Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey may be joining the cast of Heartstopper for season three, based on the brief appearance of an Instagram account for a character named “Jack Maddox” that has since gone private.
Multiple entertainment outlets spotted the account before the photos vanished from public view, noting that the bio for the account previously read “Scholar. Keyboardist. Racer. ‘Meditations on the Greek Complex’ is out now in all good bookshops.” The account also featured three photos of Bailey, two showing him holding a “trans rights are human rights” sign and one selfie of him with an e-book called 10 Things I Hate About Plato, authored by Jack Maddox.
As Screen Rant noted, Jack Maddox is likely inspired by Henry Maddox, a one-time side character in Lauren James and Alice Oseman’s 2021 mini-comic “The Ethics of Infatuation Dynamics,” set in Oseman’s Heartstopper graphic novel universe.
Maddox is a famous classicist on whom Charlie Spring, one half of Heartstopper’s central couple, has a “celebrity crush.” In the comic itself, Maddox’s Wikipedia page refers to him as an English scholar and former musician who presents history programs. Prior to his academic career, Maddox played keyboard in a “top 40 rock band,” and participated in the Dakar Rally (an offroad vehicle endurance event spanning multiple days). These details line up neatly with the Instagram bio for “Jack Maddox,” adding to the likelihood that Bailey was indeed cast in the role. Netflix has yet to confirm the casting.
In the comic on which the Netflix series is based, Charlie’s crush on the academic leads his boyfriend Nick to become insecure and jealous since he’s nothing like Maddox. (By the end of the comic though, Nick himself develops a slight celebrity crush of his own.) Considering that season two of Heartstopper ended on a somewhat uncertain note, with Charlie hesitating to send an “I love you” text to Nick, it will be interesting to see how that insecurity affects the boys’ relationship — if the subplot does indeed appear on the show.
Season three of Heartstopper is set to come out as early as summer 2024, with a release date yet to be specified.
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