CBS just shared the first official cast photo for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, and it's a big one, literally.
Although we've seen a few teasers and clips of Survivor 50 so far, we haven't seen all 24 returning players together in one photo yet until now. Immediately, there were a few things that jumped out at me.
The Survivor 50 cast is the biggest ever
This is the most obvious thing that fans will notice in the Survivor 50 first look. The cast is massive, and it's the biggest cast in Survivor history. There are 24 returning players. To include everyone in the frame, the photographer probably had to take the pictures from Tonga.
The next thing that jumped out to me was just how many players I'm excited to watch this season. Truly, there's a strong argument for every returning player to get a compelling story and propel the narrative this season, but that's just not going to happen. There are simply too many players and too little time (only 26 days!) to give everyone time to shine, so it's going to be very interesting to see just how the edit comes together and which players get the most time on camera.
Production and the post-production really took on a major challenge with this season, and I'm very interested to see how it comes together.
Survivor 50 cast looks are quite familiar
At first, it looked like we could be getting tribe reveals in this photo, too. We know we're getting three tribes of eight to start the game, but so far, we haven't seen the marooning picture or clip that reveals the tribe breakdown to start the season.
Thanks to the official Survivor 50 trailer, though, we know that the three colors of this season are purple, orange, and light blue. Looking at this cast photo, there are a few players who are wearing colors that could signify their starting tribes.
In the cast photo, you can see Joe Hunter, Q Burdette, and Chrissy Hofbeck wearing purple. Other players are wearing shades or orange and red, so that could mean something. If so, it could mean that two of the biggest physical threats, Joe and Q, will end up on the same tribe. That could have massive implications. There are other great, physical players, but in terms of overall strength and size, Joe, Q, and Jonathan Young are the three biggest players out in Fiji.
There's also the possibility that these are just coincidences, as well.
In my opinion, it looks like these Survivor players are paying homage to the looks they donned in their other times playing Survivor. For example, Q's outfit is basically the same one he wore during Survivor 46. The same is true for Charlie Davis. Savannah Louie, Kamilla Karthigesu, and Genevieve Mushaluk, three of the more recent players returning for Survivor 50, also appear to be wearing very similar attire that they wore on their respective seasons.
Going back a bit further, Rick Devens' outfit looks very similar to what he wore on Survivor: Edge of Extinction. Coach, Ozzy, and Colby are also channeling what they wore on previous seasons, as well.
And, thanks to the official Survivor 50 trailer, we know that the players will be wearing these outfits, or something very similar, when they hit the beaches for the first challenge.
You'll see that happen during the Survivor 50 premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 25, on CBS and Paramount+. We're less than one month away, and we can't wait to see how it shakes out.