Dustin Diamond doesn’t appear to have been invited to the upcomingSaved by the Bell rebootseries, but the controversial actor isn’t giving up hope on reprising the role of Samuel “Screech” Powers. Though the revival will primarily focus on a new group of youths at Bayside High School led by transgender actress Josie Totah as the popular cheerleader Lexi, several original series stars have since been confirmed to appear on the show to reprise their classic roles. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Diamond wasn’t announced as a part of the series, and it seems unlikely he’ll return.
Still, Diamond says he’d be on board to play Screech once again if NBC were to give him the call, saying that any kind ofSaved by the Bellrevival would be incomplete without him. “How do you haveSaved by the Bellwithout Screech? It seems like there’s a missed opportunity there,” Diamond recently told TMZ of the upcoming reboot series. He also says that he believes all of his fellow cast members should be feeling the same way about bringing ineveryonefrom the original show, rather than cherry-picking a select few. “If it’s a reboot of the entire series, just bring back all the staples,” Diamond adds.
It’s hard to argue Diamond’s point thatScreech was a major part of Saved by the Bell. After appearing in every episode of the original series, Diamond would also play the role in both spin-offs:The College YearsandThe New Class. As the standout comic relief character, you could essentially compare leaving out Screech to aFamily Mattersrevival series ignoring Steve Urkel. Of course, the reasoning for leaving Screech on the sidelines likely has a lot more to do with Diamond’s behavior behind the scenes since he was a part of the franchise as opposed to creative reasons involving his fictional character.
So, why is there a disconnect between Diamond and the rest of theSaved by the Bellteam? A lot of that seems to stem from a tell-all book released by Diamond in 2009. CalledBehind the Bell, the book features several unflattering stories about many of Diamond’s co-stars, some of whom have since refuted the claims. Diamond would later suggest that the book’s content had in fact come from a ghostwriter exaggerating his stories, but his bridge back toBayside Highmay have still nevertheless been burned. It’s worth noting Diamond has been noticeably absent in everySaved by the Bellcast reunion event ever since.
Diamond may or may not ever end up returning for the newSaved by the Bell, but he does have a pitch for where Screech would be these days. “[He’d be] dealing with parenthood, dealing with his kids, and finding out he’s got a little Screech of his own now, and that maybe he wasn’t a barrel full of roses to deal with growing up,” Diamond says. The question is - could the rest of the gang really be able to handletwoScreeches at once? It would certainly be interesting to see them try. This news comes to us fromTMZ.
