Survivor executive producer Matt Van Wagenen has addressed criticism there are too many castaways from recent seasons competing on the show's milestone 50th season.
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Survivor 50 will feature 24 returning players, 11 of which hail from the five most recent seasons of the CBS reality competition show, Seasons 45 through 49.
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Many Survivor fans were disappointed upon seeing the May 2025 cast announcement considering so many fan-favorite, old-school castaways were left off the list.
"I think part of it is there's an age thing. It's got to be the oldest cast we've ever had, so we wanted some younger players as well," Matt explained to Entertainment Weekly while on location filming Survivor 50 in Fiji.
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"These are people who when they played, we were like, 'Oh, we want to see them play again.' I am really proud of the seasons we've done in the new era, and I love the representation from these people."
Matt said Survivor producers wanted to bring back people who planned to "play aggressively," and he added, "I think the new-era players play very aggressively.
"Someone like [Jenna Morasca], she said to me that she was playing the new-era game in Season 8, and I love that," Matt continued.
"And so we want people who are going to be able to play with that kind of energy and creativity and so she fit the bill even though she's a Season 1 person. That's why she's here, because she's got that new-era mentality."
Matt said he thinks Season 50 is actually going to be "really exciting" thanks to the players from the last five years.
"I think they bring it," he noted.
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Matt said producers wanted to treat Survivor 50 like "a temple."
"It should be this thing that we are paying homage to Survivor. And so when you see this and the phoenix rising and the whole look of it, that's part of the celebration," Matt shared.
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Matt said he wanted to make the season "fun," adding, "We are cranking that question up to the next level. Is it fun? In our casting, we wanted people who were joyful. We wanted joyful people to celebrate with us."
And Matt confessed that producers were well aware they wouldn't be able to make everyone happy with their casting decisions.
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"There were people who I would love to have seen play who said no. And we had some people reaching out to [casting director] Jesse Tannenbaum right from the get go where I was like, 'Wow, I wasn't expecting that person to reach out,'" Matt revealed.
"I talked to John Cochran and wanted him to him play. He's like, 'No, I'm not playing.' I was like, 'Come on!' I probably asked John Cochran about 15 times, and he turned me down every time. So we couldn't get everyone we wanted, and we couldn't fit in everyone who wanted to be in there."
Matt acknowledged it was "a tough position" to be in.
"We really wanted a representation of a lot of different eras, a lot of different styles and a lot of different personalities. But I think really the idea of it being a celebration, we wanted people who wanted to play with joy," Matt explained of the casting decisions.
"We've had some seasons in the past where there's been some players play pretty dark, brooding games. This time, we wanted a joyful celebration. I know we took some flack on some of our choices."
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Matt noted that Colby Donaldson from Survivor: Samoa, for example, insisted that he wanted "to pay respect to the game."
"And I think it's real and it's legit. And I'm excited and hopeful that that's how he's going to play," Matt teased.
Matt explained how all of the different returning-player seasons had "different flavors" -- and Season 50 of Survivor will be no exception.
"The first returning player season I worked on was [Season] 16, which some people think is an all-timer. Being on the beach for some of those moments was spectacular, but that was a different vibe because it was fans and favorites," Matt recalled.
"Then, just a few seasons later, we're doing Heroes vs. Villains and people kind of stepped into those hero and villain roles."
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He added, "Season 40, it was Winners at War, so it was winners who had kind of done it before. They'd all accomplished the goal before, so it was a different vibe."
Matt said he really feels like Survivor's 50th season will be a "a celebration" like no other.
"Second Chance had a different one going back. Second Chance was people who hadn't had it and it was only your second time. There was an extra hunger there. Here, there's a reverence for Survivor," he explained.
"There are people who are talking about coming not for redemption, but to pay honor to the game. And I think a lot of people around here are kind of embracing that feeling."
Matt also pointed out how "no one brings more energy and passion" to Survivor than its longtime host Jeff Probst.
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"I know he loves it the way he talks about it. We work together closely and I see his passion and his love for it. So I don't see that dying anytime soon," Matt shared.
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"He always is able to find something new and interesting, and that sparks him."
Survivor's 50th season is set to premiere Wednesday, February 25 at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.