Hold on to your dance cards!Regé-Jean Pagewill not return forBridgertonSeason 2. In an announcement posted bytheBridgertonTwitteraccount, none other than Lady Whistledown herself (the fictional gossip hound whose weekly columns are a regular source of drama) confirmed that Page’s character Simon, Duke of Hastings, will not appear in the upcoming season of Shondaland’s hit Netflix show.
“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.”
Per the announcement, it seems the Duke will continue to live on in off-screen marital bliss withPhoebe Dynevor’s Daphne Bridgerton. Dynevor will return in Season 2, which adapts the second book fromJulia Quinn’sBridgertonseries,The Viscount Who Loved Me. That Viscount is none other than Anthony Bridgerton (JonathanBailey), Daphne’s rakish eldest brother, who had seemingly sworn off love by the end of Season 1. His romantic foil, a headstrong newcomer toBridgerton’s high society London, will be played bySex Education’sSimoneAshley. Page and Dynevor’s chemistry is a hard act to follow, but Bailey and Ashley sure seem like an exciting pairing.
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While this will certainly disappoint fans of Simon and Daphne, it hardly comes as a surprise. Page was only contracted for the first season, which adapted the first book of Quinn’sBridgertonseries,The Duke And I. Moreover, Page has a number of exciting projects already lined up, includingParamount’s upcomingDungeons & Dragons, and theRusso Brothers’The Gray Man, the latter of which is expected to premiere on Netflix next year.
BridgertonSeason 2 was confirmedback in January, with plans to start filming this spring. That likely means fans will have to wait until next year to dig into the further adventures of theBridgertonsiblings. The good news is, that’s not all we have to look forward to — betweenDungeons & DragonsandThe Gray Man, we’ll soon have plenty of other places to look for Page’s signature charm and megawatt smile. Page’s departure mayleave some of our burning questions unanswered, but what wouldBridgertonbe without leaving some desires frustratingly unsatisfied?
Check out Lady Whistledown’s announcement below. There aren’t confirmed release dates forBridgertonSeason 2 or any of Page’s upcoming projects, so be sure to stay tuned for updates on both.
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