Remember that “big career” Regé-Jean Page couldn’t have possibly balanced alongside Bridgerton back in 2020? Me neither. After the skyrocketing success of Bridgerton’s first season in 2020, it looked as though Regé would be the next it-boy of the internet. But the Netflix star announced shortly after the release that he would not be staying for a second season.

Regé told Vanity Fair in an interview last year: “I signed up to do a job and I did the job and then I did some other jobs. That’s it. That’s the story,” and claimed to be booked and busy.

So, where is this huge success that he set out to achieve four years ago? A source told Life&Style that his plans to jump ship and star in movies didn’t quite work out: “Regé had an amazing lucky break in Bridgerton four years ago and made the smart decision to jump off of that show to cash in and make movie money, but to say it hasn’t quite worked out as planned is a massive understatement.”

Bridgerton viewers were shocked when Regé ann0unced he would not be returning for Bridgerton season two, despite being offered to come back. The source explained that he wanted to explore other opportunities outside the show and went on to appear in Netflix’s The Gray Man, to mixed reviews. He also starred in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves last year, but nothing was nearly as successful as his role as the Duke of Hastings.

The source pointed out: “The movies were duds, and the damage was done, and nobody cares that it’s not Regé’s fault.

“Fast forward to two years later and Regé is still recovering from Dungeons & Dragons and The Gray Man’s underwhelming [success] and the Bond talk has totally evaporated.”

Cutting him a bit of slack, it was pointed out that the flop of these films wasn’t his fault, but has still damaged his career nonetheless: “When you parse the moves Regé made, it’s hard to blame him for being drawn to a brand name like D&D or billion dollar directors like the Russo Brothers who made Gray Man.”

The scoop revealed that Rene is now exercising damage control, saying: “He’s in rebuilding mode and now finds himself in the unfortunate position of keeping his fingers crossed for a Dungeons & Dragons sequel that Paramount has thus far hesitated to pull the trigger on. He needs a new franchise, and another fresh start, and he needs it yesterday!”

Phoebe Dyvenor, who plays Daphne Bridgerton, has also confirmed she would not return for season three, but hinted at making a comeback “potentially in the future” in an interview with Screen Rant.

But for all of us big fans of the Duke, all hope of seeing him in the ton once again may not be lost. In a 2022 interview with GQ, Rene did in fact hint at a potential future cameo on the show, saying: “Isn’t there something wonderful about being surprised by what you weren’t suspecting?”. Let’s hope that he makes a surprise appearance in season three’s second part, which is due to be released on Thursday 13th June.