Here's Why You Shouldn't Rule Out Dwight Schrute Returning To 'The Office'

You heart might still be breaking over the news that Michael Scott won't be stepping foot in Dunder Mifflin again, but it's time to move on and ask another key question: Will Dwight be in The Office reboot? Because, if we can't have Steve Carell back, then at the very least fans deserve to see Rainn Wilson returning to The Office. And actually, there's a fairly decent chance that he might be.

It's worth noting that TVLine, who first announced the news, stated that The Office reboot would feature old and new cast members. And while Carell might not be on board, that isn't to say that Wilson isn't. No other details regarding the cast of the new show have been confirmed yet, and it's curious to note that Wilson also hasn't commented on the reboot announcement on social media. But there are a few details regarding the actor that may help you remain optimistic for his return.

As pointed out by IndieWire, NBC already developed a spinoff show about Dwight Schrute in 2013. Though the show never took off, his involvement does suggest a willingness to revisit his iconic character, even if that potentially means he might not make an appearance as a regular on the show. Further providing hope to fans that Wilson may return as Dunder Mifflin's most beet-obsessed worker is the way that Wilson talks about The Office and his character.

In a 2013 interview with CNN, for example, Wilson talked about his role on The Office and (only half-jokingly) stated, "It is probable that this was the high point in my career and the most awesome thing I'll ever be involved in." The actor also divulged that the ending of the show was "bittersweet," and reflected on how it may impact the rest of his career. "I love the people there so much, it's such a great family. And at the same time, it was time for it to go away," Wilson shared, "maybe I'll just always be known as Dwight and that's great. I'm totally fine with that."

All of this sounds hopeful in laying the groundwork for the actor to return to The Office reboot. After all, who wouldn't want to spend time with such a great "family"? Especially when that group of people is so attached to a character that Wilson clearly loves. Or wait a minute, does he? Because, before we all start getting too excitement, it should be mentioned that in July, Wilson ranted about being confused for Dwight by fans of The Office while he was a guest on Crooked Media's Lovett Or Leave It podcast.

During a live taping of the episode, host Jon Lovett asked Wilson to spin the rant wheel, which featured several topics for the actor to rant about. After the spinner landed on the topic, “I’m not Dwight Schrute," Wilson then proceeded to deliver an impassioned (and hilarious) minute-long monologue that seemed to reveal some frustrations regarding fan conduct. "I am not Dwight Schrute, OK?" Wilson began. He continued,

"I played a character for 200 episodes, and it was an awesome character, and he was a beet farmer. That doesn’t mean you should hand me beets or make beet jokes every time I go into Starbucks and ask if they have like a beet latte or something like that."

Though Wilson was clearly having great fun with this rant, you could still argue that it comes from a place of genuine annoyance. It's easy to imagine how such a great actor could become worn down by years of fans being unable to separate his actual identity from his sarcastic, oddball character on The Office. Regardless, it's also difficult to imagine Wilson being too sincere about that. Particularly, when his love for the role, and for the show, seems so clearly genuine.

With all that in mind, it goes without saying that fans would eagerly welcome the return of Dwight should the actor choose to be a part of the reboot. And if he doesn't, then Dunder Mifflin just won't be the same without him.