Star Trek fans were over the moon when it was revealed that Patrick Stewart was returning to the franchise to star in his own series as Captain Jean Luc Picard. However, with no news on any of his Next Generation crew members getting in on the fun, folks are left to wonder whether we’ll ever see the likes of Worf, Riker, Data or any of the other lovable characters again.
One person that fans could probably do without more of though is Wesley Crusher, played by Wil Wheaton on The Next Generation. Usually considered one of the more annoying characters in the franchise’s history, we imagine a lot of people would be perfectly fine if they never saw him on their screens again. But that didn’t stop Trek Movie from pitching the idea of a spinoff to the actor.
While chatting with Wheaton earlier this week, the outlet asked if he’d be interested in getting his own TV show, like Patrick Stewart, and here’s what he said:
“I’m so grateful for why you’re asking this question and that Wesley was so important to you…But I think the time for exploring that character has come and gone. I still love Star Trek so much though that if they were to reach out to me for anything else I’d absolutely be interested in exploring that.”
As we said above, Wesley isn’t exactly remembered fondly when people look back on Trek‘s history and he certainly wouldn’t be someone who’s at the top of fans’ lists of who they want to see return. That being said, Wheaton himself’s still a popular figure in the fandom and we certainly wouldn’t object to having him show up for a quick cameo in the Picard show.
On that topic, though, the actor told Trek Movie that it’s unlikely to happen as CBS hasn’t approached The Next Generation cast yet about reprising their roles. So for the moment, it seems like it’ll only be Picard appearing in the new show, as the network looks to surround him with a new crew.
And really, that’s alright. While it would’ve been great to see what some of the other characters have gotten up to, we’re beyond excited to see Patrick Stewart back in the Star Trek universe – with or without his old colleagues by his side.