It’s been almost six months since And Just Like That… took to our screens, and there’s still a Samantha Jones-shaped hole in our hearts.
Since the Sex And The City reboot was announced, it was made abundantly clear that Kim Cattrall wouldn’t be returning to reprise her role as the sex-positive PR agent. And while most fans believed the rumours to be heresy, when the first season aired and Samantha only made an appearance via text message, a SATC future with Cattrall was diminished. Now, we know why.
In a new interview with Variety, Cattrall opened up about how she found the strength to say “no” to participating in the franchise, starting from the rumour of a third Sex And The City movie.
“I was never asked to be part of the reboot. I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did — on social media,” Cattrall told the publication.
And while the rumoured third SATC movie was the final straw for Cattrall, the thought of returning for the And Just Like That… television reboot was just as off-putting.
Calling the reboot series “basically the third movie” that was never made, she explained how she felt like Samantha’s character wasn’t progressing. Why? Well, it was reported that in the third film, Samantha would have received unwanted “d–k pics” from Miranda’s 14-year-old son, Brady Hobbes.
“The series is basically the third movie. That’s how creative it was,” she said.
“Why can’t Samantha, who owns her p.r. company—maybe she had to sell it because of financial woes? Two-thousand eight was tough. Some people are still recovering,” she continued, explaining how the original storyline could have been improved.
“She had to sell it to some guy who’s wearing a hoodie, and that’s the dilemma she has. I mean that’s a scenario that was kind of off the top of one of my reps’ heads, and I thought, ‘That’s a great idea’.”
Back in 1998, the actress skyrocketed to fame after playing publicist Samantha Jones. However, after six seasons and two films in the famous role, her announcement to tap out of the franchise left fans shocked.
However, even if she had been asked back for And Just Like That…, her answer wouldn’t have changed.
“Everything in me went, ‘I’m done’,” she said, remembering the end of the second movie. “That’s a ‘no’. It’s powerful to say ‘no’. It’s a great wisdom to know when enough is enough,” Cattrall said. “I also didn’t want to compromise what the show was to me. The way forward seemed clear.”
“I’ve come to the conclusion that really the greatest compliment I could have as an actor is to be missed,” she added, confirming that she is yet to watch the series’ revival.
While her decision to leave the SATC universe was “heartbreaking”, she also revealed that her choice was everything she had “wished for”, since she wanted the chance to play other roles, instead of just Samantha Jones.
“And as difficult as it was, and as scary as it is to stand up and not be bullied by the press or the fans or whomever—to just say, ‘I’m good. I’m on this track. It was so great working with you. I so enjoyed it, but I’m over here’,” she said.
But while Cattrall was never physically on the reboot’s set, her character seemed to have lived on and in London, no less. In several text message exchanges (and one heartbreaking flower delivery), Samantha and Carrie’s friendship was slowly patched back up again—and naturally, Cattrall found the revival of her character without her rather strange.
“It’s odd, isn’t it? I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s so finite for me, so it doesn’t continue,” she admitted.
“I think I would ponder it more if I didn’t have something like Queer as Folk or How I Met Your Father, ” she said, adding, “That’s kind of where I’m centred around. This feels like an echo of the past”.
She continued, “I haven’t deserted anybody. Can you imagine going back to a job you did 25 years ago? And the job didn’t get easier; it got more complicated in the sense of how are you going to progress with these characters?”
“Everything has to grow, or it dies. I felt that when the series ended, I thought that’s smart. We’re not repeating ourselves.”
Back when the original show was casting, Cattrall apparently chose to turn down the role three times before she came on board.
“At 42, I really didn’t think I could pull it off. I finally said, ‘You’re making a mistake here’,” she admitted.
And now, the 65-year-old actor has earned roles on How I Met Your Mother and Queer As Folk, and this time, she’s bidding adieu to the risqué scenes because she just “doesn’t want to” anymore.
“I’m in great shape. But I’m just not interested. I feel like I filled my quota on that one,” she said.
While diehard Sex And The City fans certainly missed (and yearned for) Cattrall’s iconic role as Samantha Jones, we have nothing but respect for her decision to do what’s best for her.
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