Warning: This Interview Contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2

Star Trek: Prodigy creators and showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman took the adventures of the USS Protostar to another level in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2. All 20 episodes of season 2 are now streaming on Netflix after Star Trek fans helped save the all-ages CGI animated series from Paramount+’s cancelation. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 is an extraordinary adventure saga about time travel, growth, change, and hope.

In Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, the young Starfleet hopefuls led by Dal R’El (Brett Gray) and Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) join Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) on her mission to rescue Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran) from a dark alternate future. But the former crew of the USS Protostar finds the stakes are much more epic, with time and reality itself in jeopardy against old enemies like Asencia (Jameela Jamil) and even deadlier new foes.

Screen Rant spoke to Kevin and Dan Hageman about Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s behind-the-scenes secrets, such as Wil Wheaton’s surprise return as Wesley Crusher, the new Vulcan who joins the USS Protostar, and how Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s ending ties into Star Trek: Picard.

Kevin & Dan Hageman On Star Trek: Prodigy’s Move To Netflix

Screen Rant: Kevin and Dan, congratulations. Season 2 is spectacular. Exceeded all expectations. There are so many amazing things to talk about. But first, I want to ask you a Netflix question. Season one dropped last Christmas. It’s now just over six months. What did you guys learn from season one to release in terms of what you can expect or hope for for season two?

Dan Hageman: They never let anyone peek behind the curtain, so I don’t exactly know what we learned.

Kevin Hageman: I know it was well-watched. I think, from my knowledge, when I see other shows getting picked up for season three, they have to be gangbusters big. So I’m really hoping season two is going to help start an even bigger fire and get more people watching it. Because we need a big audience.

Kevin & Dan Hageman On Wil Wheaton Returning As Wesley Crusher & The Reunion Star Trek: Picard Didn’t Deliver

Wil Wheaton! He was incredible. Safe to say, his best performance as Wesley Crusher ever. You hear it in his voice, he’s so excited to be back. Tell me about getting Wil and making The Traveler so integral to season 2.

Kevin Hageman: He’s the original Prodigy! So we’re like, it’d be such a perfect fit. And seeing how he just walks off the screen in Next Generation, we’re like, ‘Why isn’t anyone using [Wesley]?’ Everyone seemed afraid to touch him, and to bring that character back. I’m like,’Let’s do something great with him. Let’s make him a wonderful mentor, but a little scatterbrained and a little untrustworthy.

Dan Hageman: A little Doctor Who, a little Willy Wonka…

Yeah, he was amazing. And to get to see what The Traveler can actually do was great, because we’ve all wondered what his powers are.

Kevin Hageman Yeah! Yeah, it was super fun to explore that. And Wil… I know he’s so excited. You know, when you’re launching a show, you’re trying to advertise everything. And a lot of times, they’re like, ‘Just reveal all your secrets.’ I’m like, ‘No, let’s hold onto Wesley Crusher. Let’s try to hopefully blow people’s minds when he walks out on screen.

It was really well done. And then Wesley seeing his mom and meeting Jack Crusher at the end was perfect. The whole time when I was watching season 2, I was like, ‘Is he really not going to visit his mom?’ Because you showed Beverly and brought back Gates McFadden in one of the episodes. You guys did the right thing. Tell me about like putting that together.

Dan Hageman: We were thinking about, ‘How do you give closure to a Time Lord, so to speak?’ And it came to us. This guy’s got a frantic mind. He’s probably being everywhere and everywhere all at once. And like he probably doesn’t have time to see his mother. We felt like that was so interesting.

Kevin Hageman: A simple idea, yeah.

Dan Hageman: And just that idea of just going to get a hug from your mother is so chicken soup, and it just felt so right for us. And at that time, we had talked to Terry Matalas about what they were doing with Picard. 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.

That was a great payoff, because it’s something we didn’t get in Picard season 3 that everybody kind of wanted. So it’s just so great that you guys did it.

Kevin Hageman: 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.’

Kevin & Dan Hageman On Robert Beltran’s Performance As Captain Chakotay In Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2

I was blown away by Robert Beltran’s performance. I think this is his career-best performance as Chakotay. He’s been critical of some Voyager stories in the past, but watching and listening to his performance on Prodigy, he seemed like he really dug into season 2’s story.

Kevin Hageman: He’s so good. In the recording booth, he loved what we’re doing to his character because I think it was just refreshing. Coming off of Voyager where every episode, you’d have to come back to reset, your characters were a little bit more static. We got to really go, ‘What’s the second chapter? What’s the next chapter of Chakotay.?’ And he just loved it. And in the room, in the recording booth, there were days where I was like, ‘Holy crap!’ I knew he was a good actor, but there are moments where I was like, ‘Wow! This is exciting.’

