Heartstopper shares new casting update for series three
Heartstopper has just added to their series three cast. (Netflix/Instagram/@aliceoseman)
Fans who can hardly hold it together in anticipation of Heartstopper series three have just been treated to an exciting update from Alice Oseman.
The author of the original Heartstopper graphic novels took to social media on Monday (27 November) to announce that she and the Netflix crew had officially cast their Michael Holden.
Michael Holden appears as a main character in Alice Oseman’s novel Solitaire, which exists in the same universe as Heartstopper.
Although Oseman noted that many hardcore Heartstopper stans had already figured it out, the author announced that Michael Holden will be played by half-Irish, half-Jamaican actor Darragh Hand.
“Now some of you already figured this out, but for those who didn’t, we’re thrilled to be welcoming Darragh Hand as Michael Holden to the Heartstopper family for S3!”, she wrote in a post to Instagram.
“As well as appearing in the Heartstopper graphic novels, Michael – along with Tori – is one of the main characters of my first-ever novel, ‘Solitaire’.”
“So I was very nervous and excited to begin the search for our Michael!”
“Michael is a quirky, eccentric optimist with a sunshine disposition, and it was a challenge to find someone who I felt truly channeled Michael from the books.
‘But then Darragh came along and warmed our hearts, made us all laugh so much, and perfectly complimented Jenny Walser’s Tori spring. I can’t wait for you to meet Michael in season 3!”
Tori Spring, played by Jenny Walser in the Netflix series, is the older sister of Heartstopper main character Charlie Spring, played by Joe Locke.
Not much else is known about the third series of Heartstopper as of yet, with all aspects of production remaining well under wraps.
All that fans have to go off, for now, is returning cast members Yasmin Finney, William Gao, Tobie Donovan, Imogen Heaney, Tara Jones, and Darcy Olsson, and the title of the first episode: “Love”.
There has been heavy speculation that that episode title could be a nod to series two’s cliffhanger, in which Nick (Kit Connor) declared that he “loves” Charlie’s hair, loves his eyes, and loves… before trailing off.
Later in the episode, as he headed off from Nick’s house, Charlie wrote out a message saying “I love you” before pausing over the ‘send’ button – but the season ended on a cliffhanger, cutting away before fans could learn whether or not he had sent it.
Oseman has also revealed that series three will focus a lot on mental health, which would continue on from Charlie’s season two admission to Nick that he is suffering from an eating disorder, in one of the most emotionally devastating scenes of the series so far.
Aside from that, fans will just have to sit tight until 2024 for the long-awaited series three to drop.
Series one and two of Heartstopper are streaming on Netflix now.
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