BRIDGERTON SEASON 5 BOMBSHELL: THE DUKE’S RETURN IS FINALLY HAPPENING? 😳

New rumors surrounding Bridgerton Season 5 suggest that Simon Basset, the beloved Duke of Hastings played by Regé-Jean Page, could be making a long-awaited comeback.

After years of speculation and fan theories, this latest update has reignited excitement across the fandom — but one surprising detail about how the Duke might return is what has everyone talking.

👇👇 See why fans think his return may finally be confirmed…

Regé-Jean Page Addresses Fan Speculation He Could Return to Bridgerton After Season 1 Exit

Showrunner Jess Brownell previously told PEOPLE that, while she hasn’t talked to Page about returning, she has “ideas” about bringing his character back

Rege-Jean Page attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards (left); Rege-Jean Page in “Bridgerton” season 1 (right).Credit : 

Leon Bennett/Getty; LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX

NEED TO KNOW

Regé-Jean Page led Bridgerton season 1 as the Duke of Hastings alongside Phoebe Dynevor’s Daphne but exited before season 2
During a red carpet appearance at Essence‘s Black Women in Hollywood event on March 14, the actor was asked if he’d ever consider reprising the role
Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell previously told PEOPLE she hasn’t talked to Page about him returning but has “ideas” about bringing him back

Regé-Jean Page has been made aware of the call for his return as the Duke of Hastings.

The actor, 38, had a career-launching lead role in Bridgerton season 1 alongside Phoebe Dynevor but exited the Netflix series after and has never returned in the following three seasons.

Over the weekend, Page was asked whether he’d consider returning to the hit regency-era series.

“Okay, now listen, I don’t know if you’re on the internet, but a lot of people are saying we need you back on Bridgerton,” red carpet host Leah Henry asked Page at Essence‘s Black Women in Hollywood event on Saturday, March 14. “Is there a chance you would ever return?”

“You know, it’s funny you say that, because I’m not on the internet,” Page replied with a laugh.

Rege-Jean Page as Simon Basset and Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton in “Bridgerton” season 1.LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX

The interviewer doubled down on the question, though, and said fans “need” Page back, to which he said, “I’m gonna have to take your word for it.”

When she asked one final time — “Okay, well, maybe we’ll see you again?” — he again avoided the question and just said, “Thank you very much.”

Page said starring in Bridgerton season 1 was “the ride of a lifetime” in a 2021 Instagram post confirming his exit. “It’s been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be your Duke,” he wrote. “It’s all been beyond anything I could have imagined. The love is real and will just keep growing.”

Dynevor, 30, meanwhile, returned for season 2 of Bridgerton as Daphne but was absent from both seasons 3 and 4. Explaining her season 3 absence, she told Screen Rant she was “just excited to watch as a viewer” and expressed her hope to return “in the future.”

For season 4, though, Dynevor said she was “waiting for [a] call” to return, but Netflix had “not called me yet.”

While You, Me & Tuscany actor Page is avoiding any real answer about a possible return to Bridgerton, showrunner Jess Brownell told PEOPLE earlier this month that she has hopes of bringing him back — and Dynevor.

“I would love to one day have all of the leads come back,” she said. She has her eye on the later seasons of the show in particular. “I think it would be really meaningful, especially when I think forward to Hyacinth and Gregory’s story.”

“Daphne and Anthony, and their partners, are such paternal/maternal figures for those younger kids,” she said. “So I would be very interested in trying to get some of those previous leads back for the later run of the show.”

Rege-Jean Page as Simon Basset in “Bridgerton” season 1.LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX

As for her hopes for a return for Page, Dynevor and Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley’s characters, Brownell confirmed that she hasn’t made any official moves on any of it.

“I haven’t spoken to Regé about [him returning]. The conversations haven’t happened,” she said. “But the ideas are there.”

All four seasons of Bridgerton are streaming on Netflix.