Did Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, and Robert Picardo ever record all together? Because it’s the chemistry is so palpable on screen.

Dan Hageman: Sadly, no, this was still COVID times with a lot of these recordings. But there’s a fun story with our voice director, Brooke Chalmers. He had to read the scene opposite Kate Mulgrew of their reunion. And Brooke Chalmers had tears in his eyes.

Kevin Hageman: He was acting as Chakotay. And Kate was recording her lines when they finally reunite. And Brooke was just crying.

Dan Hageman: He’s a big Voyager fan. He’s a big Trek fan. And then the same thing, he had to read opposite Robert Beltran. I don’t know if there were tears on that end when he played Janeway, but it was fun to watch.

Kevin & Dan Hageman On Adding Star Trek: Prodigy’s New Vulcan

I loved adding Maj’el (Michaela Dietz) to the group and how well she worked with everybody. It really feels more like Star Trek when there’s a Vulcan. And it was such a great way to integrate a new character who at first was at odds with them but then realized that she’s part of the group. Just so well done on every level.

Dan Hageman: It’s always interesting [for a show like Prodigy]. A new viewer who has never watched Star Trek, they don’t know what a Vulcan is. So it can be really interesting to put a little light on it.

Kevin Hageman: And I want to like shine a light on Michaela Dietz, who is our voice actress. She did such a great job. And it’s so difficult. To be able to portray a Vulcan in live-action, you could do a lot of subtle facial features to suggest and emote. But in animation on a TV pipeline, it’s really difficult. And so, it’s all about her voice and how to have that Vulcan drone.

Dan Hageman: To sound emotionless but at the same time, be filled with restrained emotion. And we always talked about Leonard Nimoy. He could say a line so straight, but have so many barbs in it.

Kevin Hageman: And then also, I haven’t seen a teenage Vulcan. What’s a teenage Vulcan? It’s not going to be exactly like all the adults. It’s someone who’s halfway there.

Kevin & Dan Hageman On Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2’s Ending Connecting To Star Trek: Picard

Season 2’s ending, syncing up with “Children of Men,” which is actually my favorite Short Trek, blew me away. I did math in my head of what year that was, and it’s perfect. You’re in 2385, and that’s the biggest thing that happened. Tell me about that setup for Prodigy season 3.

Dan Hageman: We knew that going in. We knew we were in that Picard timeline. And that was a big topic. We were like, ‘How are we going to handle this going forward?’ And we wanted to set the table so that it wouldn’t be suddenly turned into a dark show. We didn’t want this story of hope and optimism to be marred by this darkness that comes over the Federation and Starfleet for these next few years. So we love this idea that they are this beacon of light outside these dark times. And hopefully, somewhere Trek fans will want to come to.

I honestly feel like season 3 can either come in a couple of years or it can come in 15 years. You never know how long it could take. It could be live-action. There’s a lot of possibilities of what it can be. What I love about Trek fans is that they’re completionists, so they’re going to be watching. All the people who haven’t watched Prodigy will get around to watching Prodigy. And once they get around to watching Prodigy, they’re gonna want to see season 3. So I feel like we’re gonna get a swell of interest at some point in time.

Kevin & Dan Hageman’s Hopes For Star Trek: Picard Season 3

Let’s hope for the best and say that Netflix says Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 is a go. Where are you guys at in terms of getting the band back together?

Kevin Hageman: Well, it’s been a while [since] we finished [season 2]. We don’t have offices anymore. We’re in our homes right now. I know that everyone in our crew, we had such a delight working on this show. So, I look forward to that day when we can make that call, we get a call from Alex Kurtzman, and they’re like, ‘Netflix has an appetite [for more Prodigy]’. Whether it’s an animated film, a sequel, or if it’s a third season. But to be able to call up our crew and actors, I know everyone who can would love to come back.

I would love to see it. Because you guys are just getting started. And watching season 2, I thought that with everything that the kids have gone through, what more can Starfleet Academy teach them? They have more life experience just in two seasons than any cadet can possibly have. And so, putting them on a new ship and launching them back out there to be the optimistic beacon of hope for a Federation in trouble — what a great setup.

Kevin Hageman: We knew that we didn’t want this show to turn into Starfleet Academy, and they’re sitting in classrooms or whatever. It’s the fun of them on a stolen ship, or that’s what it started with. So now, we give them their own ship and let these kids have their own adventures. It’s just where we wanted to get to.

About Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2

In Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2, these six young outcasts who make up the Prodigy crew are assigned a new mission aboard the USS Voyager-A to rescue Captain Chakotay (voiced by Robert Beltran) and bring peace to Gwyn’s (voiced by Ella Purnell) home world. However, when their plan goes astray, it creates a time paradox that jeopardizes both their future and past.