Why did Wil Wheaton quit Star Trek: The Next Generation? Bringing Gene Roddenberry’s iconic sci-fi property back to the small screen, Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced a new cast of space-faring adventurers that would become closer than family to the millions watching at home — the likes of Jean-Luc Picard, Data, and Will Riker. Most of The Next Generation‘s Enterprise crew were embraced by audiences, but one provoked a backlash on a scale Star Trek had never before experienced — Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher. Here’s the Wesley Crusher Star Trek issue explained.
Introduced in The Next Generation‘s debut season, Wesley was the highly-intelligent prodigal son of chief medical officer, Beverly Crusher. Having a young ensign strolling around the Enterprise bridge thinking he knew better than the adults (and usually proving he did) grated on fans, who made no secret of how they’d grown weary of Wesley. After appearing regularly throughout The Next Generation‘s first four seasons, Wesley Crusher quit in season 4, choosing Starfleet Academy over the Enterprise, but dropping by for guest spots in seasons 5 and 7, as well as Star Trek: Nemesis.
Due to the horrible backlash he experienced from The Next Generation viewers, Wil Wheaton initially kept his distance from Starfleet matters after quitting Star Trek. But as the actor grew older and fans saw more of the man behind Wesley Crusher, that relationship did a 180-degree flip. Not only is Wil Wheaton now bona fide Star Trek royalty, but he’s become increasingly open about leaving the Enterprise and the ensuing emotional aftermath. Here’s the real explanation behind the Wesley Crusher Star Trek issue.
The Real Reason Wil Wheaton Quit Star Trek
The reason for the Wesley Crusher Star Trek departure has been addressed by the actor himself. Writing on his old 2000s blog, Wheaton explained the trigger for his departure wasn’t so much fan backlash, but poor treatment behind the scenes, revealing, “I left Star Trek because it was seriously interfering with my career in feature films.“
Before jumping aboard the Enterprise, Wheaton was known from Stand By Me‘s cast, but commitments to Star Trek meant turning down sizable movie roles. Wheaton was cast in 1989’s Valmont and only needed to be written out of a single The Next Generation episode to accommodate shooting in France. Wheaton believes that arrangement would’ve been no problem under Gene Roddenberry, but The Next Generation‘s newly appointed leadership allegedly claimed the episode in question was pivotal to Wesley, and simply couldn’t happen without his involvement, causing the actor to begrudgingly turn Valmont down. Wheaton was then dismayed to discover he’d been written out of the episode he actually requested leave from — something the actor interpreted as a “message.”
The Valmont incident was seemingly part of the ongoing deterioration in the relationship between Wil Wheaton and Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s producers. In his hilarious retrospective reviews of TNG episodes, Wheaton has spoken about difficulties with directors (although reserved praise for Rob Bowman) and came to understand that bad writing was responsible for the fan backlash against Wesley Crusher. It’s impossible not to view Wheaton’s time on The Next Generation as a missed opportunity — a talented actor let down by a poorly presented character and producers who refused to let his wings spread in outside projects. Wil Wheaton’s last on-screen Star Trek appearance came via a fleeting cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis.
Wil Wheaton’s The Next Generation Picard Snub Explained
Star Trek: Picard is now entering its third season, and one of the biggest surprises for the next installment is that the entire cast of The Next Generation will be making a return — except for Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher. In fact, it seems like Wil Wheaton is the only cast member who’s not coming back for Picard, which is odd considering he’s had an active career after The Next Generation. Not only that, but Crusher has become a beloved character within the Star Trek universe, so his lack of presence won’t go unnoticed. Wheaton was apparently saddened by the fact that he wasn’t included in the reunion and commiserated with fans via his blog. The actor went on to say, “I share some of your sadness, for my own reasons, but I choose to focus instead on how special it’s going to be to see my family back together again, and how wonderful it’s going to be to talk with them about it in the Ready Room.” So, while Wil Wheaton came back for the Picard season 2 finale to recruit Kore Soong into the Travelers, he won’t be back on the show. Series creators have yet to explain why Wesley Crusher won’t be back in Picard season 3, and it’s likely that the reasoning behind the decision won’t be divulged.
What Wil Wheaton Has Done Since Star Trek
After the Wil Wheaton Star Trek debacle, the actor has gone on to have a solid career, appearing in everything from cartoons, movies, and TV series to video games. After appearing on Star Trek: Nemesis, Wheaton voiced several characters on the popular videogame EverQuest II and Ghost Recon 2 and then went on to voice Aqualad in the Teen Titans cartoon series. His voice has also been used for several Grand Theft Auto games, where he plays Richard Burns. Wheaton had a brief stint on Naruto as Menma and was Cosmic Boy on Legion of Superheroes. In addition to these, he also voiced Robin on the popular MMORPG DC Universe Online. He had another short period on Leverage, in which he played Colin Mason, and a 17-episode cameo on The Big Bang Theory, playing himself. Finally, he’s currently hosting the after-show special The Ready Room, which discusses all current Star Trek projects.
Evidently, the bridges between Wil Wheaton and Star Trek were only lightly singed, as the actor would return for further episodes in later seasons. This might’ve been down to The Next Generation writer Ronald D. Moore, who felt Wesley’s season 4 ending wasn’t a fitting way for the character to bow out, but it could also be down to the fact that Wheaton’s post-Trek life, by his own admission, didn’t go as planned. Speaking with a candor that would make the Qowat Milat proud, Wheaton discussed leaving Star Trek: The Next Generation at a convention in 2012, recognizing that quitting such a massive franchise voluntarily wasn’t necessarily the smartest business decision. More emotionally, Wheaton discussed the distance he felt from fellow cast members upon leaving, acknowledging how his youthful and inexperienced 18-year-old self underestimated what stepping away from those friendships meant, and admitting he later “apologized for being a kid” to his fellow TNG crew.
