As Bridgerton gears up to follow Colin and Penelope’s romance in season 3, some fans are already thinking ahead to the next love story.
Netflix dropped a flurry of new season 3 stills on Monday, April 15, which seemingly left breadcrumbs about Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) future. In the promo footage, Benedict is seen playing cards, seated in a society club and speaking with a blonde woman at a ball.
“Benedict looking like the leading man more than the actual s3 leading man is crazy. Yall should have kept Benedict at s3,” one fan wrote via X.
Another added of the mystery blonde, “Y’all this is Benedict’s Siena I fear… They giving him the person before the season just like they did with Anthony lol.”
During Bridgerton season 1, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) had a no-strings relationship with opera singer Siena (Sabrina Bartlett) but wasn’t willing to take their romance public because of their societal differences. He ended the season brokenhearted after Siena moved on. When Bridgerton returned for season 2, Anthony intended to get married, finding his viscountess in Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Benedict has also had his fair share of dalliances throughout the first two seasons, including a fling with modiste Madame Genevieve Delacroix (Kathryn Drysdale). Some social media users theorized that Delacroix and the unidentified blonde could be Benedict’s last flings before getting serious about finding true love.
Other fans noticed that the promo footage featured several photos of Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) and her family.
“Too much Cowper family content. SOPHIE BECKETT IS COMING,” a third X user wrote.
Sophie Beckett is Benedict’s love interest in An Offer From a Gentleman, the third book in Julia Quinn’s bestselling regency romance series. The book is loosely inspired by Cinderella, with Benedict and Sophie meeting at his family’s masquerade ball. Fans have posited that Lady Cowper and Cressida Cowper are Sophie’s stepmother and stepsister.
Sophie has not yet been cast in the Netflix series, though Benedict might be ready to meet The One and settle down soon.
“Well, my character is always trying to work himself out,” Thompson, 35, teased to Deadline at the U.K.’s Olivier Awards on Sunday, April 14. “I feel like all I can say without being arrested by the forces that be is that sort of struggle in him comes to a head a little bit, maybe.”
It has been presumed by fans that Thompson’s remarks about his character’s journey coming “to a head” could indicate that Benedict is ready to get the leading man treatment and meet his future bride.
“‘Without being arrested.’ This is the second time [Luke’s] said this word,” another social media user wrote on Sunday. “Remember which book had someone arrested? Yup. He’s next.” (In An Offer From a Gentleman, Benedict rescues Sophie from jail after she’s accused of stealing by her stepsiblings.)
An Offer From a Gentleman takes place a decade before Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which is the inspiration of Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope’s (Nicola Coughlan) love story in season 3. Executive producer Shonda Rhimes previously made it clear that the show would deviate from the eight-book order.
The first half of Bridgerton season 3 premieres on Netflix on Thursday, May 16. The remaining episodes drop on Thursday, June 13.
