Survivor 50 starts filming this spring, and there are already many rumblings about which returning Survivor players will be heading out to Fiji for what's going to be one of the biggest seasons in reality TV history.
Looking at all 48 seasons of Survivor so far, the Survivor 50 cast needs to include Tony Vlachos or Sandra Diaz-Twine for a very simple reason. These are the only two-time Survivor winners ever!
Why we need Tony and Sandra in Survivor 50
For a long time, Sandra held that title, but Tony just tied the record with his win in Survivor: Winners at War (season 40). This will only be the fourth time in Survivor history that a player will have a chance at being a three-time winner. Sandra had that opportunity in Winners at War, Game Changers, and Blood vs. Water, but she came up short during those seasons.
Tony hasn't had that opportunity to go for three wins in Survivor yet. After winning Winners at War, you have to assume that he'll be a part of the cast. There's just no way that Jeff Probst and the team can proceed without Tony unless he really just doesn't want to play the game again for a fifth time. He's doing other reality TV shows, so I have to imagine he's willing to go after that $1 million prize at least one more time.
And, I think we need at least Tony or Sandra in this cast. These are the only players with multiple wins in Survivor history. That's a storyline that's been present in other seasons, but a player going for that three-time win? I want to see how the other players respond. I want to see if Tony and Sandra still want to win as badly as they did when they played five or six years ago. So, it would be a big mistake, in my mind, if they aren't part of the cast.
Honestly, I'd prefer if they both played in Survivor 50. We have yet to see someone play against Sandra who also has two Survivor wins. Would that change her game? Would she target Tony earlier to make sure he wouldn't become the most winning Survivor player in history? Would he target her? They've definitely had some good back-and-forths on Survivor in the past.
Sure, Tony and Sandra have played Survivor a lot, so I understand some fans not being interested in seeing them return for Survivor 50. Some fans might prefer to see other players who have only played once or twice return for Survivor 50, but this is history, people. We could have a 1-in-9 shot at a three-time Survivor winner is Tony and Sandra play! That's worth it for me, honestly.
We'll let you know more about the Survivor 50 cast when we find out! It sounds like Cirie Fields is in for Survivor 50. Boston Rob might be, too, but Parvati Shallow and Coach are out!