Dustin Diamond doesn't appear to have been invited to the upcoming Saved by the Bell reboot series, but the controversial actor isn't giving up hope on reprising the role of Samuel "Screech" Powers. Though the revival will primarily focus on a new group of youths at Bayside High School led by transgender actress Josie Totah as the popular cheerleader Lexi, several original series stars have since been confirmed to appear on the show to reprise their classic roles. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Diamond wasn't announced as a part of the series, and it seems unlikely he'll return.

Still, Diamond says he'd be on board to play Screech once again if NBC were to give him the call, saying that any kind of Saved by the Bell revival would be incomplete without him. "How do you have Saved by the Bell without Screech? It seems like there's a missed opportunity there," Diamond recently told TMZ of the upcoming reboot series. He also says that he believes all of his fellow cast members should be feeling the same way about bringing in everyone from the original show, rather than cherry-picking a select few. "If it's a reboot of the entire series, just bring back all the staples," Diamond adds.

It's hard to argue Diamond's point that Screech was a major part of Saved by the Bell. After appearing in every episode of the original series, Diamond would also play the role in both spin-offs: The College Years and The New Class. As the standout comic relief character, you could essentially compare leaving out Screech to a Family Matters revival series ignoring Steve Urkel. Of course, the reasoning for leaving Screech on the sidelines likely has a lot more to do with Diamond's behavior behind the scenes since he was a part of the franchise as opposed to creative reasons involving his fictional character.

So, why is there a disconnect between Diamond and the rest of the Saved by the Bell team? A lot of that seems to stem from a tell-all book released by Diamond in 2009. Called Behind the Bell, the book features several unflattering stories about many of Diamond's co-stars, some of whom have since refuted the claims. Diamond would later suggest that the book's content had in fact come from a ghostwriter exaggerating his stories, but his bridge back to Bayside High may have still nevertheless been burned. It's worth noting Diamond has been noticeably absent in every Saved by the Bell cast reunion event ever since.

Diamond may or may not ever end up returning for the new Saved by the Bell, but he does have a pitch for where Screech would be these days. "[He'd be] dealing with parenthood, dealing with his kids, and finding out he's got a little Screech of his own now, and that maybe he wasn't a barrel full of roses to deal with growing up," Diamond says. The question is - could the rest of the gang really be able to handle two Screeches at once? It would certainly be interesting to see them try. This news comes to us from TMZ.