Regé-Jean Page Shuts Down Rumors He’s Returning to ‘Bridgerton’ for Season 3
The Duke of Hastings would like to issue a clarification. The rumors that Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon Basset in the first season of Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton, would return for season 3 are false. The actor recently took to social media to debunk a tabloid report that he’d be back for future episodes of the steamy period drama.
Regé-Jean Page says he’s ‘not going back’ to ‘Bridgerton’
Page stole plenty of hearts as the dashing duke in Briderton’s debut season. But the actor didn’t appear in season 2, which shifted the focus away from Simon’s relationship with Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dyvenor) to concentrate on the romance between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kata Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Though Page has moved on, some fans still hope he’ll show up again in a future season of Bridgerton. Unsurprisingly, a recent tabloid report that he was in talks to appear in season 3 caused a bit of a stir. That prompted Page to step in and clear the air.
On June 21, he took to Instagram to share a photo of himself strolling down the street with Bailey. “The boys are back in town,” he wrote.
He added: “(No, I’m not going back to the show btw – the papers made that one up.) But we had the best, and most stylish, catch up I’ve had in a while over some truly excellent Italian coffee and sunshine.”
An unnamed source claimed Page would play the Duke of Hastings again
Page appeared to be responding to a recent report in the British tabloid The Sun about his future in the popular Regency romance series. An unnamed source told the paper that “recently there has been a dialogue between him and the show’s bosses” about a possible return. “Nothing has been formally agreed yet, but watch this space.”
However, the actor has been clear that he never intended to stick with Bridgerton for the long term.
“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year,” he told Variety when discussing his early conversations with the show’s producers. “[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.”
While Page’s on-screen love interest Dyvenor was featured in Bridgerton Season 2, she took a backseat to Bailey and Ashley. The show’s third season will focus on the relationship between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).
What’s next for Regé-Jean Page?
With Bridgerton in his rearview mirror, Page is moving on to other projects. He’ll appear in Netflix’s upcoming thriller The Gray Man with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. It’s about a shadowy CIA operative (Gosling) on the run from his former colleague, a sociopathic agent played by Evans. Page plays the CIA’s head of clandestine services, he told IndieWire.
“There’s a lot of shadow and contrast to this character, it’s something that I don’t think people have seen a lot of from me specifically before, which was great fun for me to play with,” he said. “These people live in the shadows, you kind of gotta discover them in the movie.”
The Gray Man hits Netflix on July 22. Page will also have a lead role in the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie, which also stars Chris Pine. Plus, he’s set to star in a reboot of The Saint, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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