NBC has announced that another Heroes veteran will return for its upcoming sequel miniseries Heroes Reborn, namely Masi Oka as fan favorite Hiro Nakamura. Oka, who was nominated for an Emmy for his role as the lovable time-traveling otaku, will be joined by an also-returning Jack Coleman and the newly cast Zachary Levi as the series’ star. Fans worldwide presumably greeted the news with Hiro’s signature triumphant catchphrase, “Yatta!” a Japanese expression that translates—as least as far was we understand it—as “diminishing returns.”
Meanwhile, in a writing bunker deep underneath NBC headquarters, Tim Kring and his fellow Heroes Reborn writers lock eyes, dread filling their faces. “Shit,” Kring whispers, realizing he must once again find a way to keep a character with nigh-omnipotent time travel powers from solving every problem in his script before it can even happen. “Maybe we could make him think he’s a little kid—” one writer ventures, before Kring turns his baleful gaze on them and roars, “WE ALREADY DID THAT.” Discouraged, all eyes turn to a big chalkboard covered in crossed out phrases like “trapped in a feudal Japanese soap opera” and “brain tumor.” They stare at the board, the clock ticking, and wait.