Sex and the City writer and director Michael Patrick King has "no realistic expectation" of Kim Cattrall joining the revival series And Just Like That...
The actress decided in 2017 that she didn't want to participate in a third Sex and the City film, which was ultimately scrapped, and was done playing her character Samantha Jones altogether. Her co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis recently reunited without her for the revival series, during which it was explained that Samantha had moved to London.
In an interview with Variety, King was asked if he ever expected her to come back and he replied, "No. Just like there was no thought that Kim would ever participate in And Just Like That, because she's said what she had said.
"The only place I participate in magical thinking is in fiction. You take people at their word, and you're a smart producer - you don't back yourself into a corner. Magically thinking, it's great to have Samantha. I have no realistic expectation of Kim Cattrall ever appearing again."
Samantha's absence was addressed at the start of the first episode and Parker's character Carrie occasionally exchanges texts with her throughout the series. King told the publication that he's happy with how Samantha is incorporated into the show.
"I love Samantha! I'm happy when she's in the show. It was important emotionally for everybody. Me and the fans; me and the viewer," he insisted.
He also admitted that he was disappointed when Cattrall pulled out of the third movie because he enjoys writing for Samantha.
"Kim didn't want to do the movie. Kim had finished playing Samantha, and despite conversations back and forth she just said, 'Yeah, I don't want to do this,'" he recalled. "It was disappointing at the time, because I had a good story and I love writing Samantha. You have to look at the reality of something: You can literally not make an actress play a part."
And Just Like That... concludes on Thursday. A second season hasn't been confirmed but both King and Parker are keen to make more episodes.
