NBC is keeping casting in the family and has set Chuck star Zachary Levi in a major, but still unspecified, role in Heroes Reborn.
The 13-episode follow-up to Heroes, the network’s groundbreaking superhero show that made the tag line “Save The Cheerleader, Save The World” a pop culture catch phrase in 2006, is set to return this summer in a sequel mini-series under the eye of series creator Tim Kring.
Heroes ran from 2006-2010 made mainstream stars out of Zachary Quinto, Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia and Ali Larter.
“There are a few franchises I’ve always wanted to be a part of, and Heroes is one of them,” Levi told TVLine regarding his casting announcement at NBC’s TCA panel.
“Chuck gave me the opportunity to wield some fun powers, but an entire world with superpowers is a world I’ve always wanted to explore,” he said. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with Tim [Kring], and the awesome team around him, in bringing this to life.”
“Moreover, to be working with NBC again is such a reward in itself, as my bonds and relationships there are deep,” said Levi, who also upped his geek cred last year with a role in Thor: The Dark World as Fandral.
Original Heroes cast member Jack Coleman has already been set to return as Noah Bennet, a.k.a., the man in the horn rimmed glasses. Beyond that, I don’t recall who else could conceivably return. I enjoyed the first season of Heroes immensely, struggled through the uneven second season, and gave up completely early in the third year.
The concept practically allows a complete revamp still set in the same continuity, so I will assume we’ll see a lot of new faces, and that’s OK. Heroes had huge buzz out of the starting gate, but quickly crashed and burned with fans when it lost a compelling overall story arc and didn’t provide the characters with coherent story lines.
Since I tuned out by the third season, I can’t speculate if its even possible in any way for Quinto to return as Sylar, Panettiere as Claire, or Masi Oka as Hiro. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t be excited for this next chapter. The concept lends itself to unlimited possibilities, story arcs, and amazing super powered characters. There will likely be a lot more casting news and storyline details to come in the next few weeks. Despite my bailing on the series years ago, I am optimistic that a limited run this summer could be something to look forward to.
SOURCE: TV Line
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