Why Regé-Jean Page Is Not Returning to Bridgerton
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The second season of Bridgerton was always intended to center around Viscount Anthony Bridgerton's love story, shifting the focus away from Daphne and the Duke, who found their happily ever after in season one. That said, most fans were still expecting actors Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page to reprise their roles as supporting characters in the show's second chapter. But, Netflix and Shondaland have confirmed that Page will not return for season two.
“Dear Readers, while all eyes turn to Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s quest to find a Viscountess, we bid adieu to Regé-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings,” reads a message from Lady Whistledown on the official Bridgerton Instagram account.
“We’ll miss Simon’s presence onscreen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family,” it continued, clarifying that Dynevor will play a role in season two. “Daphne will remain a devoted wife and sister, helping her brother navigate the upcoming social season and what it has to offer—more intrigue and romance than my readers may be able to bear.”
The Shondaland Instagram account shared the same letter, adding the note: "Your Grace, it has been a pleasure." And Shonda Rhimes, who serves as executive producer on the series, further commented on Twitter: "Remember: the Duke is never gone. He’s just waiting to be binge watched all over again."
Remember: the Duke is never gone. He’s just waiting to be binge watched all over again. #ShondalandMenOnNetflixAreForever pic.twitter.com/e4fAhuKSku
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) April 2, 2021
Page spoke with Variety exclusively about why the "short-term commitment" of Bridgerton appealed to him.
“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year,” Page said. “[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.”
“I have nothing but excitement for ‘Bridgerton’ continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe,” he continued. “But there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing.”
More recently, Shonda Rhimes weighed in on Page's exit from the series. “Rightfully, he said, ‘I signed up to do this one lovely story, this closed-ended storyline. I’m good!'” she told Variety. “And I don’t blame him for that. I think that he was really smart to leave the perfection as the perfection.”
But she did find the reaction to his departure a bit surprising. “I don’t think I expected everybody to have such a reaction to it,” she told Variety. “My assumption of what people knew of romance novels was … I overestimated a great deal.”
And while Page has teased the possibility for a potential cameo in future seasons, unfortunately for some fans, Rhimes has said she doesn't think he will return to the series. "Here’s why," she said. "He’s an enormous star now. As I like to say, the idea that we would write Regé to stand around in the background doesn’t make any sense at all to me. What would he do? is what I like to say."
That said, Dynevor's Daphne will appear in the show's second season. "Daphne remains a vital part of our story. She's now a devoted wife and, of course, still a loyal sister to her seven siblings," show creator Chris Van Dusen told EW. "It's a bit of a reverse of their season 1 dynamic, in terms of Anthony sticking his nose in Daphne's business. Now Daphne gets to stick her nose in his."
"She's running the family because she's the one who's settled now," Dynevor added. "She is the rock of the siblings in this season, which is quite nice to play. Daphne's leading the way in terms of knowing what love is, what it means, and what marriage means, and she's trying to pass on that knowledge to Anthony."
Season two of Bridgerton comes out in March, and will be based on Julia Quinn's novel The Viscount Who Loved Me. Shop her full series below:
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