Star Trek: Prodigy gave Wesley Crusher the story he's deserved for decades while also providing Wil Wheaton with the experience of watching his voiceover performance, one that made us both emotional talking about it. I think it's a given at this point that fans would love to see more of him, potentially via his own upcoming Trek spinoff, but is that a realistic hope hold onto? Wil Wheaton had some thoughts.
As the host of The Ready Room (available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription) and someone who is around the Star Trek fandom and its creatives quite a bit, Wil Wheaton has a definite read on the franchise. If anyone would know rumblings about what is and isn't possible, it's probably him. So I decided to get his thoughts on the probability of a Wesley Crusher spinoff happening down the road, noting that Star Trek rarely produces projects centered around non-Starfleet characters (Prodigy being the first). When I asked whether a spinoff was a realistic hope or just a pipe dream, he told me:
Well, if there's one thing that we have learned through like 60 years of Star Trek, It's that anything is possible. Like no one's ever really gone. Things are constantly in flux, and when you have a character who can manipulate spacetime and thought to kind of do anything and go anywhere, sure, you could put him any place. As an audience member, as a fan of the characters and Prodigy, and as a fan of the actors who play them, I would love to see more. I am fascinated by stories in the Star Trek universe that do not take place inside of Starfleet. I've always been fascinated by that. I've always wanted to know what it is like. What is this universe that Starfleet is kind of like looking after? What goes on on these planets before and after the Federation shows up?
Wil Wheaton makes a great point, and one that I've long thought is the key reason why Star Trek should pursue more non-Starfleet shows. Fans are constantly shown the perspective of the galaxy's peacekeepers and characters interacting with foreign planets, but it would be interesting to see characters who are not bound by the Prime Directive or other Starfleet restrictions, and Wesley Crusher seems like the ideal person to pull it off, considering he's familiar with both worlds.
Starfleet doesn't answer to the Travelers, but given the latter's unique nature, they also can't really be policed by the organization either. How does that change how they operate, and what kind of incidents could they prevent the rest of the universe has no idea about? According to Wheaton:
The Travelers are meant to be hands-off. They keep an eye on things, they hold reality together, and they nudge things when they when they start to veer and drift a little bit. The idea that Wesley stayed in this universe against the rules because he loves it and cares about it and that he had the courage that the rest of the travelers didn't have is deeply meaningful. I think sets up that this guy does care enough about it to spend more time there. If they wanted to explore it. Yeah, I'm super into it.
Wesley Crusher's existence as a Traveler is unique because he actively works to preserve the Prime Timeline and put out fires that could erase it from existence. Perhaps this is why it took Star Trek so much time to bring back one of its abandoned characters!
I would say that if a Wesley Crusher spinoff is definitively never going to be in the cards, I would at least hope he'd return in Star Trek: Prodigy Season 3. Unfortunately, we don't even have confirmation that a third season will even happen.
As someone who has frequently championed it as the best serialized series of Trek, I would be down for streaming more episodes with my Netflix subscription. Hopefully, with San Diego Comic-Con approaching, we will get some positive news from the streaming giant about the future of the series.
If not, it's still not as though the door is shut on Wesley Crusher. One of the beautiful things about being a Traveler is that they can step outside the confines of space and time, and re-insert themselves just about anywhere. So, if it isn't in the cards for more Prodigy, hopefully, he'll be welcomed on Strange New Worlds or the upcoming Starfleet Academy spinoff.
For those who still need a reminder, Star Trek: Prodigy Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Netflix right now. If you're not streaming this series and love Trek, you're missing out, and need to make it a priority.
