The Office Creator Reveals Franchise Future, Reboot On The Way?
In what will be good news to some and disastrous to others, The Office co-creator Greg Daniels has clarified comments he previously made teasing a reboot of the beloved NBC comedy series. While speaking to TheWrap, Daniels backpedaled on comments made back in September saying, “I don’t like to think of anything as a reboot, you know what I mean?” Further breaking down what his vision would be, Daniels said that it would fall into the same vein as “The Mandalorian” or another off-shoot show within the Star Wars universe.
The Potential Series Would Be A Spinoff, Not A Reboot
And, even if this project were to come to fruition, Daniels says that the creative team is still a long way off as nothing has been set in stone. Standing by the decision to leave The Office where it ended a full decade ago, Daniels said that he was proud of how things turned out, adding, “I feel like we ended that story beautifully.”
A Reboot Was Never In The Works
Feeling the way that many fans feel about the 9 season sitcom, Daniels also said that he “would never want to redo that same show with a different cast, because I think we got the luckiest cast, the best cast, in TV, to do that show.” When the news first began to circulate that Daniels and other members of The Office were tossing around a reboot, many members of the dedicated fandom were nervous as to what that would look like. But, through his recent conversation with TheWrap, it seems as though the show’s creators are in the same boat as everyone else.
“The notion of a reboot is not of interest,” Daniels goes on to say but adds the possibility of a potential spin-off of sorts. Explaining it as “The way ‘The Mandalorian’ is a new show in the Star Wars universe,” he says that he could envision the same “documentary crew doing a documentary about a different subject.” So, essentially, what Daniels has in mind for The Office wouldn’t focus on any specific characters or supporting members of the ensemble but would put an entirely new set of humans in front of the camera.
A Reboot Wouldn’t Live Up To The Steve Carell Show
Over the years, the push and pull of a possible The Office reboot has been a hotly debated topic between the creative team, fandom, and even the cast itself. For one thing, the Steve Carell-led comedy was itself a remake of the original British show of the same name, which starred Ricky Gervais. While it worked in the U.S., as many hadn’t seen the flagship that started it all, should someone else be cast as Michael Scott or Jim Halpert in a reboot, audiences would likely not respond as positively.
The Same Jokes Wouldn’t Fly Today
The times have also changed a lot since The Office began its run in the early 2000s, with the curtain coming down in 2013. As previously noted by members of the cast, including Mindy Kaling, the same antics and (at points) offensive language used then wouldn’t be seen as acceptable anymore. And even if the writers changed the scripts and the original cast was brought back in, a reboot would still likely struggle to take off with the new tone of the characters 10 years later.
Would The Original Cast Return For A Spinoff?
With stars like Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, Ed Helms, and B.J. Novak all staying busy with their lives beyond The Office, it would be incredibly unlikely that a reboot with the original actors could ever come to be. While we’d love to see more stories from Dunder Mifflin Paper Co., it sounds like Daniels has a different idea for the future of the IP – a future that doesn’t involve Jim, Pam, or Meredith.
