The first official trailer for “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” is officially here!
In addition to giving fans their first look at the “completely unpredictable” milestone season – including cameos from celebrities like country singer Zac Brown and YouTube sensation MrBeast – the trailer similarly confirmed that “Survivor 49” champion Savannah Louie and fourth-place finalist Rizo Velovic would be rounding out the season’s record-breaking cast.
While longtime host Jeff Probst announced the majority of the 24-person cast following the finale of “Survivor 48” this spring, the identities of the season’s final two castaways – both of whom were pulled from the series’ recently-wrapped 49th season – remained a mystery until Wednesday (Dec. 17).
Just moments after being crowned the next “Sole Survivor,” the trailer for “Survivor 50” confirmed that Savannah Louie would be returning to compete alongside her No. 1 ally, Rizo Velovic on the upcoming season.
Now, both castaways are opening up about the moment they learned they’d earn a spot on the cast, competing alongside series legends like Cirie Fields, Ozzy Lusth and Benjamin “Coach” Wade, as well as former “Survivor” champions Dee Valladares and Kyle Fraser.
Rizo Velovic Reacts to Being Invited Back for ‘Survivor 50’
“It was unreal,” Rizo told The Post, recollecting the moment Jeff Probst asked him to return to compete on “Survivor 50” just nine days after wrapping Season 49.
“As a ‘Survivor’ fan, like a true student of the game, only less than ten people have ever done what I’m going to do – go back to back,” Velovic, 26, continued. “And the fact that I got back to back for ‘Survivor 50,’ arguably what’s going to be the biggest season of all time. They saw potential in me. It was game-changing.”
While Rizo – also known as “the man, the myth, the legend RIZGOD, baby!” – was unable to earn himself a seat at Season 49’s Final Tribal Council, he did make “Survivor” history on the series’ most-recent installment, holding onto a public Immunity Idol for an unprecedented nine consecutive eliminations.
In the end, it was the dreaded Final Four fire-making challenge that brought an end to Velovic’s “cha-riz-matic” run on the season, clearing the way for his No. 1 ally, Savannah Louie, to take home the crown and the $1 million prize.
After filming had wrapped, however, Rizo soon learned that his time on “Survivor” was far from over.
Rizo Details Jeff Probst’s Offer to Return for ‘Survivor 50’
“So it was the next day at Ponderosa. Production’s like, ‘Rizo, we need to talk to you,’” the tech salesman recalled. “I walk into a room, there’s a computer, and Jeff Probst is on it. He’s looking at me, so I’m like, ‘Oh my God, Jeff!’ I thought he just did this with everybody in the finale. I was like, ‘So good to see you! You just called me Riz God. It’s like we’re best friends. I’ve seen you for 25 days at this point.’”
CBS“And then Jeff very seriously goes into this monologue. ‘Rizo — Survivor 50.’ And in my mind, I’m like, ‘Is he about to ask me if I’m gonna be on Survivor 50?’” Velovic added. “And then he asks me and I lose my marbles. I go ballistic. I start crying. I’m like, ‘Absolutely, Yes, Signed, sealed, delivered. Don’t even have to worry. I don’t even have to leave Fiji. Just keep me here. Whatever.”
The soon-to-be two-time player didn’t even call his parents – waiting patiently for his return in Yonkers, New York – to ask for their advice. He simply gave CBS an “automatic yes” and returned to set just over a week later.
“It was unreal. It was crazy,” he concluded. “And I got to play with the legends that I grew up idolizing.”
Savannah Louie the Moment She was Asked to Return for ‘50’
Savannah Louie – who was also invited to return for “Survivor 50” just moments after being declared the winner of “Survivor 49” – also opened up about receiving the offer in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
CBS“I saw Rizo kind of go into this back room and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s kind of weird. Rizo’s going over there,’” Savannah said, revealing that she inadvertently witnessed the moment production pulled Velovic to ask him to return for Season 50, adding that “He walked out in a different direction and he was walking with like, a little pep in his step.”
“I was like, ‘Huh, that’s interesting,’” the former reporter continued.
Louie then told a similar story to Velovic’s, about being called into a back room by CBS producers only to find Probst waiting to talk to her on a Zoom call. While Savannah similarly accepted Probst’s offer to return, she was able to piece together that Rizo would be joining her on the upcoming season.
Savannah Opens Up About Telling Rizo They’d Both be on ‘50’
“So, at Ponderosa, I went up to Rizo and all I say is, ‘Hey. Congratulations.’” Savannah revealed, adding that Velovic’s immediate response was, “What are you talking about?”
Then, in a quote worthy of the newest “Sole Survivor,” Savannah told Rizo: “Oh, so you think you’re the only person invited back for ‘50?’”
At first, Rizo didn’t believe her, telling EW: “I was like, ‘What? They asked you?!”
While Savannah reportedly found Rizo’s incredulous response somewhat offensive, he quickly clarified, telling the newly-minted winner: “No, Savannah, they’ve just never asked a winner to come back to back in ‘Survivor’ history.”
After coming to terms with the fact that he’d be returning hand-in-hand with Savannah, Rizo told The Post, “I was so happy. I was like, oh my God, we just ran this game together in ‘49’ and now we get to run the tables back on ‘50.’ So I was super excited.”
Find out how the rest of the cast of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” react to relative newcomers Rizo Velovic and Savannah Louie when the hotly-anticipated milestone season makes its epic three-hour debut on Wednesday, February 26 on CBS.
