Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell broke her silence about if Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page are at risk of being recast.
“We are not interested in recasting the characters,” Brownell told Variety on Thursday, February 26. “I think it would feel like a disservice to everything Regé and Phoebe set up in season 1, and all the beautiful work they put into those characters.”
Brownell didn’t rule out an onscreen return for them.
“We would love to potentially have them back at some point, but I think, logistically, we want to make sure we bring them back when we have something really meaty for them,” she continued. “And to have them come back to say a line at a funeral [in season 4] and just prove that they were there, it wouldn’t feel right for many reasons.”
She concluded: “So I think in my mind, the camera doesn’t capture everything. They’re hypothetically there [this season] — it’s television. But we would love to find a time to bring everyone back at some point in the future.”
Bridgerton, which is based on the book series written by Julia Quinn, follows the members of the wealthy Bridgerton family as they search for love in 19th century London. Season 1 focused on Daphne Bridgerton’s (Dynevor) unexpected connection with Simon Basset (Page).
After the show premiered, viewers fell in love with Page, 38, and his character, which made his departure that much more shocking. Netflix announced in April 2021 that Page would not be reprising his role as the Duke of Hastings despite plans for Daphne to appear in future seasons.
That same month, Page noted that Simon had always been pitched to him as a condensed role, telling Variety, “It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end — give us a year. [I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit, and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”
Page stood by his decision even though fans have publicly voiced their disappointment about not getting to see more of Simon’s story. Season 2 still featured several appearances from Daphne, who was accompanied by her and Simon’s son, Auggie.
However, Dynevor, 30, later confirmed her own exit from the series, which didn’t appear to be her choice. “Sadly [I’m] not in season 3. Potentially in the future. But season 3, I’m just excited to watch as a viewer,” she told Screen Rant in January 2023 about not being called back to film.
Other former Bridgerton leads, including Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, also had very minimal screen time since their seasons came to an end.
Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.
