SPOILER ALERT! This article contains SPOILERS for ‘Heroes Reborn’.  Turn back now if you want to avoid knowing too much!

‘Heroes’ creator Tim Kring said that he is approaching the upcoming miniseries ‘Heroes Reborn’ not as an unproduced fifth season, created to wrap up any unanswered questions lingering from the cancellation of the original run.  Rather, ‘Reborn’ picks up in real time, five years after the last episode aired and the world is a very different place.

Kring said:

“Because we didn’t get to have that fifth season, I had in my mind that there was an unfinished [piece] of this. We now have the benefit of being five years later — and we’re starting the show … [that’s] how much time has passed. We’re saying the exact amount of time that [‘Heroes’ has] been off, is the amount of time the story moved… This is not the fifth season; we’re treating this as the 10th season — as if there were stories in between. I’d always wanted to tell the story of what happened in that time.”

Probably the biggest incident to take place before the kick off of ‘Reborn’ is a terrorist attack in Odessa, TX which sends those with powers into hiding.  Some of the original cast is returning… some aren’t.  Already revealed to be among the visiting alumni are Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet/H.R.G.), Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli), Masi Oka (Hiro), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder), Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman) and Jimmy Jean-Louis (the Haitian).  That leaves several of the show’s biggest names unaccounted for.

In reality, some absences were due to the actors having moved on to different projects, but one death was written into the show.

Guess they didn’t “Save the Cheerleader” after all.

Hayden Panettiere’s Claire Bennet’s death in the Odessa attack seems to be a catalyst for the events in ‘Reborn’.

Kring explains, “In the real world of the story, [Claire Bennet] died a year prior to our story starting.  That gets into some of the mythology that’s attached to the original show.”

Claire’s father, Noah, also known as H.R.G. (horn-rimmed glasses) becomes a focal character that will help new viewers become accustomed to this reality.

In addition to the returning characters, viewers will meet a new batch of normal and paranormal heroes and villains.  The major bad guy, Luke Collins, played by Zachary Levi will drive the story in a manner akin to Sylar/Zachary Quinto in the original series.  Also joining are Ryan Guzman (Carlos), Robbie Kay (Tommy), Danika Yarosh (Malina), Judith Shekoni (Joanne), Kiki Sukezane (Miko Otomo), Henry Zebrowski (Quentin Frady) and Gatlin Green (Emily).

‘Heroes Reborn’ kicks off with a two-hour special event on September 24th at 8pm on NBC.

Where will their journey take them, and viewers next?

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly