Boston Rob won't compete on Survivor again without a "unique format change"

Hoping to see legends of Survivor like Boston Rob Mariano on the CBS series in the future? Well, it's probably not going to happen without major changes to how the game is played, according to Entertainment Weekly.

EW's Dalton Ross spoke with Boston Rob about his new reality show, NBC's Deal or No Deal Island, and also snuck in a few questions about what it would take for Boston Rob to return to the Survivor island as a contestant.

"As a contestant playing with everyone else, it just feels like we've been there and we've done that."

Boston Rob has played Survivor five times so far. He won the series once, Survivor: Redemption Island. He also finished runner-up to his now wife, Amber Mariano (Brkich), on Survivor: All-Stars. Because of Boston Rob's reputation as a massive threat, he was targeted early in Heroes vs. Villains and Winners at War. So, it makes sense that he wouldn't want to return to the beach without big changes to the gameplay, which he mentioned in the interview, as well.

"I've always said it would take some kind of unique format change to make me go back and compete over there. Something would have to happen, otherwise we're faced with the same situation where they gang up on me and want to get me out, or keep me around for a little bit, or whatever."

Honestly, a format change might not be a bad idea to try with some of the other winners and older contestants. Survivor is still at the top of its game in the middle of season 46, but former winners and fan favorites like Boston Rob still carry a lot of interest for fans of the series, especially with the day 1 fans. Overall, it would be great to find a way to include previous winnners and other fan favorites without them being targeted from the second they step on the beach.

What kind of format change is obviously up to the producers. It's always fun to see Boston Ron on Survivor, but I prefer when he's playing the game rather than giving advice to players as he did with co-star Sandra Diaz Twine for Survivor: Island of the Idols.

There is no shortage of people willing to compete on Survivor, though. Nearly 700 people have competed on the CBS series throughout 46 seasons, and that number is only going up. It would be amazing to see Heroes vs. Villains 2.0 or something like that with some of the more recent contestants, too. The problem remains that the big stars of this show are viewed (and probably are!) on another level than some of the other contestants, and they get picked off, typically, before the merge. Boston Rob is definitely in that category!

As for Boston Rob's reality TV career, it doesn't look like it's going to be slowing down. He also opened up the possibility of appearing on The Traitors, the Peacock original series, which has featured several major Survivor stars including Diaz-Twine, Cirie Fields, Stephenie LaGrossa-Kendrick, and Parvati Shallow.

Here's to hoping Boston Rob returns to Survivor in the future, but we're not counting on it!