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Nathan Fillion has appeared in two beloved ABC shows — Castle and The Rookie. Castle aired for eight seasons on the network and ended in 2016. The Rookie premiered in 2018 and is in the middle of airing its fifth season. And Fillion (and The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley, a producer and showrunner on Castle) is dedicated to paying homage to his previous show in his new one. Unfortunately, fans shouldn’t anticipate one Castle star to appear in The Rookie.

Nathan Fillion, who currently stars in the ABC show 'The Rookie,' shares a scene with Stana Katic in 'Castle.' Their characters, Castle and Beckett, embrace in the photo. Castle wears a gray tweed coat. And Beckett wears a black jacket.
Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle and Stana Katic as Kate Beckett | Photo by Byron Cohen/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic starred in ‘Castle’

One of the main reasons Castle was so popular during its heyday was because of the “will they/won’t they” slow-burn relationship between Richard Castle and Kate Beckett, played by Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic.

Of course, everyone also loved the other side characters, especially Jon Huertas’ Javier Esposito and Seamus Dever’s Kevin Ryan. But fans tuned in every night to see if Castle and Beckett would finally admit their feelings for one another.

Spoiler alert — Castle and Beckett shared their first (real) kiss during the season 4 finale and officially got together in season 5. They were married in season 7, and a flash-forward in the series finale revealed that Castle and Beckett have three kids.

Stana Katic likely won’t appear in Fillion’s ABC show ‘The Rookie’

Although Stana Katic was one of the two stars in Castle, it’s unlikely that she will reunite with her former coworkers for an episode of Nathan Fillion’s current show, The Rookie.

Castle ended on a sour note when ABC, claiming budgetary reasons, announced in April 2016 that Katic and Tamala Jones, who played Dr. Lanie Parrish, wouldn’t return for season 9 if the network chose to renew it. Many fans were (understandably) outraged, especially since Katic was one of the faces of the show. And just one month later, ABC canceled Castle, and its series finale aired a few days later.

Rumors began to swirl that Katic’s forced exit resulted from tension between her and Fillion. According to Hello!, insiders claimed that the two actors despised each other and wouldn’t speak. And one source reported that Katic and Fillion attended therapy to settle their conflict.

The two actors haven’t confirmed their rumored feud. But Katic touched upon her reaction to essentially getting fired from Castle during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2018.

“I’m actually still not clear on the thought process behind the way that it went down. It hurt, and it was a harsh ending, but now, nearly two years later…” Katic shared. “I met so many beautiful people on that project. And we collaborated on something really unique in that it’s not every day that you get a show, or a series, that has eight seasons and that it was a hit for the network.”

Katic expressed her gratitude for Castle and everyone who worked on the show, but that doesn’t mean she’ll appear in The Rookie. If there is any truth to the rumors about Katic and Fillion’s relationship, fans shouldn’t hold out hope for a Castle and Beckett reunion in The Rookie.

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Which ‘Castle’ actors have guest starred in ‘The Rookie’?

Although fans shouldn’t hold out hope that Stana Katic will appear in The Rookie, a few other Castle actors have guest starred in the ABC show.

Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever were in The Rookie Season 2 Episode 3. Huertas has also directed two episodes. Molly Quinn, who played Castle’s daughter Alexis in Castle, guest-starred as Oscar Hutchinson’s daughter in two episodes. And Tamala Jones plays Aaron Thorsen’s mother in The Rookie.

The Rookie Season 5 returns on Tuesday, April 18, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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