As one of the original actors from the American incarnation of The Office, Rainn Wilson has been associated with the franchise for almost 20 years. Wilson’s character, Dwight Schrute, was even in contention for his own spin-off series, The Farm. While that show didn’t go forward, Peacock recently picked up The Office’s follow-up series, which will move the setting to the Midwest. And if Dwight is needed for a guest appearance, Wilson is up for it.
“I don’t see how Dwight goes from Scranton to wherever they’re shooting it in the Midwest,” Wilson told CinemaBlend. “But, you know, if Greg [Daniels] wants me to do something, I’m happy to do something. But, I am sad that they’re leaving Scranton. I understand… why they’re leaving Scranton, but I kind of feel like there should be like seven different Office spinoffs kind of like Law and Order. Like there’s Law and Order: SVU and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and there should be all of these workplace documentaries going on, but they should all be in the Scranton Wilkes Bar, Lackawanna County, greater Metropolitan area.”
The new series will feature Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore as the main characters. The premise of the show is that the documentary team that spent a decade following Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton employees is starting a new project by covering “a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.” There’s no obvious way for Dwight to be involved in that story, but Wilson trusts Daniels to come up with an idea that works.
“You know, with Greg Daniels at the helm, he’s always gonna be looking out for the best interest,” said Wilson. “So if he had an idea [for a cameo], I mean, I don’t think many of us could go back to his regulars at this point. But, to pop in, make sure the office is running right. That might happen. I don’t know.”
Whether it happens or not, Wilson’s recent experience with a hotel in Italy proved that he’ll never fully escape Dwight’s legacy. The hotel sent Wilson’s room service silverware encased in Jello, just like Jim’s classic prank on the show.
