Bakula NOT Involved at All with ‘Quantum Leap’ Reboot

Getty Scott Bakula with William Shatner, Kate Mulgrew, and Avery Brooks at Destination Star Trek London in 2012

Scott Bakula has confirmed that he will not be a part of NBC’s remake of “Quantum Leap,” the show that put him on the map and preceded his time on “Star Trek: Enterprise.” The actor starred in the original “Quantum Leap” as Sam Beckett, a scientist who “leaps” into other people’s bodies across an array of eras and contends with their individual situations. Dean Stockwell co-starred as Al, a guide of sorts who appeared to Sam as a holographic image during his adventures.

“Quantum Leap” ran from 1989 to 1993, with 97 episodes produced over its five seasons, according to the Internet Movie Database. Ever since the show’s cancellation in 1993, loyal fans had lobbied hard for a sequel or a reboot or a feature film. Hopes were raised and dashed for nearly 30 years, but nothing ever came to fruition for anything featuring Bakula and Stockwell back in their familiar roles. The two men had remained close friends and, according to Memory Alpha, Stockwell played a character named Grat in the first-season “Enterprise” episode “Detained.”

Bakula Confirmed That He is Not Part of the ‘Quantum Leap’ Reboot 

Stockwell died on November 7, 2021, at the age of 85, putting to rest any possibility of a reunion. Still, when NBC announced in January 2022 that a reboot was in the works, fans once again hoped Bakula would be involved in some way, shape, or form. According to Variety, the revival series will premiere on September 19, 2022, and “is set to continue the events of the original series 30 years later, with a new cast headed by Raymond Lee, Ernie Hudson, and Anastasia Antonia.”

Bakula, on September 15, 2022, posted a rare statement on Instagram explaining that he would not be part of the reboot and detailing why. “To ‘Quantum Leap’ fans around the world, in an effort to quiet the rumors and move on… First of all, thanks for hanging around through the decades! Here’s the simple version of what’s going on with the Quantum Leap reboot and me: I have no connection with the new show, either in front of the camera or behind it. In January, the pilot was sold and a script was sent to me because the character of Sam Beckett was in it, which makes sense, right? As so many of you have been asking me the last several months, ‘How could you do “QL” without Sam?'(or Al, for that matter) Well, I guess we’re about to find out.

“That’s the story,” he continued. “As the show has always been near and dear to my heart, it was a very difficult decision to pass on the project, a decision that has upset and confused so many fans of the original series. However, the idea of anyone ‘leaping’ around in time and walking a mile in someone else’s shoes, remains a very appealing concept and so worthy of exploration, especially given the current state of mankind. In that spirit, I am crossing my fingers that this new cast and crew are lucky enough to tap into the magic that propelled the original ‘Quantum Leap’ into the hearts and minds of generations past and present. I wish them good luck and happy leaping! SB”

Bakula Spent Four Years on ‘Enterprise,’ Five on ‘Quantum Leap,’ & Seven on ‘NCIS: New Orleans’  

Bakula — who in 2021 ended a seven-season run on “NCIS: New Orleans” — counts among his upcoming projects the film “Divinity,” which Deadline describes as an indie drama with genre elements that also stars Bella Thorne, Stephen Dorff, and Moises Arias, and is produced by Steven Soderbergh.

Another Bakula vehicle, a television pilot called “Unbroken,” was not greenlit to series by NBC. According to TV Insider, “Bakula was set to star as retired rodeo champion and current rancher Ash Holleran in the “Yellowstone”-style drama. Created by Shaun Cassidy (“New Amsterdam”), the drama would revolve around three dynastic ranch families on the central coast of California, making love and war in a passionate struggle to survive. The story would see a group of fiercely determined young women aiming to win big at the National Championship of Rodeo.”