LeVar Burton Says 'No Comment' on 'Jeopardy!' Hosting Mess

LeVar Burton is by far the fan fave to take up the mantle on 'Jeopardy!' as Mike Richards takes a bow -- but he's pretty clammy these days when you bring up the topic ... which may or may not be telling, depending on how you read and hear this.

The 'Reading Rainbow' vet got approached by a pap Monday outside a STAPLES in the San Fernando Valley, and of course ... they asked him about all the 'Jeopardy!' drama, and whether he thought he should be given a shot to host the game show permanently.

Check out his response ... the dude is pretty firm here with his repeated "no comment" line -- so it's clear he's got zip to say about the sitch, despite most everyone else seeming to have an opinion (in his favor).

You could interpret this a couple ways -- he's either got something to lose (perhaps?) by running his mouth ... so he'd rather zip it instead of risk it. OR, he truly doesn't give a damn and just doesn't wanna talk about it ... 'cause he's over all the speculation and mind games.

Based on the online fanfare over his potential permanent hosting ... something tells us there may be something to that former theory -- namely, that LB could have something in the works with the 'Jeopardy!' powers that be ... especially considering how they did him dirty.

LeVar's guest-hosting stint was scheduled right up against the Olympics, and got poor ratings. There's no concrete reporting on how he might personally feel about that -- but his supporters were utterly outraged ... up to and including when Richards got tapped for day-to-day duties, only to be forced out amid controversy.