‘Friday Night Lights’ Star Will Return for Reboot on One Condition

Original Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch issued a definitive response as to whether or not he’d return for the upcoming reboot during an interview on SiriusXM’s Spotlight with Jessica Shaw. Kitsch played high school heartthrob and Dillon Panthers running back Tim Riggins on NBC’s beloved sports drama.

Speaking to Shaw, Kitsch revealed that he’s “been asked” to appear on the reboot, but he won’t be leading the show. In fact, he doesn’t anticipate his turn will last more than a single episode. “I’m always flattered. Never say never. But I would come in and maybe do something for an episode,” the John Carter star said, via Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t want to go and do the whole thing. I’d go and have fun, but I don’t want to lead a reboot or anything.”

Kitsch mused that it might be fun to “create something new” and appear on the reboot as a new character, but he admitted that was far-fetched. “I think if you saw me as someone else, you’d be like, ‘That’s Riggins,'” he mused. “Especially in that element, if you’re [back] in Texas or doing it the way they’re gonna do it. So yeah, I would maybe play an opposing team’s coach or something, and be on screen for like eight seconds. Yeah, I would do that.”

The original Friday Night Lights series, itself adapted from Peter Berg’s 2004 feature, starred Kyle Chandler as passionate high school football coach Eric Taylor, who, with the help of his formidable wife Tami (Connie Britton), takes his rag-tag team to victory.

The reboot follows an equally inexperienced team and their disgraced interim coach who “make an unlikely bid for a Texas High School State Championship, becoming a beacon of light” after a “devastating hurricane” decimates their small town, according to the official logline. It’s currently in development and set to premiere on Peacock at an unspecified date.