Celebrity News April 07, 2021
Why Regé-Jean Page Really Left ‘Bridgerton’ After 1 Season
Netflix
It was recently announced that Regé-Jean Page would not be returning as the Duke of Hastings on the second season of “Bridgerton.”
Netflix and Shondaland shared on social media, “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. We’ll miss Simon’s presence onscreen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family. 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.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Page was offered $50,000 per episode as a guest star in three to five episodes of the second season, but he declined.
Page recently told Variety why he won’t be part of the second season, saying, “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.”
“One of the things that is different about this [romance] genre is that the audience knows the arc completes. They come in knowing that, so you can tie people in emotional knots because they have that reassurance that we’re going to come out and we’re going to have the marriage and the baby,” Regé-Jean emphasized. “I have nothing but excitement for ‘Bridgerton’ continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe. But there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing.”
Page was approached for the role after he finished filming “For the People.”
Rumors have been swirling that Page could be the next James Bond, taking over for Daniel Craig. He recently addressed the rumors, telling The Mirror UK, “Ah, the B word. I think that if you are British and you do anything of note, that other people take notice of, then people will start talking about that.”
He added, “I think that's fairly normal and I'm flattered to be in the category of Brits that people have noticed. Nothing more — or less — than that.”
Regé-Jean is a busy man these days: he just wrapped filming on “The Gray Man,” opposite Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas, and he’ll be starring in the big-budget movie “Dungeons & Dragons,” opposite Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith.
