Calista Flockhart has, allegedly, been wanting to appear in an Ally McBeal reunion, but her plans have not materialized because of her co-star, Portia de Rossi.
According to New Idea, Portia de Rossi has been showing little to no interest in appearing in the revival.
Did Portia de Rossi quit acting years ago?
Three years ago, de Rossi said that she has decided to quit acting and has no plans to return ever.
However, the tabloid’s source claimed that de Rossi’s decision to not appear in an Ally McBeal revival isn’t entirely her own.
Ellen DeGeneres banned Portia de Rossi from starring in a revival
After all, her wife Ellen DeGeneres has a say on every single thing that she can and cannot do.
“Portia’s team have had the pitch since April. Calista’s had enough. She wants to get things moving and is willing to beg Ellen to let Portia do this,” the source said.
Rumors debunked
However, one should take the tabloid’s claims with a grain of salt.
First, there’s still no confirmation that an Ally McBeal revival is happening anytime soon.
And if it is, the project could go on even without de Rossi.
If DeGeneres’ wife doesn’t want to reprise her role, the creators behind the show could think of ways how to write her out of the revival.
Sex and the City reboot details
This isn’t the first time that writers and creators had to work around one character not returning to a revival.
A similar thing happened with Sex and the City and former cast member Kim Cattrall.
Since the actress refused to reprise her role as Samantha, the reboot moved forward with just three of the four main characters.
It is also not true that DeGeneres is the real reason why de Rossi has been refusing to appear in an Ally McBeal revival. After all, the comedian doesn’t have any say on the matter because she also has a lot of projects lined up.
If de Rossi wanted to star in the revival, this decision will be entirely hers. And if she doesn’t want to reprise her role, then this decision is on her also.
‘Ally McBeal’ revival in development starring Calista Flockhart
Earlier this year, TV Line also confirmed that the Ally McBeal revival is already in development. And Flockhart will reprise her role.
However, a network streamer has not yet been attached to the project. And it’s also unclear if Portia de Rossi and her other co-stars will return.
Images used courtesy of Pulicciano, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons and Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart at the 2009 Deauville American Film Festival-01.jpg: Mireille Ampilhacderivative work: Caspian blue, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons