Did Regé-Jean Page bomb his movie star career by ditching Bridgerton?

Bridgerton heart-throb Regé-Jean Page quit the show at the peak of its popularity to pursue a film career – and it may have been a big mistake.

Regé-Jean Page left Bridgerton after one season.

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It’s insane to believe that once upon a time, Regé-Jean Page was considered the only major star who would break out of Bridgerton, but it’s true.

In the weeks following the show’s Christmas 2020 debut, Page was one of the hottest Hollywood commodities, nabbing an SNL hosting gig off of a single season of a Netflix show and entering the mix as a possible new James Bond.

Page, understandably, exited the Shondaland show that made him a star for good … and now, on the cusp of Bridgerton season three’s premiere, he looks like an absolute fool.

Regé-Jean Page quit Bridgerton for bigger and better things - but they’re yet to materialise. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty

The Bridgerton brand has never been bigger and it is lifting the careers of everyone still attached to its glittering romance. Jonathan Bailey — who did not immediately leave the series after his season two arc! — has just nabbed the lead role in a Jurassic World movie and is the heart-throb in this year’s big holiday blockbuster, Wicked: Part 1.

Nicola Coughlan has transformed from season one’s sweet sidekick to the show’s leading lady. Between promotion for Bridgerton and her passion project Big Mood, her face is ubiquitous on international newsstands and billboards, making her one of the most famous faces in the world. Page’s season one love interest, Phoebe Dynevor, did her due diligence returning for another season and now gets to hobnob with Prince William at the BAFTAs when she’s not reuniting with Bridgerton co-stars like Bailey and Simone Ashley for viral Met Gala red carpet moments.

Fashion events, awards shows, late night couches … these are the playgrounds of Bridgerton’s cast now and Regé-Jean Page is nowhere to be seen?

Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset in Bridgerton. Picture: Netflix

It wasn’t so long ago that folks wondered if Bridgerton could survive without Regé-Jean Page’s star power boosting its appeal. When Netflix announced on April 2, 2021 that Page was exiting the show, the fandom was apoplectic. Some fans swore they wouldn’t watch the show without Page’s handsome Duke of Hastings and noted celeb fan Kim Kardashian even chimed in with her shock and disappointment.

He played the love interest of Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor). Picture: Netflix

However, as Bridgerton season two proved, the Duke was not the show. Bridgerton is, by design, a sort of anthology-esque series, rotating leads in and out of the spotlight each season. Now, the Shondaland hit boasts a spin-off, a fervent global fanbase, and lines of soap products at both Bath & Body Works and Lush.

Bridgerton is big business in 2024, but, again: Where is Regé-Jean Page? What ever happened to the Duke?

Since leaving Bridgerton, Page has had a celebrated supporting turn in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, but neither that film, nor the poorly reviewed Netflix movie The Grey Man, have catapulted him to the heights he was promised. He’s no longer the frontrunner to play Bond, though he’s been attached to a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid series with Glen Powell and Paramount’s reboot of The Saint. It’s unclear where either project stands. So, who knows? His next big thing could be right around the corner.

He was rumoured to be in the running to play 007 at one point. Picture: Rich Fury/Getty Images

What’s strange about this whole situation is that Page has repeatedly taken pains to distance himself from Bridgerton. He not only has shrugged off suggestions of returning for a cameo, but also stated he’d be happy if Netflix recast his role. It’s as if Page believes being associated with the Regency romp is a career-killer, when it seems the reverse is true.

Do I think Regé-Jean Page will shock us all by returning to Bridgerton for a season four cameo? No. Nicola Coughlan actually shrugged the suggestion off when Andy Cohen pressed her about it earlier this spring on Watch What Happens Live.

The charming Coughlan politely demurred that Page was “like a movie star now,” as if slumming it on streaming would be beneath him. Meanwhile, Jonathan Bailey’s upcoming tab on IMDB shows us he’s got three massive movies and, oh, a cameo on the popular Netflix show Heartstopper coming up. You know, in addition to a polite return to Bridgerton season three, a show he’s been non-stop promoting to screaming crowds all week long.

Bridgerton has certainly survived without its original star, Regé-Jean Page, but has his career cratered without Bridgerton? Maybe it’s just merely stalled. After all, he was working the Oscar party circuit with, ahem, Bailey.

But you can’t help but think that had he kept the Bridgerton connection alive, people would be buzzing about him more in 2024.

Perhaps he doesn’t have to officially come back to Bridgerton so much as he should embrace the role it’s played in shaping not only his career, but modern pop culture.

Bridgerton isn’t a career killer; it’s one of the biggest and most beloved brands in the whole world.

This article originally appeared in Decider and was reproduced with permission.