Wil Wheaton reveals who in Star Trek knew about his comeback as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2. After a 2002 cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis as Wesley Crusher, Wil made another surprise cameo as Wesley in Star Trek: Picard season 2’s finale. Otherwise, Wheaton has kept his Star Trek ties strong as host of the Paramount+ aftershow, The Ready Room, while staying silent about the fact that, as Wesley the Traveler, Wil plays an integral role in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2.
In an upcoming exclusive interview about Wesley Crusher’s standout role in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Screen Rant asked Wil Wheaton who in Star Trek knew he was playing Wesley again. Wil reveals that the list of who knew his Wesley secret was very short, and he had to stay quiet about his return as Star Trek’s “original prodigy” for three and a half years. Read his quote below:
Not a lot of people [knew]. I mean, the folks who worked on the show, obviously. Most of my [Star Trek: The Next Generation] cast didn’t know. My space mom [Gates McFadden] knows. [Jonathan] Frakes knew. Kate [Mulgrew] knew because we had scenes together. But nobody else knew. It was a gigantic secret.
When I worked on Picard, nobody on Picard knew that it was coming up. And for years – years! – people have been saying to me, ‘Man, I want to see Wesley again. Do you think he’ll be in Strange New Worlds? Do you think you’ll be in Prodigy? Do you think he’ll be in –?’ And every time I was like, ‘I’m going to tell you a big old lie right now because that’s what I have to do. I don’t know.’ So sorry, everybody. SURPRISE!
Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher Secret Paid Off
Wesley is better than ever in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2
Considering how easily and often spoilers leak on the Internet, the fact that Wil Wheaton and Star Trek: Prodigy were able to keep Wesley Crusher a secret since 2021 is truly remarkable. Of course, Wheaton had the tough part of not violating his non-disclosure agreement and outright lying when he had to. But it’s also amazing that the few people who did know Wil was playing Wesley again in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 also kept the cat in the bag. Of course, Gates McFadden and Kate Mulgrew are also part of Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s cast, so they also had their own secrets to keep.
It’s obvious Wil Wheaton has a blast playing the best version of Wesley Crusher Star Trek has ever seen.
The surprise of Wesley Crusher’s return midway through Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 was incredibly rewarding. Fans (and Wil Wheaton) wondered for decades about Wesley’s life as a Traveler, and Star Trek: Prodigy not only explored what Crusher can do as a cosmic being who protects Star Trek’s timelines, but also made Wesley central to season 2’s multiversal story. It’s obvious Wil Wheaton has a blast playing the best version of Wesley Crusher Star Trek has ever seen, and Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 made how difficult it must have been to keep his Wesley Crusher comeback a secret worth it for fans, and Wil Wheaton himself.