UPDATE: Wil Wheaton has explained why Wesley Crusher is missing from Picard season 3.Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) returns with a mysterious new son in Star Trek: Picard season 3, but the whereabouts of her other son, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), remain unknown. As explained in the Picard season 3 premiere "The Next Generation," Beverly disappeared shortly after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. Beverly seems to have changed over the years, impressively holding off a group of alien intruders in a pitched phaser fight in her first scene back. The good doctor cut off all of her friends from the USS Enterprise-D with no explanation until she was injured and forced to place a desperate distress call to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) as season 3 began.
After enlisting Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to help him track Beverly down, the pair manages to commandeer the USS Titan-A, Riker's old command, with the help of its First Officer Seven Of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and much to the chagrin of the Titan's new commanding officer, Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick). After stealing one of the Titan's shuttles, Picard finds an injured Beverly in a medical stasis pod being tended to by a young man claiming to be her son (Ed Speleers). The young man claims they've been on the run from mysterious assailants, who arrive just as the episode ends. There are still plenty of questions surrounding Dr. Crusher and her newly revealed son, but one of the biggest is the status of Wesley.
Where Is Wesley Crusher During Star Trek: Picard Season 3?
Wesley Crusher was a polarizing figure in the early days of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Often portrayed as a boy genius who could outsmart most Starfleet officers, Wesley was mostly an obnoxious plot device for the show's first two seasons. New TNG head writer Michael Piller made Wesley a more recognizably fallible character starting in season 3, and the young acting Ensign eventually became a respected part of the show's ensemble. After spending the first three and a half seasons of TNG as a regular cast member, Ensign Wesley Crusher left the Enterprise-D to begin his studies at Starfleet Academy.
Wesley had a turbulent time at Starfleet Academy, including a particularly dark chapter where he was involved in the coverup of a fellow cadet's death in the TNG episode "The First Duty." This ultimately resulted in him losing a year's worth of academic credits and becoming a campus pariah. Wesley ultimately chose to resign from the Academy and join the mysterious being known as the Traveler (Eric Menyuk) in the TNG season 7 episode "Journey's End." Both Beverly and Captain Picard had reservations about Wesley's departure from Starfleet, but they trusted the young man to make his own decisions and forge his own path.
Wesley made a surprise appearance at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2, which retconned the Travelers as an organization that seeks to keep the timeline in order. The Travelers were revealed to be the overseers of the beings called Supervisors, who had their origins in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Assignment: Earth" and revolved around the Supervisor character Gary Seven (Robert Lansing). Wesley traveled to the 21st century and recruited Kore Soong (Isa Briones), the daughter of despicable geneticist Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) into the Travelers, which she accepted. It seems likely Wesley is still on the same cosmic mission as Picard season 3 begins.
Does Wesley Know Beverly Has Another Son?
While it's noted in "The Next Generation" that Beverly hasn't had any contact with Picard, Riker, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), or Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) in decades, it's not immediately made clear what has become of her relationship with Wesley. The fact that Wesley seems to have impressive control over his travels through time and space would suggest he could reach out to his mother whenever he felt the urge, yet he also suggests he no longer thinks of himself as the human Wesley Crusher, but as a being on a higher plane of existence. It's simply not clear if Wesley still has human needs and desires as a member of the Travelers.
That said, it's entirely possible Wesley knows he has a brother even if Beverly hasn't explicitly told him so. Wesley the Traveler seems to perceive reality differently, not necessarily omnipotent, but with a deeper understanding of existence. While it's possible he's never met his brother, it seems likely he's at the very least at peace with his existence. It would still be intriguing to get a glimpse of the new Crusher family dynamic, and how Wesley might bounce off of his mysterious new sibling.
Will Wesley Crusher Appear In Star Trek: Picard Season 3?
Star Trek: Picard season 3 has been advertised as the epic reunion of the cast of TNG, and yet Wesley, an original and long-running cast member, has been notably excluded. This is not exactly a shock; aside from a very brief appearance, Wesley did not have much of a presence in TNG's later seasons. Aside from a wordless cameo in the big screen failure Star Trek: Nemesis, Wesley was not a part of the TNG films. Wheaton has also largely left live-action acting work behind, becoming a prolific voice actor and television host after his Star Trek years. He notably hosts Paramount+'s Star Trek after show, The Ready Room.
Wesley's cameo in Star Trek: Picard's season 2 finale "Farewell" was a closely guarded secret and shocked fans when it debuted. There's been no overt suggestion that Wesley plays a role in Picard season 3, but a similar cameo appearance near the end of the season seems like a distinct possibility. Wesley Crusher has been on a decidedly different path than his fellow TNG alumni, but it would still be a powerful moment to see him reunite with his old friends one last time on Star Trek: Picard.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.