Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy season 2.
Summary
How old isStar Trek: The Next Generation’s Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) when he returns inStar Trek: Prodigy? It’s fitting that Wesley’s return is integrated so well intoStar Trek: ProdigysinceWesley Crusher wasStar Trek’s original prodigy as a teenager onStar Trek: The Next Generation.Wesley showed promise as an acting ensign on the USS Enterprise-D and Starfleet Academy cadet before joining the Traveler (Eric Menyuk) inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 7, episode 20, “Journey’s End”. Aside from a brief cameo inStar Trek: Picard, we hadn’t seen anything of Wesley’s life as a Traveler.
That changes inStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2, episode 10, “The Devourer of All Things”, when Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), and the rest ofthe USS Voyager-A’s cadets encounter Wesley Crusher in their search for the missing Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran). Wesley, now a seasoned Traveler, explains that the cadets' time travel adventures caused a paradox that tore an accidental rip in theStar Trektimeline, and attracted the interdimensional villains, the Loom. To avoid being erased from existence, the cadets must follow Wesley’s plan perfectly. Like otherStar Treklegacy characters inProdigy, Wesley is much older than when we saw him last.
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How Old Wesley Crusher Is In Star Trek: Prodigy
Time Travel Makes Wesley Crusher’s Age In Star Trek: Prodigy Complicated
Wesley Crusher’s age inStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2can be determined by looking at information about Wesley fromStar Trek: The Next Generation. Wesley is 15 inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s pilot episode, “Encounter at Farpoint”, and 16 for most ofTNGseason 1, which takes place in 2364. Furthermore, Wesley was 5 years old when his father, Jack R. Crusher (Doug Wert), died in 2353, which clarifies Wesley’s birth year as 2348.Star Trek: Prodigytakes place from 2384 to 2385, so chronologically speaking,Wesley Crusher should be 36 or 37 when he meets Dal, Gwyn, and the rest of their team.
One thing to consider, however, is that inStar Trek: Prodigy, Wesley Crusher exists outside the normal flow of time. InStar Trek: Prodigy, Wesley explains that he’s been to other timelines, to the past, and to the future, soWesley Crusher doesn’t have to be the same age that he might have been if he hadn’t gone with the Traveler.Any length of time could have elapsed between Wesley’s lastStar Trek: The Next Generationappearance and when Wesley is inStar Trek: Prodigy.Wesley Crusher’s Traveler abilitiesmay mean Wesley isn’t completely human anymore, so he may have slowed or even stopped aging conventionally.
Star Trek: Picardseason 2, episode 10, “Farewell”, takes place in 2401, so Wesley Crusher’s chronological age would be about 53 years old, but Wesley time-traveled to 2024 to recruit Kore Soong (Isa Briones) to be a Traveler, so this is another case where Wesley doesn’t necessarily have to actually be his chronological age.
Wil Wheaton Is Older Than Wesley Crusher In Star Trek: Prodigy
Wesley Crusher Appears Throughout Star Trek At Different Ages
Wil Wheaton is older than Wesley Crusher when Wheaton returns toStar Trekas Traveler Wesley Crusher in the animated seriesStar Trek: Prodigy. Wheaton’s birthdate is June 07, 2025, so at the time thatStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2 is released on Netflix, on July 04, 2025,Wil Wheaton is 51 years old, whereas Wesley is chronologically in his 30s— barring any of the aforementioned time travel shenanigans that might make Wesley closer to Wheaton’s age whenStar Trek: Prodigy’smain charactersmeet Wesley in 2384.
2364–2370
15–22
15–21
2379
30 or 31
30
2368
20
51
2384–2385
36–37
2401
53
May 2022
50
Animation helps Wesley Crusher appear inStar Trekat a range of ages. Besides Wil Wheaton’s cameo inStar Trek: Picardand integral role inStar Trek: Prodigy,Wheaton also returned toStar Trekto portray a younger version of Wesley Crusher inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 4, episode 10, “Old Friends, New Planets”, in a flashback to Beckett Mariner’s (Tawny Newsome) time at Starfleet Academy in 2368. Whether Wheaton will appear inupcomingStar Trekprojectsis unknown, but it’s been a treat to see Wil return as Wesley Crusher, especially fulfilling Wesley’s destiny as a Traveler inStar Trek: Prodigy.
