Nathan Fillion’s The Rookie Gets Epic Remake In New Fan Film

Published Aug 12, 2026, 7:02 PM EDT Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV. The Rookie season 9 may not be hitting the air for several months, but the show's received an epic new look thanks to a fan remake of one of John Nolan's (Nathan Fillion) most iconic scenes. In a video shared on Threads by animator Trevor Carlee, an animated Lego version of Nolan gets to see the iconic debut of his very own anthem all over again. Posted on August 12, Carlee shared the scene from The Rookie season 5 episode 13, "Daddy Cop", reimagined in a whole new way. "I suppose this was inevitable," the artist shared, along with the video and a quick reminder that it's all done without the use of AI. The video, which depicts the scene where Nolan and Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) stumble upon Rodge's (Zander Hawley) band playing in their garage and quickly realize that the music they're hearing might actually be about them, is an incredible feat of artistry. Depicting every move and expression that the live-action scene does and then some, the epic fan remake of the iconic scene makes it clear that even in the off-season, The Rookie is beloved. The audio, which overlays directly from the episode, even includes the show's now-anthem from its original first airing. With The Rookie season 9 still months away, seeing the scene recreated in a whole new way is definitely a way to tide fans over as they wait for news about what's to come next season. While the cast has been hard at work getting started in the filming process, the team behind The Rookie has been quieter than they have in the past. With The Rookie season 8's big cliffhanger, which saw Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neil) abducted just moments after getting engaged, the season's opener will be an intense rescue mission. The Rookie is moving into an exciting time as a franchise, with the flagship series returning for its ninth season and its newest spinoff, The Rookie: North, coming to ABC in the 2027 mid-season as well. Led by Jay Ellis, the new spinoff will see another rookie starting off after coming to a crossroads in his personal life, this time in the pacific north-west. With the integration of The Rookie cast to lead into the new series, The Rookie: North will be the franchise's second attempt at a spinoff following 2022's Niecy Nash-Betts led The Rookie: Feds. As viewers wait for The Rookie's return in 2027, seeing fan created art that depicts classic scenes from the series is a great way to keep the show top of mind. Release Date October 16, 2018 Network ABC Showrunner Alexi Hawley Directors Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro Writers Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff Creator(s) Alexi Hawley