Everyone knows the game of Survivor does not begin when players hit the beach—especially when those players are returning contestants who have met and mingled off the island. Pre-game alliances are often the norm. That’s why the phones and social media accounts of previous Survivor players have been blowing up ever since Jeff Probst announced that season 50 of Survivor would feature blasts from the past, and even a franchise legend has gotten into the act.
I'm stirring it up on social media like I like to do,
Boston Rob Mariano tells Entertainment Weekly. Slide into the DMs, all you former players, and we'll let you know whether or not you can get in the alliance or not.
The five-time player, and winner of Redemption Island, then reconsiders: Actually, talk to my secretary, Sandra. She's fielding all the requests.
That would be Rob’s fellow Island of the Idols mentor (and two-time Survivor champion) Sandra Diaz-Twine. Whether Rob is being serious or not is open to debate. When he spoke to EW before filming began on Winners at War, Rob claimed he did no pre-game alliance making. I don’t play that,
he said in 2019. I don’t play it at all. I did not call one single person, maybe to my detriment, but I have always believed that I’m better building and fostering relationships in person.
Sandra corrected his outlook: Sandra told me on 39 that everybody out there had their pre-existing alliance before they got to the beach and if you weren’t a part of it, then you were gone…
Indeed, Rob and his spouse Amber and old school friends Ethan Zohn, Parvati Shallow, Tyson Apostol, and Sandra ended up being voted out in quick succession during Winners at War.
So has Rob reconsidered his stance on pre-gaming? More importantly, will he even return for Survivor 50 (which would film in 2025 to air in the spring of 2026)?
When asked by EW earlier this year about a possible return, Rob noted that I’ve always said it would take some kind of unique format change to make me go back and compete over there. Something would have to happen…
Now that Probst has made it official that the season will be a battle between former contestants, has that changed Rob’s outlook? Like I told you last time we talked…
Of course, it would not be Rob’s first time back on an island in recent years. The reality TV icon is fresh off a final four finish on Deal or No Deal Island…
But instead of returning to Fiji, could Rob’s next reality TV move be to Scotland? I would love to play The Traitors…
But would the master manipulator prefer to be a Traitor or a Faithful? He weighs his options: I think I would be good as a Faithful…
Sandra Diaz-Twine recently shared insights about pre-game alliances in an exclusive interview: …
The image below shows Sandra Diaz-Twine as she discusses her experience on ‘Survivor’ over various seasons.
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