The Missing Legends of ‘Survivor 50’: Castaways Reveal the Icons They Thought They’d Face

When Jeff Probst announced in April 2024 that Survivor’s 50th season would feature an all-returning cast, he effectively gave every fan permission to start fantasy-drafting their dream lineup for the milestone edition. Would season 50 be New Era vs. Legends? Would past winners return? Could it be a sequel to Second Chance? And would Boston Rob really come back for a record sixth time? Speculation exploded.

By the time the official cast list dropped on May 28, 2025, the reactions were immediate — including from the players themselves. It turns out Survivor contestants have strong opinions, too. So just before filming began, The Hollywood Reporter asked every castaway a simple question: Who are you surprised isn’t here? Here’s what they had to say…

Mike White: Somebody who I felt should be here is Richard Hatch. It just feels like with season 50, you gotta bring back the guy that originally won. It would be so fun to watch him play now in this New Era and see what kind of player he would be. I’m kind of disappointed he’s not here. 

Benjamin “Coach” Wade: I’m surprised [Jonathan] Penner’s not out here. I thought being a good storyteller, he could be here. Maybe they could convince [John] Cochran one more time. Unfortunately, everyone who was on Winners at War that should be out here showed up so poorly, the game had passed them by at that point. I’m talking about Tyson [Apostol], Parvati [Shallow], Boston Rob [Mariano], Ethan [Zohn] and Yul [Kwon]. It was sad to see them go out like that one by one. 

Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick: Maybe Carolyn [Wiger]? But I think what Jeff [Probst] was going for is people who don’t really cause any drama. People who are just happy to be here, wanna play the game and don’t want to make it all about them. Carolyn was a great New Era player. I think she started to just let it maybe get to her head a little bit, especially after The Traitors, and wants to make it about her. I’m surprised she didn’t get picked but if I’m Jeff, I’m guessing that’s why.

Emily Flippen: I wish Caleb [Reynolds] was here because that’s a person I could 100 percent trust. But the person I’m most surprised not to see here is Jesse [Lopez]. I’m a very casual fan of Survivor and I’ve forgotten a lot of players. Not that there haven’t been great players, but I move on with my life and have the memory of a goldfish. But I remember Jesse, he’s deeply engrained in my Survivor memory as such a big character and huge player. I can’t rationalize why he wouldn’t be out here.

Dee Valladares: I thought Jesse Lopez was going to be here. He played hard, he had a great story. I watched his season live. I’m a newer fan from 2020, I’m a COVID baby fan. I cried in the episode where he screwed over Cody [Assenmacher]. That’s really hard to do out here. I think it takes way more courage to screw over a friend than not. He was fun to watch and a great strategist so I truly thought he would be on the cast.

Christian Hubicki: The biggest surprise snub would be Jesse Lopez. Jesse Lopez played the kind of game that Survivor loves and should love. It was innovative, interesting. He used the space of possible advantages, not just the ones that are in the game but what could be in the game, to leverage that for more power. I’ll never forget seeing when he played Cody’s idol. I was like, “That guy, he should be back.” He’d be a nice threat to have around to diffuse the target, selfishly, for me. 

Ozzy Lusth: Richard Hatch. The winner of the first Survivor — it would have been cool to have him out here. There’s some other players who would have been great to see, like Parvati. I’m surprised someone like Russell Hantz isn’t playing.

Charlie Davis: Carolyn I was really surprised at. She, to me, is such a huge figurehead of the New Era. She’s a huge character and has obviously gone on to great success on The Traitors, and is just fun to watch. I think it would be insane to have her here on the beach with us, so I’m a bit bummed. 

Chrissy Hofbeck: Dom Abbate. I fully expected that the only person who ever tied the eventual winner would be a lock for season 50. 

Savannah Louie: The two people I was surprised didn’t make the cut were Carolyn and Jerri [Manthey]. I’m a big fan of both, especially with them both being such strong, confident, unapologetic women who played the game hard and really made a name for themselves.

Angelina Keeley: I think the biggest snub — and I call it a snub because I think she deserved to be here — is Carolyn. I feel like she’s the biggest personality, the biggest character, to come out of the New Era and I don’t know what happened but it didn’t work out for her this time. I would’ve liked to have seen her here. She would have added something a little different to the cast.

