Two of Survivor’s most iconic winners will apparently feature on the upcoming thirty-ninth season, according to Inside Survivor sources. Those two former champions are “Boston” Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, who between them have competed on seven seasons of the hit reality-show.

While details remain scarce at the moment, it’s believed that Rob and Sandra will be acting as “advisers” rather than active players in the game. The Survivor veterans are there to offer advice and guidance to the crop of new castaways competing on the season currently filming in Fiji. Unlike John Cochran in Game Changers, who shared advice with Debbie Wanner as part of an Exile reward, this is expected to be a season-long twist, not just a one-off appearance.

It’s currently unclear exactly how this concept will work or to what extent Rob and Sandra’s role is in the season. However, we don’t believe either returning player will be living at camp with the new castaways, at least not on a permanent basis. That would suggest the past champions are being kept separate from the cast and will only appear when called upon to give advice (perhaps as part of a reward or some sort of Exile twist).

We also don’t know how this will affect season 40 and the recently rumored “all-winners” theme. Does that mean Rob and Sandra are now out of the running for the clash of champions? Or will they be participating in both? With the fortieth season set to begin filming just a few weeks after season 39 wraps, it would mean almost three months spent in Fiji should the pair choose to do both.

Rob and Sandra are multiple time Survivor players who both made it to day 39 on two separate occasions; Sandra winning both Pearl Islands and Heroes vs. Villains, while Rob finished as runner-up in All-Stars before claiming victory on his fourth attempt in Redemption Island. The duo have also been former tribemates and allies as part of the Villains tribe on the legendary Heroes vs. Villains season.

Season 39 will air in fall 2019. Stay tuned to Inside Survivor for more information in the coming weeks.

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