Quantum Leap returns to screens on Monday, with a brand new lead and story that had raised many questions from fans over whether original star Scott Bakula will be reprising his role as Dr. Sam Beckett. Now ahead of the reboot’s premiere, Bakula has taken to his Instagram to both wish the series well and put to rest any rumors of his possible return to the series and why he chose not to be a part of it.
Quantum Leap will be led by Raymond Lee, who will take on a similar role to that of Bakula in the original series. A pilot of the reboot was picked up and given a series order by NBC back in January, and from the moment it was announced, there was a fair amount of speculation over whether Bakula would be involved in the new series, which acts as a sequel to the original series. While it was revealed at the time that Bakula would not star in the new series, that didn’t stop fans from speculating that he could put in a cameo at some point. To tell his side of why he has not returned for the new series, Bakula wrote:
“In January, the pilot was sold and a script was sent to me because the character of Sam Beckett was in it, which makes sense, right? As so many of you have been asking me the last several months, ‘How could you do QL without Sam?'(or Al, for that matter) Well, I guess we’re about to find out. That’s the story. As the show has always been near and dear to my heart, it was a very difficult decision to pass on the project, a decision that has upset and confused so many fans of the original series. However, the idea of anyone ‘leaping’ around in time and walking a mile in someone else’s shoes, remains a very appealing concept and so worthy of exploration, especially given the current state of mankind. In that spirit, I am crossing my fingers that this new cast and crew are lucky enough to tap into the magic that propelled the original Quantum Leap into the hearts and minds of generations past and present. I wish them good luck and happy leaping!”
Quantum Leap Will Follow Up The Story of Sam Beckett
The reboot of Quantum Leap will keep the lore of the original series in place, picking up 30 years after Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished into the past, always believing he was just one more leap from finding his way home. As the new series picks up, it becomes apparent that Beckett never made it home, and physicist Ben Song, played by Lee, leads a new team who have restarted the Quantum Leap project with the hope of learning its secrets and what happened to its creator.
As you would expect, things don’t go according to plan, and soon Song is traveling into the past with only a holographic companion called Addison, played by Caitlin Bassett in the Dean Stockwell role. While all signs are promising for the series to be a worthy successor to the original show, which ended its five-season run in 1993, fans will no doubt be disappointed at Bakula’s confirmation that we will definitely not be seeing Sam Beckett returning in any form.