I know, I know, we’re all on pins and needles waiting for what happens next between Benedict and Sophie after his “offer” at the end of Bridgerton Season 4, Part 1. But, while we wait for Part 2 to come to pass on the 2026 TV schedule, it’s worth talking about recent comments from Bridgerton author Julia Quinn about the future of the actors playing the youngest siblings. Should Florence Hunt and Will Tilston, who’ve grown up on the series’ set for much of their lives, be recast before having their own seasons or get to stay on and lead their storylines?
Julia Quinn Shares Thoughts On Recasting Concerns Over Youngest Bridgerton Siblings
As you may or may not have noticed, the original actress who portrayed Francesca Bridgerton was recast last season. Hannah Dodd replaced Ruby Stokes, reportedly due to scheduling conflicts Stokes had with another series. Since Dodd is five years older, it raises questions about what’s going to happen with the next youngest Bridgerton actors. Here’s what the series’ author had to say on the subject:
[Showrunner] Jess [Brownell] has said the next two seasons will be either Eloise and then Francesca or Francesca and then Eloise, which makes sense. It takes a few years to film, so by the time we get to Hyacinth and Gregory, the actors are going to be well into their 20s. So I think it’ll probably be OK. Will it be weird that we knew them when they were 12? We see child stars grow up all the time.
Last year, Netflix officially renewed Bridgerton for two additional seasons, and per the author, adaptations for her books on Eloise and Francesca are in line next before we see stories centered on Hyacinth and Gregory (presumably in Seasons 7 and 8). With that in mind, she thinks Tilston and Hunt will probably have the chance to see their characters’ arcs fully play out. As she added to Us Weekly:
It’s funny because they were, like, 12 and 13 when they started. If you asked me that back then [about the same actors playing them as adults], I’d be like, ‘I don’t know.’ But when I saw them again at the premiere, they were both drinking wine. They’re both 18 now and Will was there with his girlfriend.
Hunt just turned 19 this past week, and Tilston turned 19 as well just last month. Given that each season of Bridgerton has come out around two years apart, those two will likely be in their early to mid-twenties by the time Netflix gets to their central storylines, as Quinn pointed out in her answer.
The Bridgerton Author Looks Ahead To Netflix Adapting The Last Two Books Of Her Series
With the previous points in mind, we definitely have some time before Netflix runs out of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton books. However, since we’re talking about Hyacinth and Gregory’s storylines (which would likely be in Season 7 and 8), she did have an interesting insight about writing their books in the new interview as well. In her words:
As a writer, it was hard to write those two books at first. I really had to let them grow up in my mind a bit and that was hard for both of them. I was really glad it took several years — but even so — I can’t remember how much time passed in the writing. I really had to let them grow up. It was tough.
Even for the writer, she had to change her own mindset on the youngest siblings in Bridgerton. So, surely as viewers we should be expected to, as well? Quinn’s book about Hyacinth is called It’s In His Kiss and revolves around her helping a lad translate a mysterious diary he inherited. The final Bridgerton book is called On The Way To The Wedding, and it’s about Gregory falling in love with his betrothed friend after already being in a courtship with another woman.
You can catch up on Bridgerton now with a Netflix subscription. The second half of Season 4 is set to premiere on Thursday, February 26.
