Gentle reader, it saddens us greatly to share that former Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page has shut down rumors that he’s returning to the ton in the show’s upcoming third season. Page made the news Instagram official when he recently met up with fellow Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey.
"The boys are back in town," Page wrote in the caption of an image featuring him walking along a street with Bailey. "(No, I’m not going back to the show [by the way] — 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." He punctuated the statement with a coffee cup emoji.
Bridgerton fans have long hoped that Page would return to the role of the Duke of Hastings after his standout performance in the show’s freshman season. When The Sun reported that a return was imminent for Bridgerton season 3, the whispered hopes became a media storm. Clearly, though, the news was not to be.
The show follows the exploits of the Bridgerton family and is based on the bestselling Regency novels by Julia Quinn. Each book — and subsequently each season of the series — follows the story of one family member’s search for love. It’s easy to bring the family back together in the books, but having a whole cast available for brief appearances in the series is a whole other matter.
Showrunner Shonda Rhimes told Variety that the team tried to bring Page back for more, but he’d always planned to do one season. "Rightfully, he said, ‘I signed up to do this one lovely story, this closed-ended storyline. I’m good!’ And I don’t blame him for that. I think that he was really smart to leave the perfection as the perfection."
Bridgerton’s second season, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) explained the Duke’s absence by referring to his decision to stay home with the couple’s baby. The explanation was easy enough to digest, but there’s no question that the Duke’s presence will be missed as more of Phoebe’s siblings get married.
While Page effectively shut down rumors of his return to the show, it’s worth noting that he seems to have an open invitation to return to the ton if he so chooses. At the moment he’s been making movies, including the upcoming Netflix film The Gray Man and the fantasy film Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. Who knows, maybe we’ll see Page return to Bridgerton in a surprise cameo appearance at some point. Never say never, right?