Rick Devens: T-Bird [Teresa Cooper] is the who I most wish was here. She’s done so much for Survivor and individually for us Survivors. If you’re someone who’s played and you’ve met T-Bird, she could not be more loving and caring. Davie Rickenbacker is also someone I wish was out here. And Jerri. You have Colby but not Jerri? I thought that would be a combo. I would have loved to have sat back at camp and watched that. 

Quintavius “Q” Burdette: I thought Rob Cesternino would be here. For everything he does around the Survivor community, I thought for sure he’d be on 50. Carolyn, if she hadn’t of went online and publicly announced she wasn’t on, I’d have thought for sure she was in. The last person I thought could’ve/should’ve been here was Shan [Smith] from 41. 

Tiffany Ervin: I was almost certain Tony [Vlachos] would be here again. I don’t know why but when you think of the history of Survivor and you think of people who have changed the way the game is played, Tony is one of the names who comes to mind. Maybe he got the call and turned it down. But I was shocked. Especially with new school winners here. Why not pick an old school winner? 

Aubry Bracco: I thought Kelly Wentworth could be here, and Omar [Zaheer] from season 42. 

Jenna Lewis-Dougherty: Russell Hantz, Johnny Fairplay or Jerri Manthey. You don’t have those big name villains, I don’t see them. Carolyn’s another one. Everybody loves Carolyn. I think she’s amazing but I don’t think I’d want to play with her. Chaos Q and chaos Carolyn would have been a scary match.

Cirie Fields: I expected Tai [Tran] to be here from Game Changers. What an epic thing it would be to have some chaos, and who better to bring chaos to this game than Shane Powers? It would flip the whole game on its head. Shane is just as crazy in real life as he is in this game, so to bring him back, and with him having something to prove it would have turned it up a little bit. 

Jonathan Young: I was hoping my main man Mike [Turner] from my season would be here. Hoboken Mike, I think, deserves to be out here. He’s a good player, a good man and a good friend. 

Joe Hunter: Despite the rumors that he wasn’t going to play I thought Boston Rob would be here. And Parvati and Jerri. They’re the three that I expected to see. 

Kyle Fraser: I thought Jerri Manthey was going to be out here for sure. I would’ve loved to have seen Jerri play again. Another person, especially when I learned winners would be in the mix, was Earl [Cole]. I would’ve loved to have been out here and seen him play. I loved his game. 

Genevieve Mushaluk: Jerri. She is a badass, OG, Survivor woman. The show’s been on for a long time and you’ve seen it evolve. I remember watching Survivor when I was younger and there were specific archetypes you could count on every season. What I loved about my season was that I ended up with an edit that felt so true and fair to my experience, including all the nuances. I would love to see some of the players we’ve seen before in modern Survivor with how fantastic the story telling is now and how much they’re able to convey those nuances. 

Kamilla Karthigesu: I thought we’d see Davie Rickenbacker. I genuinely thought he was going to win his season. When I got the call confirming I was on 50, I started to think about who I’d be excited to see out there. Davie was the first person that came to mind.

Rizo Velovic: The one thing that’s shocking to me is that seasons 21-29 is the only 10 season time period that’s not represented in 50. And when I think of that era, I think of Malcolm [Freberg]. The fact that Malcolm isn’t here is shocking. Jerri Manthey is another one. Her not being here is kinda crazy. One that I feel a lot of people online don’t talk about is Dom [Abbate] from Ghost Island. He’s been the closest person to win Survivor who hasn’t won. The fact that he hasn’t even had a second chance yet is bewildering to me. 

Colby Donaldson: There are a lot of icons of the game who aren’t present. A lot of those are winners — a lot of them were on Winners at War, so I can understand not bringing them back. I’m sure there are also a lot that were invited but for whatever reason couldn’t make it or chose not to. I just have to focus on the fact that CBS and Survivor, Probst, all the powers that be, have their reasons. Whatever that is, I have to view everyone here as a threat and as a very capable competitor. There’s a reason everyone was chosen to be on this beach. I have to decipher why that is and whether or not that person can help me or hurt me — and I gotta do it pretty quickly.

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Survivor 50 aires new episodes Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBS, streaming on Paramount+. See how the cast is divided into their tribes here.