Regé-Jean Page left Bridgerton season two after a ‘disagreement with producers’

It has been reported that the reason Regé-Jean Page left the Bridgerton Netflix series is because he had a “disagreement with producers” over the future of his character, the Duke of Hastings.

Earlier this month it was announced that the show’s breakout star, who plays the Duke Simon Basset, wasn’t going to be appearing in the second series of the Netflix drama. One of the main reasons he is thought to have declined is so that he can focus on a career in film.

But now, it has reported that he had a disagreement with the producers of the show, and “refused” to come back. A Hollywood source told Page Six: “Regé is not coming back to Bridgerton because of creative differences with [executive producer] Shonda Rhimes and her team.

“He wasn’t happy with what was planned for his character for season two, which would have kept him a player but not the focal point of the show.”

via Netflix

They added that Regé-Jean Page has been swamped with offers since the end of the show, and said: “If you look at all the big names who have left [Rhimes’ hit show] Grey’s Anatomy in the past, you see you don’t disagree with Shonda, nobody is bigger than the show.”

The source concluded that Regé-Jean still left the show on good terms, despite “creative differences”.

After his leaving was announced, it was reported Regé-Jean Page was offered an opportunity to return as a guest star in three to five episodes of season two, but declined for “a multitude of reasons.” He was offered the gig at £50,000 an episode, so if he accepted the top offer of being in five, he would have been paid a quarter of a million pounds for his appearances.

Page recently finished filming new Netflix film The Gray Man, which is the most expensive feature film Netflix has ever produced. It also stars Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas. His next appearance will be Paramount’s Dungeons and Dragons.

It is believed that it was always the plan for the Duke of Hastings to only be in one season of the show, following the Julia Quinn novels the series is based on. However, sources say the production team at the show reached out to Page in January or February with an offer to return – after it was seen how popular he and the show had been.

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• Regé-Jean Page reportedly turned down £250k to be in Bridgerton season two

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• Four new characters have been added to the cast of Bridgerton season two