All the Times ‘Bridgerton’ Addressed the Duke of Hastings After Rege-Jean Page’s Departure
usmagazine.comAlways on our minds! Regé-Jean Page‘s absence as Simon Basset was felt during season 2 of Bridgerton — but it wasn’t mentioned.Page’s disappearance as the Duke of Hastings seemed to be treated as if he wasn’t meant to appear in the sophomore season to begin with.
Instead, his on screen love interest, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), filled the void and offered a glimpse at the couple’s son, Augie.The For the People alum shocked Bridgerton fans when he announced that he wouldn’t be returning for future story lines, but then confirmed he never intended to do season 2.“It’s a one-season arc.
It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year,” he told Variety in April 2021, referring to the conversations he had with the producers when the show began. “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.”At the time, producer Shonda Rhimes revealed that she was shocked by the online disappointment in response to Page’s decision.“I don’t think I fully expected or understood what releasing all eight episodes around the globe at once was going to do,” Rhimes shared during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in May 2021. “I was like, ‘I’ve killed many a man that people adore.’ I’m so surprised that everybody is [losing it over a character we’ve watched] for eight episodes leaving.”Dynevor, for her part, noted that there was room to mention the Duke of Hastings even without him appearing on screen. “I think he’ll definitely be referred to a lot.
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