Posted in: TNT, TV | Tagged: The Librarians, The Librarians: The Next Chapter

The Librarians: The Next Chapter Showrunner on Expanding The Universe

Showrunner Dean Devlin discussed what we can expect from The Librarians: The Next Chapter, the newest additions to the universe, and more.

If there's anyone who knows anything about worldbuilding, it's Dean Devlin, who's been part of some of the biggest franchises as one of the original minds behind Stargate. He's also written Universal Soldier, Leverage, Independence Day, and The Ark. He's also contributed to the Godzilla franchise, Leverage, and helped build the fantasy supernatural franchise in David Titcher's The Librarians from the TV movie trilogy to the subsequent TNT original series, and now its latest legacy spinoff series The Librarians: The Next Chapter as showrunner. The new series, which stars Callum McGowan as Vikram Chamberlain, a fish-out-of-water "Librarian" from 1847 who now finds himself in the present day and partners up with a rag-tag group to battle sinister forces with their artifacts and magic, with only six months to clean up the mess he's made. Devlin spoke to Bleeding Cool about how Disney inspired him to expand The Librarians franchise, having Christian Kane return as Jacob Stone to bridge the original series to The Next Chapter, what the new cast brings to the franchise, if there's past canon fans should take in to understand the new series better, and if we should expect a crossover anytime soon.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter Showrunner Dean Devlin on a Bold New Journey

Bleeding Cool: With the initial film trilogy and TV series, what did you and John [Rogers] want to establish in the new series for 'The Next Chapter?'

Well, we've seen these kinds of marvelous cinematic universes now blossoming from Marvel and Lucasfilm and exploring the idea that you can tell many different stories within the same universe. John and I fell in love with the idea of saying, "Well, if there are these things called annexes connected to the library, where else are there annexes? Why were they built? When were they built? What happened there?" We started playing around with the idea of what if there had been an annex in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1847? Why was it built there? Who was The Librarian? Why was he assigned there? What would happen if that guy suddenly was sucked into today and had to deal with all the realities of today? It became a fun way for us to tell a brand new story, but within a familiar universe.

What did it mean to have Christian return as Jake to bridge the original series and the new? Was there anyone else in the discussion, like Noah [Wyle]?

Did you say his name was Christian Kane?

Yes, Christian Kane.

I don't know if I've heard of him…[laughs]. Christian's obviously a good luck charm for me. He's been in five of my TV series, and it was a gift for us to have his character do the handoff to this new character, these new characters. Our cast will tell you it was such a gift for them to have someone who had done 'The Librarians' and explain to them simple things like how you walk through the magic door and certain things about how we do the show, and he was a real mentor for all of us.

What does Callum bring to the cast as Vikram as a fish out of water character, and what kind of presence does he bring to the show?

Callum is a gifted comedian, but he's also the rare actor who can turn on a dime from doing comedy to doing something very dramatic. He brings this skill level that's just fantastic, but he is also a lovely, egoless guy. In fact, this is one of the rare occasions where I have an entire cast without a single big ego in the group. The vibe on set is spectacular, and a lot of that comes from Callum.

Can you discuss the rest of the cast, such as Olivia [Morris], Bluey [Robinson], and Jessica [Green], and what they bring to the series?

Sure, Bluey was the first person cast on the show. When we were trying to create this character (of Connor) in the writer's room, one of our writers, Tom McCrae, who also worked on 'Doctor Who,' worked with us on the original 'The Librarians' series. He knew Bluey, and as soon as he started describing the character, he went, "I know the perfect actor!" He introduced us to him, and it was love at first sight, so he was the first guy we locked in.

Olivia was next. She'd been in that terrific movie, 'RRR' (2022), I don't know if you've ever seen that, and she really nailed the comedy, which is tough to do on a show like this, so we locked her in. When it came to Callum, I was looking at a different actor at the time, and I was excited about doing the part, but when we did our final callbacks, Callum lifted his game to a whole other level, and then there was no question. I had to cast Callum, and that's been a gift that kept on giving. Jessica had been the lead of another series I did called 'The Outpost,' and if anyone's ever seen her in that, this is a woman who knows how to do action sequences, so I thought if I could get her to be a guardian, it would be incredible.

Was 'The Next Chapter' always meant to be its own entryway as far as just, you know, as a way for new fans to come in? Is there anything from the films or specific episodes of the original series you would recommend for people to get the bridge to bring context to better understand the new series?

Well, we tried to design the show so that if you had never seen any of the films or the original show, you could watch it and understand what's going on and enjoy it. We also wanted there to be special gifts throughout the season for anyone who'd been a long-term fan. There are a lot of little Easter eggs throughout the seasons, and if you're a knowledgeable 'Librarian' fan, you're going to get a little bit extra out of the show. Hopefully, if you're brand new to it and if you end up falling in love with it, and part of our grand master plan is that you'll go back and watch the original show and the original movies.

With so many established characters from the universe, what are the possibilities of doing a full-on crossover? Or could we expect some of the original cast sprinkled in, like Eve (Rebecca Romijn), Jenkins (John Larroquette), Cassandra (Lindy Booth), Ezekiel (John Kim), or even Flynn (Wyle)?

Well, I can't give any spoilers, but over the course of the first two series, there will be some fun surprise visits.

Devlin, Wyle, Marc Roskin, and Rachel Olschan-Wilson are serving as executive producers. The Librarians: The Next Chapter premieres its first two episodes May 25-26 and airs Mondays on TNT.

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