How Old Is Wesley Crusher In His Star Trek Comeback?

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy season 2.

How old is Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) when he returns in Star Trek: Prodigy? It’s fitting that Wesley’s return is integrated so well into Star Trek: Prodigy since Wesley Crusher was Star Trek‘s original prodigy as a teenager on Star 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) in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 20, “Journey’s End”. Aside from a brief cameo in Star Trek: Picard, we hadn’t seen anything of Wesley’s life as a Traveler.

That changes in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, episode 10, “The Devourer of All Things”, when Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), and the rest of the 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 the Star Trek timeline, and attracted the interdimensional villains, the Loom. To avoid being erased from existence, the cadets must follow Wesley’s plan perfectly. Like other Star Trek legacy characters in Prodigy, Wesley is much older than when we saw him last.

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 in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 can be determined by looking at information about Wesley from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Wesley is 15 in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s pilot episode, “Encounter at Farpoint”, and 16 for most of TNG season 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: Prodigy takes 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 in Star Trek: Prodigy, Wesley Crusher exists outside the normal flow of time. In Star Trek: Prodigy, Wesley explains that he’s been to other timelines, to the past, and to the future, so Wesley 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 last Star Trek: The Next Generation appearance and when Wesley is in Star Trek: Prodigy. Wesley Crusher’s Traveler abilities may mean Wesley isn’t completely human anymore, so he may have slowed or even stopped aging conventionally.

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 to Star Trek as Traveler Wesley Crusher in the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy. Wheaton’s birthdate is July 29, 1972, so at the time that Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 is released on Netflix, on July 1, 2024, 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 when Star Trek: Prodigy’s main characters meet Wesley in 2384.

Animation helps Wesley Crusher appear in Star Trek at a range of ages. Besides Wil Wheaton’s cameo in Star Trek: Picard and integral role in Star Trek: Prodigy, Wheaton also returned to Star Trek to portray a younger version of Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 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 in upcoming Star Trek projects is unknown, but it’s been a treat to see Wil return as Wesley Crusher, especially fulfilling Wesley’s destiny as a Traveler in Star Trek: Prodigy.