Is the fandom perception of Wesley Crusher starting to change?

Few characters evoke such debate as Wesley Crusher. Allegedly created as a Gene Roddenberry stand-in for the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wesley wasn't treated well by the writers. They constantly had him solving problems one day, or being the problem the next. One of Jean-Luc Picard's most iconic sayings is in fact "Shut up, Wesley!" A clear sign that he was there to be more of a problem than a problem solver.

This persisted throughout his tenure with the franchise until he was eventually written off The Next Generation. He'd have a minor cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis, but it was mostly cut from the film. Aside from that brief moment in 2002, Wheaton wouldn't be associated with Star Trek for nearly 20 years. The most "Star Trek business" he did was playing himself on The Big Bang Theory, where most of his appearances revolved around Star Trek to some degree.

Aside from appearing at conventions and interviews talking about Star Trek, Wheaton didn't have any involvement in Star Trek until he was brought back for the final episode of Star Trek: Picard's second season. From there, he popped up more often, namely by hosting the Paramount+ Star Trek wrap-up show, The Ready Room.

He'd also return to the franchise once again as Wil Wheaton for Star Trek: Prodigy's second season. An appearance that got many people talking about how Prodigy may have "fixed" his character. An idea that persisted due to the notion that Wesley Crusher was unbearable on The Next Generation. So it's not out of bounds to suggest that Prodigy helped rehab the character's image.

Yet, I believe the inverse is true. I believe the creators of both Picard and Prodigy brought back Wesley Crusher because of all the goodwill Wheaton had put into the Star Trek community for decades prior. Yes, the character he played was panned and dismissed, but being able to explore the character and his time on the show with fans over the last couple of decades has brought him a bigger fanbase.

Maybe not a big enough fanbase to suggest a Crusher-led series, but one big enough to suggest that whatever negativity was around his character in the 1980s and 1990s is long gone. Wheaton put in the work to be accepted by the Star Trek community and what fans are seeing now is the byproduct of that hard work.

So yes, fans came around on Wesley Crusher, but it happened so much longer ago than you may have realized.