Star Trek: Picard's Ed Speleers on Playing SPOILER's Son, and Jack Crusher's Franchise Future

Ed Speleers can finally talk about his character's lineage in Star Trek: Picard Season 3. SPOILERS for the second episode of Star Trek: Picard's third and final season, "Disengage," follow. The Star Trek: Picard season premiere episode, "The Next Generation," revealed that Speleers' character is Jack Crusher, son of Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). This week's new episode, "Disengage," confirmed what fans likely suspected after seeing last week's episode: Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is Jack Crusher's father. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to Speleers about his role ahead of the Star Trek: Picard premiere, and he seemed well aware of how significant it is for Star Trek: The Next Generation fans.

"I think I'd of have to have been very remiss to have not been aware of The Next Generation and Picard, and Jean-Luc Picard, specifically," Speleers says. "I cannot say that, originally, I was an aficionado, but I have nostalgic memories of growing up in the U.K. and coming home and one of the four channels was showing Star Trek: The Next Generation at about 6:30, BBC Two, and I have very warm, fuzzy memories of that. And so yeah, to be brought into the fold on this, to be able to work with such iconic characters, is a huge honor, and it's been a wonderful process from start to finish."

He continued, "In terms of knowing what I was going to be getting up to and the character, I knew some elements, but of course then when I met Terry Matalas, our amazing showrunner, in person, he painted the picture. He painted a picture for now and for… He painted a very big picture of me of what he wanted for this character."

Terry Matals put Ed Speleers through Star Trek University

While Speleers was aware of Star Trek: The Next Generation, he still had some homework to do. Matalas made sure to give him a crash course to prepare for this role.

"I felt that I looked quite extensively at specific episodes from The Next Generation and I was also, I mean, Terry Matalas basically put me through something he liked to call Star Trek University," Speleers says. "So there were these episodes, but there were also specific films going way back to Wrath of Khan all the way through to First Contact, and I devoured First Contact. I thought it was particularly relevant to what we were creating. So there was that side. I love to do my homework anyway and try to put a base in and work out who this character is, how he's operating, what he's looking for, why he's here, what's driving him, all these classic questions that pop up. "

Who is Jack Crusher?

Since Star Trek: Picard brings back the entire Star Trek: The Next Generation cast, the actors who play Jack's parents were on hand to help Speleers craft the character. He says they each approached working with him differently.

"I spoke fairly extensively with both Gates and Patrick," he says. "Patrick had a very different way to Gates. They both love the theater, but Gates loved to talk about character, where they'd been to the right minutiae and detail. Patrick, we really just concentrated on the scenes, but I relished working with both of them. They are wonderful human beings, incredibly talented, and were so supportive of what I was trying to do as well."

But there's more to Jack Crusher than his parents. As the series progresses, more questions arise around Jack, and he has motivation and goals of his own.

"The thing is, he is going on this big discovery with his relationship to these two people but that overlaps with what is going on anyway and he is trying to understand why he's here," Speleers explains. "We're talking about a very fearless, very independent young man who shoots from the hip, essentially. He doesn't let things get in his way, but he's also got a good moral compass. He's not malevolent. He tries to find good and he's always justifying his actions to do a positive thing, so I found that a really interesting thing to explore. As the season unfolds, he has to really get a grip on himself and there are some things that are causing him huge mental, emotional angst and strain that he has to unpick in order for him to, essentially, survive, he needs to understand what that is and what that means to the other people around him."

What's next for Jack Crusher in Star Trek?

What does Star Trek's future have in store for Jack Crusher? Speleers alluded to Matalas' big vision for the character, but couldn't tell us much of anything without spoiling the rest of this season of Picard. However, he made it clear that he's eager to continue playing this character.

"I mean, I wouldn't like to give anything away, but if there is a world in which Jack Crusher can continue, I am there with bells on," he says. "I would love to keep playing this part, like beyond anything really. It meant so much to me, the past 18 months, and I hope I find a way to keep wearing his jacket, I suppose."

New Star Trek: Picard episodes debut weekly on Thursdays on Paramount+.