The strikes are over, and now that Hollywood is getting back to work, Greg Daniels has addressed the ever-popular rumors about The Office potentially being returning in some form. It was reported back in September that Daniels was attached to a reboot of the neo-classic NBC comedy, and while the famed co-creator did confirm his involvement, it was made pretty clear that this won't be a reboot in the traditional sense. When it comes to the creative team's ideals for the next Office project, Star Wars' current streaming TV universe was brought up as one example of how the idea could be approached.
Greg Daniels spoke to The Wrap in connection with Upload's Season 3 finale on Prime Video, and clarified that he is not working on a reboot version of The Office. The co-creator explained his reasons for not wanting to simply recast the iconic Dunder Mifflin staff, while also reflecting on how the original story was handled, saying:
I don’t like to think of anything as a reboot, you know what I mean? Because I feel like we ended that story beautifully. The characters had closure. I would never want to redo that same show with a different cast, because I think we got the luckiest cast, the best cast ever, in TV, to do that show. So, the notion of a reboot is not of interest.
These latest statements about a reboot of The Office line up with Greg Daniels' biggest concern about rebooting it when he spoke about the concept in 2019. There's understandably hesitation over tampering with the original story directly, especially so soon after it ended, and while a reboot wouldn't necessarily diminish fans' opinions about the U.S. remake's initial run, it could still have some kind of negative impact if audiences see it as a cash-grab, rather than an authentic desire to return to this world.
One concept that does appear to be on the table is a series that exists within the same world as The Office, focusing on characters outside the Dunder Miffling offices. Daniels tried to further explain his meaning, and used Star Wars' small-screen adventures as an example, saying:
The notion of maybe something like the way The Mandalorian is a new show in the Star Wars universe, you know what I mean? Something like the notion of this documentary crew doing a documentary about a different subject. That, I think, could be intriguing and creative. But I don’t even know what you would call that. I don’t know if that’s like a sister show or something. I don’t know what the term is. But it doesn’t feel like ‘reboot’ would be the appropriate term for that.
There is something interesting about having the documentary crew, who were largely unseen throughout the entirety of The Office, be the connective tissue for a new series. It'd be a great way to connect the two projects together, and in a way that doesn't retcon Michael Scott's managerial reign, while also delivering new stories about a presumably unrelated batch of office workers.
There are probably ways to explain this idea without using The Mandalorian, especially since it's still entirely connected to the Star Wars universe, both in terms of the original film trilogy and animated TV shows. For example, would characters from The Office appear on this new show, or would there just be small references made along the way? Given what some of the former Office cast is up to, I wouldn't rule out cameos from former stars, though Steve Carell's thoughts about a reboot have me thinking he wouldn't appear. (Maybe as like a Baby Michael who has his own hovercraft.)
Perhaps the more important thing to take away from the comment is that Greg Daniels is not interested in making a straight-up reboot or continuation series. That feels like it's for the best, as trying to live up to the hype of some of The Office's greatest episodes a second time feels nearly impossible. Although who's to say NBC won't attempt to reboot the show without its co-creators if execs are dead-set on rehashing what's been done before.
It seems like any official The Office follow-ups are still a ways off, but fans can spend the meantime watching the series all over again with a Peacock subscription. It's among a number of the best shows to watch on Peacock, so be sure to check it all out as Hollywood slowly gets back to normal ahead of 2024.
