Prodigy Season 2 Showrunners Reveal Why Wesley Crusher’s Return a ‘Perfect Fit’

Summary

• Wesley Crusher returns in
  Star Trek: Prodigy
  Season 2, offering a connection to
  Star Trek: The Next Generation
  and
  Star Trek: Picard
  .
• Showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman plan to use Crusher as a mentor with a scatterbrained and untrustworthy side.
• Star Trek: Prodigy
  aims for a long-lasting impact like the 90s
  Star Trek
  series, with hopes for a future similar to The Original Series.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 thrilled fans with the brief return of Wesley Crusher, portrayed by Will Wheaton. Recently, the series showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman revealed why they chose to bring back Crusher and how they plan to use his character in the show.

The inclusion of Wesley Crusher in Prodigy provided delight to long-time fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Furthermore, the showrunners have incorporated special elements for Star Trek: Picard viewers. Crusher will be playing a crucial role in a major crisis that threatens every Star Trek timeline.

During the interview with Screen Rant, Kevin Hageman remarked on the character’s legacy, stating,

“He’s the original Prodigy! It felt like such a perfect fit. Seeing how he just walked off the screen in ‘Next Generation,’ we wondered why no one had utilized him since. Everyone seemed hesitant to touch the character, but we wanted to bring him back and do something great with him. Make him a wonderful mentor, but also a little scatterbrained and untrustworthy.”

Dan Hageman added, “A little Doctor Who, a little Willy Wonka…”

The Hageman brothers revealed the collaboration with Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas played a role in Crusher’s return. Matalas reached out to the Hagemans, knowing they were incorporating Wesley into “Prodigy,” and coordinated Wesley’s cameo in the “Picard” season 2 finale to align with the character’s deeper involvement in “Prodigy.”

“We had talked to Terry Matalas about what they were doing with Picard.,” Dan Hageman explained. “He had contacted us because he knew we were playing with Wesley, and they were going to have Wesley in Picard. And so, we just kind of lined it up. He’s got a brother and that’s something that we can put into the show. So it was all Kismet.”

Kevin Hageman further noted,

I think they were trying to be respectful because they knew that we were already down the line. We had written a whole season with him in it. And so they’re like, ‘let us have a little bit of him too.’

Star Trek: Prodigy Aspires to be Like the 90s Star Trek Series

Star Trek: Prodigy has charted a course for an ambitious future, aiming to mirror the longevity and impact of the Star Trek shows from the 90s. The revival of Star Trek: Prodigy was a triumph for fans, who rallied to save the series from being shelved by Paramount. In an interview with Collider, Dan Hageman voiced his hopes for the series’ extended lifespan, saying,

“There’s threads of what’s next. If we’re lucky enough to go to Season 3, I’m really excited about where the show can go. We wrote this thing to go seven seasons at least.”

Kevin Hageman sees Prodigy’s fate similar to Star Trek: The Original Series, which also faced cancellation before being revived and eventually spawning a successful film franchise. The showrunner aspires the same future for Star Trek: Prodigy, hoping it will follow the same path.

“I hope people will look back at our show and be like, ‘Oh my god, they followed the footsteps of The Original Series. It got canceled, they got brought back to life. Oh, here comes Star Trek the motion picture.’ Why not?” Kevin remarked.