James Van Der Beek had imagined a return of Dawson before his death
According to Kevin Williamson, creator of the cult series, the actor who died a few days ago had been working on an idea for a revival that he intended to write himself.
Before his sad premature death, James Van Der Beek had imagined a return of Dawson.
It was the creator of the cult series, Kevin Williamson, who revealed it in an interview with Esquire.
The director of Scream 7 says that the interpreter of Dawson Leery was not only up for a reboot… but ready to write it himself.
“James and I talked about reviving Dawson several times. He wanted to do it. There was even a point where he was going to write it. And besides, he had a really good idea. A wonderful plan.”
The project almost came to fruition around 2016, when The Vampire Diaries was still on the air. But the diaries filled up, and the idea became diluted. Williamson also recalls that the casting configuration had evolved: the character of Michelle Williams had disappeared, “four had become three.”
In spirit, this return would have borrowed the tone of This Is Us, then at the peak of its popularity. A bittersweet chronicle of the passage of time, the trajectories of life and the scars of the past. An adult version of Dawson, in short.
Despite James Van Der Beek’s enthusiasm, Kevin Williamson admits that he was “always reluctant to reopen the book. We did it. We finished it. In the last episode, we jumped five years. We went into the future. The last episode was already the sequel.” For him, the circle has come full circle.
