Kobe Bryant was ‘set to film a cameo role in Saved By The Bell reboot two days after he died in tragic helicopter crash alongside his daughter Giana and seven others in 2020’
- The Lakers icon was set to make an appearance in the short-lived sitcom reboot
- Two days before the shoot was scheduled, Bryant’s helicopter crashed, killing 9
- Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, recently won $16m in her lawsuit against LA County
One of basketball’s all-time greats was set to make a cameo in a reboot of a beloved 80’s sitcom, but tragically died days before the shoot took place.
Speaking on an episode of the Dare We Say podcast, two stars of Peacock’s reboot of Saved By the Bell revealed Kobe Bryant was set to appear in the pilot episode.
Before that took place back in January of 2020, Bryant died in a helicopter crash alongside his daughter Gia and seven others.
Actresses Josie Totah and Alycia Pascual-Peña – who played Bayside High students Lexi and Aisha on the shortlived two-season spinoff of the 1984 sitcom of the same name – say Bryant was supposed to shoot his scenes only days after the tragedy.
Lakers icon Kobe Bryant was supposedly set to make a cameo in the Saved By the Bell reboot
Just 2 days before that was to take place, Bryant’s helicopter crash – killing everyone on board
‘I don’t think a lot of people know,’ Totah said. ‘But we were actually supposed to film with Kobe two days after he died.’
Totah called Bryant’s addition to the episode ‘surreal’, as her co-host Pascual-Peña said the mood ‘shifted greatly’ on set when the pilot was eventually shot after his death.
‘I remember learning that he had passed through one of our best friends Anjelika Washington,’ Pascual-Peña said.
‘She called me specifically because she knew that I’d been talking about it for a month with her – that I was so excited to meet Kobe on set and I can’t believe that he was a fan of the first Saved by the Bell and that he was excited to be on the show.
‘It’s really beautiful and eye-opening to see how one person can bring joy to so many people. Some people live their entire lives never seeing the full impact they had on the world until they pass.
‘Thankfully Kobe was given his flowers. That man was so loved and so respected.’
Recently, Kobe’s wife Vanessa won a lawsuit against Los Angeles County over photos of Bryant’s body taken by first responders at the scene of the accident. Vanessa was awarded $16 million.
Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, won her lawsuit against LA County over photos taken of Bryant’s body
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