Fans were excited to hear about Heroes Reborn, the new series hitting this fall. We know NBC’s revival of Heroes, which originally ran from 2006-2010, will feature a collection of both old and new characters, and we now have confirmation that another major character from the original series will be making his return: Greg Grunberg.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Greg Grunberg, who played telepathic police detective Matt Parkman during the series' original run, will be returning for Heroes Reborn. The part is being described as a “guest arc,” which sounds like it’s something larger than a cameo, but smaller than a series regular role. Grunberg will also be seen later this year in a small independent feature called Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
In the original four seasons of the series, Matt Parkman began his career as an underachieving officer of the LAPD who eventually becomes a detective after he learns how to use his ability to read people’s minds. Eventually the power evolves to include mind control and other forms of mental manipulation. While Grunberg’s character took some dark turns over the course of the show, he was ultimately a heroic figure. Will that be the man we see in Heroes Reborn or will Parkman’s darker side have taken control, much like his father (oops, spoiler from like 5 years ago).
Other members of the original Heroes cast returning this fall include Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura and Jack Coleman as Noah Bennett (that’s HRG to you). The cast new to the series is highlighted by Zachary Levi, who spent much of his time during Heroes initial run as their lead-in on Chuck. Not all of the cast will be “reborn” however, as it appears both Zachary Quinto and Milo Ventimiglia will not be returning for the new series.
Heroes had a very strong first season, but after that it started to slowly self destruct. Its ending after 4 seasons was probably the best thing for everybody. A lot of the actors were relatively unknown at the time but have since gone on to do big things (cough, Spock). Hopefully the long hiatus and the addition of new blood will make Reborn feel like Season 1 of a new show, not Season 5 of the original.
There are still a handful of old heroes we haven’t heard about yet, so this may not be the last casting notice we hear about from the original crew. Are you looking forward to seeing all your old favorites on the new Heroes, or would you rather see new characters with new abilities?
