything she did and for bringing me into this and for everything that it means for me. And I said it feels to me like Wesley Crusher has come home. His cameo in Picard was great. I had such a good time. It was fun. It felt good. I enjoyed it. This is just more. This is a story, it’s not a cameo. It’s an actual story. It’s an arc. It has a whole three-act structure to it. And it is a gift for me to be part of this. And I’m grateful to them. And wow, am I thrilled to see fans celebrating Wesley Crusher, not just happy that he’s back. It’s not just like, ‘Wow, that was cool,’ but legitimately celebrating in ways that I never ever, ever would have expected.

A couple of years ago at a convention, we talked about your vision of “Time Lord Wesley,” which I think was roughly around the time they were writing this season. So how much input did you have into shaping Wesley in Prodigy?

I probably looked you in the eye and lied to you that I had no idea what any of that was because we had already done all of it. We had started working on developing the character. Jen called me and was like, ‘Hey, let’s talk about this.’ She knew that I’ve been writing fanfiction where he was kind of a Time Lord and they had that sort of idea. We bounced a bunch of ideas around. And then when I went in to do my first recording week, Kevin helped me find the character the way that he is sort of presented. The way I’ve been describing it is like I grabbed a blender, and I poured in some Doc Brown [Back to the Future] and some professor from Gilligan’s Island and I put in a whole bunch of Dr. Ian Malcolm [Jurassic Park] and then I just topped it off with the Doctor [Doctor Who]. And that’s what we ended up with.

Did you have any input into the look? The sweaters?

I did! We talked about it and I don’t remember if it came from me or if it came from someone else, but there was this moment we talked about the sweaters. I remember saying it’s got to be the pumpkin sweater. That’s the canonical Wesley Crusher sweater. There’s two things you think of canonically when you think of Wesley: the three stripes from his acting-ensign uniform, and that pumpkin sweater. And I was like ‘There’s no way he’s wearing a Starfleet uniform as a Traveler, but I bet he’s in that sweater.’ Because it ties him back to when he was just a human. He’s not a human anymore, he’s a Traveler. So things are really different for him and I felt like this was a way for him to stay connected and not completely forget and lose track of where he came from.

You also had some closure with Gates McFadden as your mom, Beverly Crusher. I assume you recorded separately, but I know you guys stay in touch, so did you have a chance to talk about that scene ahead of time, or afterwards?

I had already recorded my half of that scene and I saw Gates and she said, “Did you know we have a scene together in Prodigy?” And I was like, “Yeah, I actually recorded my half of it, I’m so bummed we can’t record together.” But I love that Wesley and Dr. Crusher got to see each other. I figured that Wesley as a Time Lord for what feels like, to her, 30 years. That’s a long time to not see your son, right? But for Wesley, I don’t know, has it been millennia?

I hate to be that guy…

Oh, be that guy!

Well, Wesley saw his mom at the Riker/Troi wedding, only a few years before [in Star Trek Nemesis]…

Well that is not in Star Trek canon, according to the people who make that decision. So, I can justify that! I can keep that straight in my head-canon. Wesley shows up there [at the wedding]. He presents himself in a way that they would all expect him to look because he’s a Traveler. But then he’s like, gone immediately. He’s not actually engaging and actually sort of like being there. Tissue-thin fan service, covering, papering over that. But, because it is officially not in canon, we are able to sort of overlook it. If I could be that guy, right back at you. [laughs]

You mentioned your friend Jen Muro. She’s tweeted out that she wants to do a Traveler TV show with you. Do you see that as a possibility, a Traveler/time travel Star Trek show with you? Either live-action or animated…

So today’s the first I’ve heard of this, and I don’t hate that idea at all. I’m not really interested in being an on-camera actor anymore, but I love being a voice actor. And I really, really love this animated Wesley Crusher. I love where he is in Prodigy. Honestly, I want more Prodigy. I want to see more of these kids. I want to see more of their story. I want to see more where that’s going. If that involves Travelers, yeah, I’ll show up.

I will never say no to Star Trek. Star Trek has given me so much. Star Trek gave me a family. Star Trek has given me something to be part of that is so much bigger than myself. Star Trek has given me the privilege of being an elder in a world that I care deeply about where I am part of passing a baton to a new generation of Star Trek cast members. And I will do anything for Star Trek. I don’t take any of it for granted and I’m super, super grateful for all of it.

If there were an opportunity to explore this character more, if there were an opportunity to spend time with other members of the Travelers and see what their deal is, I think that would be really fun and really wonderful, whatever form that takes. I don’t know, maybe Jen and I get together and write some fanfiction? Or maybe it actually does get pitched as a series. I don’t know. But I have learned that in the Star Trek universe, anything is possible. And we shouldn’t ever make definitive declarative statements that we can’t walk back at some point in the future when they change the laws of physics.

There may be more Prodigy. Have you talked to Jen or the Hageman brothers about Wesley returning if there is a third season?

No, that has that’s never come up.

Season 2 ofProdigy is available to stream on Netflix globally (excluding Canada, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Belarus and Mainland China). The season will debut on August 17 on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Season two has launched in France on France Televisions channels and Okoo.

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