Are Original 'Gossip Girl' Stars in the New Show? What They Said

The new Gossip Girl is coming to HBO Max, but will any of the original stars be making an appearance? Some of the CW alums have spoken out about the reimagined series and whether there are plans for them to come back!

For six seasons, from 2007 until 2012, Gossip Girl was the teen series to watch. Starring Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen and Kristen Bell as the voice of Gossip Girl, the series followed New York City’s Upper East Side’s elite high schoolers and the anonymous blogger — aptly named Gossip Girl — who blasted their every move online. Throughout the episodes, it was a race to find out the identity of the mysterious Gossip Girl, who was eventually unmasked as Dan Humphrey (played by Penn).

Just when it seemed like Gossip Girl was set and done, with the series only being binge-watched on various streaming services, showrunner Joshua Safran announced plans for a reboot. Although, he’s not calling it that. “A) The cast aren’t playing the original characters B) It exists in the same world as the original C) The same creators and one of the original writers are making it D) No one involved with it is calling it a reboot,” he shared via Instagram Stories on November 2020. Now, the show is just being referred to as the new Gossip Girl.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the old and new show is the shift of the social media era. Rather than a blog, Gossip Girl will be an Instagram account, making the lives of the Upper East Siders even more accessible than before. When comparing the two series, star Whitney Peak, who’s playing Zoya Lott, also told Dazed that “there’s a lot of representation” this time around.

Despite the new cast of characters, are any original stars set to show up in NYC?

“I think of it like the Marvel universe. It’s not a continuation or a sequel. It truly just is looking at a different angle,” Joshua explained during a December 2019 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “Well, we talk about what happened to Dan [Humphrey], so I might have to text Penn and see if he’s really available … I would love for everyone to come back if they wanted to. The universe still exists. The characters talk about Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan.”

While the first part of the inaugural season came to an end in August 2021, Joshua promised to The Wrap that there will be more “cameos from original cast members” in part two, which is set to premiere in November 2021.

Scroll through our gallery to see what the original Gossip Girl stars have said about returning.

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Kristen Bell

The actress is reprising her role for the new series!

“We went up to her and she was like, ‘Of course I want to do it.’ And then, yeah, there’s no Gossip Girl without Kristen,” Joshua told Entertainment Tonight in July 2021. “I mean, it’s not just the voice, it’s her whole being. Her soul comes through her voice and you just feel like you’re in the show. Without her, whenever there’s like, a temp, it doesn’t feel like the show, and then when you hear her voice, then you’re like, ‘There it is.'”

Leighton Meester

“I was not asked to be on it, so no,” the actress revealed on Good Morning America in August 2019. Years later, she said “never say never” when asked about joining the show.

“I don’t know maybe,” she told Fox 5 New York in March 2021. “I will say, you know … I’ve watched the new one, I do think it’s really awesome.”

Ed Westwick

Fans thought the actor was hinting at returning in April 2020 when he shared an Instagram photo of the OG cast alongside a caption that read, “What a time, would I still look good in the limo?” That same month, Ed chatted with Distractify that bringing back the show is “exciting.”

“Why shouldn’t it live on? It will be different and that’s cool,” he added. “I look back on those years with growing fondness each time. Man, what a ride.”

Katie Cassidy

The actress, who played Juliet Sharp, gave E! News some advice for the cast. “Watch out for paparazzi when you’re shooting exteriors in NYC,” the Arrow star shared. “Who knows, maybe I’ll direct an episode for Gossip Girl 2.0 or maybe we will see Juliet Sharp back in the Upper East Side.”

Michelle Trachtenberg

The actress is set to reprise her role as Georgina Sparks. Her character’s son, Milo Sparks, also showed up in the new series.

“I would die to have Michelle on the show, but we made the decision — and I fully support the decision — to let the audience get to know the new characters before hopefully bringing some people back,” Joshua told TVLine in July 2021. “So we thought of who we could bring back without making the audience feel like they were missing out if they didn’t get a whole episode about them.”

Zuzanna Szadkowski

Dorota is back! The actress made her return in a season 2 episode of the new Gossip Girl, much to the surprise of fans.

“I was so excited to work on the show with this extraordinary cast,” she told E! News. “When [executive producer] Josh Safran asked me to come back, I jumped at it. I’ve missed Dorota a lot. It was very Gossip Girl to try to keep it a secret!”