Scott Bakula On Whether He’ll Be Part Of The New Quantum Leap
Scott Bakula took to Twitter before the premiere of the new Quantum Leap to tell fans he was offered a role in the pilot episode, but passed on it.
Scott Bakula will not be a part of the new Quantum Leap series; and that’s straight from the proverbial horse’s… well, not his mouth, but his Twitter feed. Before this week’s premiere of the reboot on NBC and Peacock, Bakula took to Twitter to finally answer fan questions about his involvement. The star also wrote that he was offered a part in the new show’s pilot, but passed on it.
According to the tweet, Bakula’s character Sam Beckett initially had a part in the pilot of the new series. Without saying why he made the choice, Scott Bakula said that in spite of the original series still remaining “near and dear” to him, he made the “difficult decision to pass on the project.” Whatever his reasons for passing, Bakula nevertheless said he wishes the series and the folks making it “good luck and happy leaping.” You can see Bakula’s entire Twitter thread below.
If the critics are right, Scott Bakula and the late Dean Stockwell aren’t the only things missing from the Quantum Leap reboot. The reviewers were not impressed with the pilot episode judging by the articles aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes, with the most common complaint being that so far the new series takes itself too seriously and lacks the sense of fun in the original.
It’s only speculation, but it could be that the new series’ supposed failure to plug into the fun of the original is at least part of why Scott Bakula said, “no thank you.” It’s worth noting that Bakula accompanies his tweet with a screenshot from the first Quantum Leap series of Sam Beckett inhabiting the body of a woman in a fruit hat, which is definitely part of the fun those reviewers are writing about. Maybe he included it just because he likes the photo, or maybe he’s sending a message about what’s missing from the revival.
Of course, Quantum Leap isn’t the only beloved science fiction franchise Scott Bakula could potentially make a return appearance in. For four seasons, Bakula led Star Trek‘s first prequel series, Star Trek: Enterprise, as Captain Jonathan Archer. Enterprise was canceled after four seasons, and proved to be the last Trek series on the air until another prequel series–Star Trek: Discovery–premiered in 2017.
Revivals are all the rage these days, and that’s no less true in Star Trek. Star Trek: Picard‘s third and last season will stream on Paramount+ next year, and there’s been a lot of chatter about similar series coming for the casts of Voyager and Deep Space Nine. There hasn’t been quite as much talk about an Enterprise return, or Scott Bakula returning for something like Star Trek: Archer, but you never know.
In the meantime, Scott Bakula isn’t sitting on his hands. At some point in the near future he’ll lead the NBC pilot for Unbroken–a modern Western that sounds suspiciously like Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone. He’s also starring in the upcoming indie sci-fi film Divinity; a collaboration between Eddie Alcazar (Perfect) and Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brokovich).
